As every dealer knows, our industry has changed dramatically due to the explosion of the internet and mobile technology. Savvy dealerships have responded by making their websites mobile-friendly and moving more of the purchase steps online. But now there’s another challenge heading our way: the Millennials. With over 70 million members, this generation will account for more than 1 in 3 American adults in 2020. You can’t afford to ignore this group, but winning their business will require more than technology baby steps and traditional marketing strategies. To attract and retain Millennials, you must create a whole new dealership experience. To understand why, it’s helpful to know more about this generation.

• They are digital natives practically born with a smartphone in hand. A wired, connected world is all that Millennials have ever known.
• They are immune to most traditional marketing tactics since they’ve seen it all before.
• This generation doesn’t emotionally connect to a particular brand or model as previous generations did. They are looking for ease and, as you would expect from a wired generation, plenty of infotainment features such as navigation, Bluetooth and satellite.
• They’ve always had instant information at their fingertips and can buy practically anything with a few clicks, so their patience with the traditional car buying process is extremely thin.

To be the tomorrow’s leaders, it’s clear that dealers must adapt to fit the new Millennial paradigm. It’s time to jettison antiquated methods in favor of a seamless, technology-driven, transparent experience that will capture and retain the increasingly digital car buyer.

Click below to read the full article: