Boomers Defy Car Makers' Marketing Strategies

[MineralMan]

18. I didn't see the ads because I don't see the media in which they ran.

I'm not really that typical of car shoppers. In fact, I've never bought a new car before. I'm an Internet guy, so that's how I found the car. I didn't even visit a car dealer until I had decided what car to buy. Then, I located the car I wanted in a dealer's inventory, and called them. The next day, I drove it and bought it. My decision-making method isn't really typical of most car buyers in my demographic group.

My actual first step was a Google search for new cars under $15,000. There were 12 models available. I studied all 12, over the course of a single day, and then made a choice.

I didn't see the Kia Soul ads because they don't run in any media I view. I did not even know that model existed. I found it by searching on price range.

Most boomers don't look for stuff that way, based on the ones I know. Car marketing isn't something I watch, since I'm normally not in the market for a car. When I wanted a car, I found one on my own. The Soul has only been available since the 2010 model year. I wasn't even aware of it.

So, suppose Kia wanted to sell more cars to that demographic group. A small marketing effort in media used by that demographic would at least introduce the car as a possibility. It's not as though there is a Kia dealer on every corner. I think there are three in the entire Minneapolis St. Paul metro area.

Beyond that individual model, the company makes a number of other cars. Upselling works. Get them in to look at the cheap car and sell them something else. Everyone uses that strategy. But, if the potential customer doesn't know the maker, hasn't seen a dealer, and hasn't seen any ads, the maker might as well not exist, really.

Frankly, I don't care if Kia sells cars in large numbers, although I'd like to see them succeed well enough to keep the dealerships open. I don't work for them. I don't profit from their sales. I just find it funny that they're not marketing to a demographic that the car seems to suit and which is purchased by people in that demographic. It is an odd thing. That's all. I'd say the same to the Scion and Nissan dealers with the xB and the Cube. Same situation, same opportunity.

Selling cars is the goal. The boomer demographic isn't being targeted much at all by any makers. They buy over 60% of the new cars sold. I'd be interested in them if I built cars. Yup, I would.