The Millennials are coming! Of course, we’ve all known that for a while, but according to Experian sometime this year those born between 1979 and 1995 will displace Baby Boomers as the largest cohort of car-buying consumers. A dealership should have already been changing its marketing strategy to suit this groups’ habits, which include much more emphasis on mobile device marketing and more online information about both a dealership and its inventory. Interestingly, focusing on the specific characteristics of your local Millennial population is also important.
Dealers have a love hate relationship with manufacturer incentive programs. They can provide extra funds, but also impose unfair burdens. This week we have a column from a new contributor, law firm Arent Fox, about one of its recent cases involving a New York State Maserati dealer and a change in an incentive program. The outcome, says Arent Fox, has wide-reaching implications for all incentive programs. Read more in this issue.
One of the qualities of a good general manager, says Chris Saraceno in his column this week, is a focus on improvement and growth. That would include, methinks, learning new ways of marketing to Millennials and the generations that follow. Read more about the seven qualities of a good GM in his column. Do you embody these qualities? Do you agree they are important?
