Want to reach young customers? Start blogging.
Customers come in every size, shape, and age imaginable. Each one represents a different opportunity and challenge. If you are like many business owners, you have excelled at servicing at least one core group of customers. The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) recently released findings regarding the state of the industry, reporting that 1 in 5 hot rodders are in their teens and twenties. Full details can be found at www.sema.org/Main/ArticleDetail.aspx?contentID=58192.
IT'S ALL IN THE MINDSET
The fact that just one in five hot-rodders is in their teens or twenties concerns me. If you were to measure how old hot-rodders feel behind the wheel, they would probably say they are in their teens or twenties and mindset, more then age, is important when marketing the religion of car customization. In business, there are two fundamental customer mindsets. The first is researching and the second—and most coveted—is buying.
To see how these mindsets are manifested online, visit mindset.research.yahoo.com. Yahoo! launched this research tool a few years ago. It is interesting because you can enter search terms and adjust them with the slider bar at the top between shopping and researching. The point here is that customers do a lot of research prior to becoming buyers and your chance to bond with them is earlier rather than later.
Researching usually means reading editorial content—another word for articles. Each of you is an expert in your business. By making a living in this car culture, you are the leaders of the aftermarket religion and you should share your knowledge with the world. I don't care if your specialty is exhaust systems, engine building, electronics, or wheels and tires; share your knowledge and you will grow your business.
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
To get out in front of today's buyer, communicate with them when they are still in research mode. You do this everyday through your ongoing conversations at the parts counter and on the phone when buyers call. Now take it to the next level. Start documenting your knowledge and learning experiences in blog format (blog=Web log). A blog is akin to an online journal. While your Web site should have a business approach, a blog is a more personal approach that allows you to be real and appeal to customers who are in the research stage.
Blogs should speak with honesty and transparency (mention your business for credibility, but don't make a full-court sales press) and should be updated regularly so that, like a magazine or television show, your followers/customers become hooked and anticipate your next update. Use your blog as a tool to attract customers, but not in a direct-response sense. This contact is through word of mouth, or in this case, word of keyboard.
Don't like to write? Then scratch down some notes and hire a college student or a young journalist to write it for you. No matter which method you use, ensure the expertise and passion you have for the car culture is documented so it can be shared with the rest of the world. You may find there is more you can do, but a blog is a great place to start.
GET CONNECTED
Blogs should represent an honest voice. Blogging is a social activity and you may find you can work with other members of your local specialty auto parts community by asking them to write an article in your blog. Resist the temptation to make your blog an advertising platform (known as splogs for spam blogs).
Want so check out some other blogs? Go to www.technorati.com. I recently searched for hot rods and came up with 4,532 blog posts about hot rods and 6,959 blog posts just about superchargers. It's no wonder that just 20 percent of the hot-rod culture is in their teens and twenties. We all need to preach the gospel of the car culture.
How do you start a blog? I suggest using either Blogger (www.blogger.com/start), Wordpress (www.wordpress.com), or Typepad (www.typepad.com). Once you have started, tag your blog. After setting it up, add an RSS feed and then go to www.pingoat.com or www.pingomatic.com to register your blog. These tools will help update search engines when you publish new content.
What is RSS? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it is a family of Web feed formats that can be used to update regular material (such as blog material) sent to the Web. RSS is designed to make syndicating or blogging simpler and easier. If someone other than you is administrator of your Web site and blog, that person will have to deal with RSS. If you plan to administer your Web site and blog yourself, get familiar with RSS because it will make your task quicker and easier.
Twenty percent of hot rodders today are in their teens and twenties. Generation Y—those customers born between 1977 and 1994—account for nearly 28 percent of the American population and represent more than 70 million drivers in the next two decades. They represent the single largest market since the baby boomers. Lets grow our industry and your business by sharing the car culture with them. The way to reach out to young consumers is via the Web. Start your blog now.
