Let’s be honest: some industries make it easier to know your customers than others. For instance, maternity clothes apply to a small portion of the population so it’s easier to know what these customers want.
Cars, on the other hand, are more universal. You’re selling to people from all walks of life and in varying demographic groups and income levels. How do you even start with consumer research?
Today we’ll take a closer look at one particular segment of your customer base: millennials. If you want to know how to market the best cars for millennials, here’s your guide.
1. Recognize the Best Cars for Millennials
To find out how to market cars to millennials, you have to know what types of cars they want. This lets you put those cars front-and-center on your site or to use them in your millennial-focused social media campaigns.
For millennials, design and style are at the top of their must-have list. They see their car as an expression of their personal style just like their home and wardrobe. The right photos will go a long way for this group.
Another priority is the technology a car has. Millennials want an easy connection between their vehicle and their phone. They want to be connected to the world through their car’s technology.
Finally, environmental impact is important to millennial car buyers. They want a car that meets all their needs while keeping their carbon footprint to a minimum.
Take a look through your inventory. Identify the cars that fit these criteria best and make them the focus of your marketing campaign.
2. Plan for Questions
Millennials are a research-heavy group. They’re disillusioned with sales and comfortable with technology. That combination drives them to do research and educate themselves before they make a big purchase.
You can appeal to this by centering your search engine optimization strategy around it. Emphasize keywords that are actually questions. For instance, write content like, “How much car can I afford?” and “Pros and cons of the 2019 XYZ.”
3. Show Off Some Smiles
As much as millennials will research the cars they want to buy, they’ll research you too. They want to know if they can trust a dealership for a simple, transparent, and customer-friendly experience.
To give them the information they want, have testimonials on your website. It’s easy to get testimonials by emailing recent customers and asking for feedback.
Of course, people will review your business on third-party review sites too like Google and Yelp. It’s crucial that you keep an eye on these reviews, respond to them, and try to patch things up with unhappy customers.
4. Embrace Your Social Side
Millennials are young enough that they’ve been all-in with the growth of social media. These platforms are comfortable for your customers and they’re resources they can turn to for information.
Remember those eye-catching, design-forward photos we talked about earlier? Your social media campaigns are the perfect place for them. They’ll grab your customers’ attention and bring them to your site where you can give them all the details they need.
5. Focus on Authenticity
Advertising has been a pervasive part of life for every generation. With modern technology, though, it’s become far more prominent. Millennials have been flooded with ads for their entire lives, and they’re over it.
This generation doesn’t like to be “sold to.” They prefer to take their time and get to know a brand. They make choices based on brands and products rather than on advertising ploys.
That doesn’t mean your marketing will be ineffective. It just means you need to be more authentic with it. Use your ad campaigns to let customers learn who you are and what you’re about.
The same is true with the vehicles you sell. Use your marketing to establish yourself as an expert resource rather than a company who wants to make a sale and get out.
6. Use Mobile-First Web Design
In the early days of smartphones, the mobile web was an afterthought. Businesses designed their sites based on what they’d look like on a desktop and laptop. If they could make it usable on a mobile phone, that was a side perk.
While not all companies have gotten on board, that era is over. Mobile web traffic has grown at a steady rate and today it makes up the majority of search traffic.
As a business, you need to respond by prioritizing the mobile experience in your web design. If your site is cumbersome or doesn’t work well on a phone, your mobile users (many of whom are millennials) will go elsewhere.
7. Aim for Affordability
There aren’t many things that are more American than good old-fashioned debt. Millennials have a higher level of debt than their older counterparts, with 36% burdened with student loans.
Because of the added expense of loan payments, millennials tend to spend a lower percentage of their income on their vehicles. You can appeal to that by marketing your vehicles’ affordability.
For instance, try having a calculator on your site that lets customers estimate their monthly payments. Make sure it’s non-committal because every situation is unique. Still, millennials will appreciate the helpful information and show their appreciation in the form of a purchase.
Sell the Best Cars for Millennials with These Tips!
Millennials have seen more large-scale world changes than most other generations throughout history. They grew up with the technological revolution and have a unique mix of pre-digital and digital experiences.
As a result, you need to take special steps to connect with millennials in your marketing campaigns. From knowing the best cars for millennials to understanding what information they’re looking for, you can show millennials that you see them and are here to serve.
Even will all this information, there’s only so much potential in a DIY marketing plan. To get a professional hand, contact our digital marketing team.
