New study finds significant differences on how to best communicate with Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers
Fort Wayne, Ind.—In its latest nationwide consumer study, Lang Marketing has developed information on how to best communicate with the three major consumer generations — especially Millennials — who represent approximately 90% of the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) auto repair market.
“Millennials differ from the other two major generations (Gen Xers and Baby Boomers) in their preference for receiving information through video and its impact on their auto repair decisions,” stated the report. The following are key takeaways from the study.
DIFM Communication
Effective communication with customers is critical for repair outlet efforts to create satisfied customers and expand their business through customer referrals.
In its study, Lang Marketing has found significant differences in how best to communicate to Millennials and the other two major generations (Gen Xers and Baby Boomers) in the auto repair market.
Generation Age Boundaries
Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 and currently range in age from 57 to 76. Generation Xers have birth-year brackets of 1965 to 1990 and are 43 to 56. Millennials (Gen Y) were born between 1981 and 1999 and are 23 to 42 years old. These three generations represent approximately 90% of the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) light vehicle market.
Video Impact
The auto repair decisions of three major generations are impacted differently by video.
Only one-fifth of consumers who had vehicles repaired in the past 12 months reported that repair outlets used videos to communicate with them in any way.
Lang’s study found that despite its underutilization by repair outlets, video is a powerful communications resource and is especially effective in reaching Millennials. This generation will dominate the auto repair market over the balance of the decade.
Video Outlet Selection
Lang Marketing asked DIFMers how important it was to watch video testimonials of actual customers in making their repair outlet selection. There were “dramatic differences” among the three generations in the impact of customer testimonial videos.
• Millennials were three times more likely than Baby Boomers to rate video customer testimonials as significant in their outlet selection.
• Generation Xers rated video testimonials nearly twice as important to their outlet selection as Baby Boomers did.
As the ages of the three generations grew younger, the value of videos increased. Gen Xers regarded videos as twice as important in their outlet selection as Baby Boomers, and Millennials gave customer testimonial videos half again more importance to repair outlet selection than Gen Xers did.
Impact by Type of Customer Videos
Videos involving customers were essential for all three generations. Videos answering common customer questions had the most impact across all generations, followed closely by customer testimonial videos.
Among all three generations, videos featuring customers (their questions and testimonials) were more helpful in choosing an auto repair outlet than videos focusing on information about the repair outlet.
Video Use During and After Auto Repair
Lang Marketing found key differences between the three generations in how consumers prefer to be informed about the need for additional work found during the repair process.
Post-Repair Video Use
One of the most unrecognized but powerful ways to use video involves communication with customers after repairs have been completed.
Growing Importance of Videos
The importance of videos in marketing auto repair to DIFMers will grow in the coming years, boosted by the surge in auto repair volume generated by Millennials, the power of video in communicating with Millennials, and the opportunity for auto repair outlets and their partners to create satisfied DIFM customers and expand their DIFM market share and product sales through customer referrals.
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