Who are the Baby Boomers, what are their driving tendencies and what are the best ways to service them? Here are a few tips.
There is a lot of change coming. We are on the front end of a very different aftermarket as there are more vehicles per bay than ever while the days waiting for repairs have been as much as three times higher. This foreshadows to be a bad sign given the growing and future aftermarket population.
Transportation is changing right under our noses: families are having less children and with each generation less are owning vehicles, mobility now has other options such as Uber and Lyft, and vehicle prices and repair costs are escalating.
What is driving all of this change in the aftermarket? Small independent shops are closing as people retire or are selling out to larger groups. Technology has driven up shop expenses and investments — from tools and equipment, training and shop management systems. And thinking that just getting a bookkeeper or general manager will help, you have quite an experience ahead of you.
I have always been, and will always be, big on the aftermarket. And despite those challenges, I think there is a highly profitable future for the shops who adapt to face the changing customer of the future.
Here are the people of our current and future aftermarket: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y (Millennials), and Gen Z. We’ll begin with the older group first, who for many years have been our major aftermarket customers, in the first installment of a three-part series.
Baby Boomers
• Were the children of post WWII.
• Were the first to see the expansion of consumer credit and preferred cash.
• Operates on loyalty and a handshake.
• Desires to have a personal relationship with the shop or store owner.
• Holds 52% of the cumulative U.S. wealth.
• Grew up living to work and save to secure a future for their families, and a work/life balance was not considered.
Boomers driving habits:
- Drive during daylight hours and lean toward obeying the speed limit.
- Combine trips out and drive fewer days.
- Generally are retired and therefore do not commute to work. According to the FHA, Boomers drive about 8,000 – 10,000 miles a year.
Positive Safe Driver Habits
| Generation | Behavior score average |
| Boomers | 89% |
| Gen X | 81% |
| Millennials | 74% |
| Gen Z | 66% |
The takeaway from all of this is that they drive less, drive carefully, and are concerned about safety and technology. As a result, they are great candidates for regular vehicle maintenance. And unless there is a good reason, setting up a boomer for appointments on a time basis instead of miles generally works best.
And since they rely on that vehicle, they are more likely to pay for ongoing maintenance checks. Myself, as an example, grew up believing in the every three-month oil change. And I like good oil and filter — my own repair garage knows when they see me to pull out the good stuff. Not that I have all kinds of money (my pickup is 15 years old and runs like a top) but I cannot afford to be stranded. This is easier for shops, too, since they’ll be able to schedule out a year in advance at the first appointment.
Boomers are also grappling to understand the newer cars. According to an article published by S3Mag, they really struggle with all of the new features, including safety technology, that exist in newer vehicles. I, for one, find myself staring at the dash in my minivan afraid to touch anything and not understanding many features. When Boomers buy a late-model, high-tech vehicle, they generally receive a 10-minute training session on all the whiz-bang features then move on to the next sale.
So here’s a tip.
If you want to attract boomers, just offer an afternoon clinic at your shop to teach them how to use all of that stuff. And as for your shop, boomers still really appreciate a clean waiting area. It may well be that your customer has a lot of time to wait for their vehicle and will stay. And if you think it will be all-day repair or a couple of days, let them know early enough to arrange a ride. If you have a TV playing, be sure it is conservative fare. Reduce, to the extent you’re able, shop noise. Offer coffee. And by all means keep the coffee area clean and spiffy.
When the customer pulls in, meet them in person. A shop that uses their management system to quickly look up a license plate and is armed with the customer’s name and reason for coming is wise indeed. Go over all to be done in that visit. Remind them you will be doing a maintenance and safety review.
Remember, boomers work on trust and a handshake. It is helpful if you are able to have product demos, sell sheets, posters or a computer system that allows the customer to better understand why you are important to their independence and safety.
At this point, it is important to realize boomers will be around for a bit yet and may likely make up more of your customers. The entire idea of this column is to begin building for the future. So, we’ll move on to GenX and the others in the next installment.
At a young age, industry veteran Tom Langer started detailing cars for his family’s dealerships, which then led to work in the jobber and warehouse business, along with a machine shop and auto body shop. He held a variety of positions with an auto parts manufacturer for 10 years, and remained in the industry working with shops, warehouses and manufacturers in research and more.
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