By Michael Hart
 A SEMA Show education session will focus on how to both manage Millennials in the workplace and make them great customers. |
Millennials represent the largest generation in the history of the United States. The oldest members of it are just now in their early 30s, meaning the automotive aftermarket industry will be dealing with them for some time to come as both customers and employees. That’s why Jamie Notter, author of When Millennials Take Over: Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business, said, “Anybody who is involved in leadership or management needs to pay attention to this topic.”
Notter will speak at the 2015 SEMA Show in a conference session entitled “Changing the Conversation Around Millennials,” which will include a discussion among a panel of young people to give attendees actionable strategies for how to both manage them in the workplace and make them great customers.
Managers at all levels need to be ready as Millennials begin to move through the ranks, senior-level managers because of the need to change their company’s culture and mid-level managers because they have already begun to lead them as employees.
This is one of three important conference sessions dealing with the generation. While Notter will talk primarily about the Millennial generation’s impact in the workplace, Brad Smith of Experian and Bridget Brennan of Female Factor will lead sessions that focus on the impact of young people in the marketplace. Smith, Experian’s director of automotive market statistics, will demonstrate with data and some in-depth analysis how aftermarket companies can successfully target this demographic.
As Notter pointed out, “This generation grew up with unparalleled abundance,” and, as they begin lifetimes of making choices about their automobiles, will probably never settle for the most cost-efficient options, offering up many opportunities for companies interested in doing business with them.
Brennan will talk about this newest generation of women and give attendees some perspective on how they make their purchasing decisions. During her Keynote & Coffee presentation, she will explain some of the cultural forces that have shaped millennial women, and how you can apply that knowledge to your marketing and sales efforts.
By better understanding the Millennial driver and the Millennial employee, Notter said, aftermarket companies can make preparations now for all the changes ahead that will be dictated by this generation.
“This is not a group that comes just for a paycheck,” he said. “They want something deeper.”
Sign up now for the Millennial sessions and view a complete list of SEMA Show Education sessions available.