In our industry, one universal sales practice is to tailor your techniques to the wants and needs of the customer in front of you. If you have a young male drooling over that sports car, you’ll probably be talking about performance specs, 0-60 times and horsepower. If you have a young family, you’re probably going to be reviewing all of the safety features of the vehicle. To anybody that’s been in sales for a while, this is old news. Now, however, we have a whole new group of consumers that are slowly, but surely, entering into their prime spending years - Millennials. The question is, are we really engaging them in a way that earns their business and encourages customer loyalty?

These will be the customers that your service department will try to retain, while also being repeat customers in sales for many years to come. While they still need cars and will buy them, the question is whether or not we know enough about the factors that contribute to creating a brand advocate out of a Millennial. Do they have the same types of loyalty traits that we’ve pursued in the past? A glimpse into this finicky group of young people published on Business Insider, may cause you to change your sales techniques.

In a study run by the “America@250,” it was found that sustainability is one of the most important factors to Millennials.

• 34% of Millennials find it important that the vehicle they purchase uses little to no fuel, versus 26% of Baby Boomers.
• Only 24% responded that the fact that the vehicle was made in America was important, as compared to 42% of Baby Boomers.
• 16% of Millennials said that whether the manufacturer takes care of the environment is important and matters to them, versus 6% of Baby Boomers.

Apparently, fuel economy is not only an important consideration in vehicle choice, but also an important attribute in whether or not the brand can earn their loyalty.

If sustainability and social responsibility are important to Millennials when it comes to brand loyalty, perhaps it makes sense at your dealership to consider adopting - or highlighting - ways in which you can fulfill these expectations. Items as small as clean waste disposal in service, recycling, community service and outreach, may go far into convincing a Millennial to buy a vehicle from you and to earn their loyalty. Next time you find a Millennial standing in front of you (whether that’s physically or virtually) thinking about purchasing a vehicle, you might want to include these details in your “why buy from us” pitch. It might just tip that prospect towards your dealership, versus your competition.