Low-pressure sales? Sounds good to me
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This is regarding the Aug. 6 story "Marketing to millennials: Make it online, fast, easy." The smaller headline was "Also important: No surprises, low pressure, no haggling."
That approach appeals to almost every buyer, not just the new kids on the block. The typical experience for most buyers with most dealers is that of a necessary evil, some sort of ritual rite of passage, complete with hazing, just to get a new car.
For whatever reason, car dealers have been living in another world when it comes to interacting with customers, and I don't mean the difference between "face time" and the Internet.
It has been noted many times that the buying experience is typically adversarial, with most of the strengths on the dealer's side.
On top of that, once the deal is made, then comes the gantlet of F&I. I realize that that profit center is essential to dealer survival, but it is typically a painful experience for the buyer.
Perhaps those things are more prevalent in volume dealerships than in, say, the luxury brands' showrooms (not typically in my category), but it can feel like a real meat-grinder getting through the buying experience.
It's not just younger buyers -- I'm 74 -- who are looking for an improved, simple, transparent car-buying process. We all are.
