There is a common misconception about the members of the millennial generation—specifically, that they aren’t much interested in buying cars, perhaps preferring to lease or simply to rely on services like Uber. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

As a recent article from Dealer Marketing points out, “In 2016, [millennials] accounted for 29 percent of new car sales, and that number is expected to increase to 40 percent in 2020. They also made up 36 percent of the lending market in 2016, a number also expected to grow.”

The bottom line: For your dealership to succeed, it has to sell to millennials. And before you can sell to them, you have to get them to your showroom or lot—and that means effective marketing!

How to Market Cars to Millennials

As you seek to engage millennial buyers in your dealership marketing, here are a few considerations you’ll want to make.

Affordability is hugely important to millennials. Younger buyers are not primarily concerned with status or prestige, at least not when it comes to their vehicles. Rather, they want good value. What this means is that budget is often their top concern. A related point is that, compared to older generations, millennials are quite happy to look at used vehicles—great news for used car dealerships!

They do their research. Millennials tend to spend a lot of time—more than three months on average—researching cars before they choose one. More than half of that time is spent doing research online. Having educational resources on your dealership website and on social media platforms is essential to reaching this younger demographic.

Millennials do not want to haggle. The thing they don’t want to do is spend a lot of time negotiating with you over the price—something most young people just find to be frustrating. Emphasizing a straightforward, hassle-free sales process can really help you make in-roads with millennial buyers.

Efficiency goes a long way with millennials. More than anything else, it’s beneficial to have a sales team that is ready to provide a smooth and easy path to car ownerships. You may get millennial customers coming in knowing exactly what it is they want, and being able to accommodate them with minimal red tape is a huge advantage for your dealership.

Marketing for Millennials

Your dealership needs to market carefully and precisely to the people who are most likely to come in and buy a car—and that may very well mean millennials.

For help marketing to people of all demographics, contact our team at Get My Auto. We’d love to help you build your brand and reach out to online consumers.