If you think millennials are difficult to understand, communicate with, or sell to, I have two responses: You're wrong and you have to.
But if
that's how you feel, you're not alone. There are a lot of misconceptions about
this big market segment, and the sooner you set the record straight, the sooner
you can get down to business. Your business won't be much of a business if
millennials won't buy from you.
The
following are five things to stop thinking about twenty somethings—also
known as your next buyer.
1) They're
like we were when we were their age.
Wrong.
Whatever age you are now, if you're not a millennial, you grew up in an
entirely different time and place. Their world is technology dependent and
their time is real time; it’s unlike anything we imagined at that age.
So how do
you handle this from a sales perspective? First, you have to resist the
temptation to blend millennials in with the rest of your market; their vast
numbers don't make them any less unique. It makes them uniquely powerful. You
want them segmented appropriately in your customer relationship management, and
you want your sales team prepared with tools and tactics that will work with
this group—approaches that aren't going to be the tried and true.
2) They have better things to talk about than my business.
Far from
true! This is a group that writes reviews, and reads reviews diligently before
considering next steps in the purchase process. They value peer approval, so
they influence each other tremendously. Trust me, they're talking about you.
Make sure your online reputation passes the test; if they don't take it for
granted, you shouldn't either.
3) They're young and impulsive.
That's
half true. But if you think they don't weigh their purchase decisions because
they're youthful, you're wrong. Generally speaking, regardless of age, time
spent for car shopping has dropped—from 17.5 hours in 2011 to 15.5 hours in
2014. But millennials consistently shop more than average by two hours. They're
on third-party sites more than any other market segment. And they're not
sitting down to do it; they're researching on the go, whenever they want. They
might even use two devices at once to compare their options. Your listings have
to be easily navigable on mobile devices, so create directions to your
dealership and anything else they're likely to look for while doing their
homework.
4) They're not ready to commit.
False. I
believe millennials earned the reputation for being disloyal because they judge
fast and act even faster—if you don't shoot straight with them in the sales
process, they're gone. But if you work with them the right way, they're likely
to stay loyal to your business. Accept and embrace the fact that this
generation demands transparency, and give it to them. After all, they're doing
their homework—they'll know the instant anything doesn't match up.
5) They have poor social skills.
This is a
common misconception, probably due to how millennials seem to be head down,
buried in their phones. Don't be fooled—they do detach themselves;
it's just that you fit into their lives in one way and one way
only—through their phones and tablets. The numbers prove it: More than half of
them would have a negative impression of a brand after a bad mobile experience,
compared to only a third of all age groups. Give them a positive experience and
you'll be in good standing.
Millennials are here in big numbers, they're buying,
and they're buying well. This is not a market segment to be wrong about. Do it
right, and you've got a booming generation of buyers at your
disposal—buyers you understand, connect with, and communicate to—even
if your competitors can't.
No comments:
Post a Comment