
How to sell cars to the millennial generation
Can the automotive industry adapt to the increasing popularity of messaging apps?
Automotive

Sanuker
Table of content
When we talk about millennials and newer generations in general, it is easy to imagine people who do not yet have significant buying power and aren’t terribly relevant to a company’s strategy. It is an easy mistake to make and can cause companies to ignore trends that end up affecting their sales.
A good example is an automotive industry. Selling cars is not easy, there is a lot of competition, and getting a person’s attention can be challenging. As consequence car dealers often adopt relatively aggressive sales tactics with any clients that walk into their showrooms. It is a tried and true method, but in a world where newer generations prefer to avoid interactions with salespeople it can backfire.
Who are millennials?
Millennials are a generation of people who have grown up with the internet. Today they are between 23 and 38 years old and well into a “car buying” age. What really makes them different is their way of seeking information and communicating with the world.
They are a group of users that is less comfortable seeking the assistance of salespeople and often actively avoid it. Pressure tactics often backfire with this group and the best strategy tends to be one based on making information available to them in their preferred communication channels.
Today, the most popular of these channels are messaging apps. Depending on the region the dominant player will vary but, overall, this category dominates the communication scene and is quickly replacing social media in terms of importance. Apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, or Facebook Messenger boast very high penetration and usage rates across age ranges and are especially high with millennials and younger generations.
How messaging apps can help you sell
The great advantage of messaging apps is that conversations can be largely automated by using chatbots. Chatbots have many advantages, they never get tired, can hold multiple conversations at the same time, work 24/7 and be significantly cheaper than a traditional workforce.
If a company wishes, they can also work in tandem with a human sales team, with the chatbot providing 24/7 coverage, answering common questions, and pre-qualifying leads, with the sales team, only intervening to close the deal or answer unusual questions.
There are many types of chatbots that offer an almost unlimited array of possibilities to help companies improve their operations and reach more customers. To help you identify these opportunities and navigate this complex world we have put together a great team that will be more than happy to speak to you. Reach out to them using the contact link below: