Understanding the customer is imperative to the success of any business. Get it right and you can provide better customer service, anticipate future behaviors, and develop more effective marketing strategies. It has been some time since businesses started focusing heavily on understanding millennials.
Today, many still do. As a result, they subsequently end up overlooking a generation that’s just as important now and will become more important in the near future. They’re known as Generation Z, which refers to the demographic born between the mid to late 1990s. By 2020, they’ll make up almost 40 percent of all consumers.
They have a buying power of $143 billion and if you factor in their family members, that number reaches $600 billion. For just about any business, they’re an important group of consumers that cannot be ignored. Gen Z is also different in many ways, which means that you need to tailor your marketing strategy to their needs.
Go Digital
The internet is not the only key to a successful overall marketing strategy, but it’s also where you’ll find Gen Z. Being the most tech-savvy generation, it should come as no surprise that they spend more time on social media. Therefore, your selling strategies should start on social and mobile, with direct, no-fluff messaging.
Be sure to leverage multiple formats, such as videos, stories, photos, etc. Sales gimmicks that may have worked in the past won’t suffice here. Instead, you need to focus on individualized content with a heavy emphasis on how the consumer can benefit from doing business with you.
Benefits and Results
As we touched on above, Gen Z is a benefit and results-driven group. Avoid selling the product to them and aim to sell the success they’ll achieve by having it. One benefit of this approach is that it puts you in the position to be viewed by your audience as an expert that understands and caters to their needs.
Tailored Experiences
Being born into a social world, Gen Z is accustomed to being treated as an individual, even with the brands they interact with and purchase from. This makes data important, as it will help you tailor their experiences.
User-Generated Content
Social proof is essential. Gen Z won’t think about purchasing a product unless there’s a plethora of user-generated content at key conversion points to help them along the customer journey. Your products need to be backed up by real reviews and recommendations.
Around 85% of Gen Z says that they use sites like Instagram to learn more about a product or service, according to Gen Z Guru. So, consider leveraging the power of influencer marketing to capture their attention. Determine the key influencers within your target demographic and partner up with them to create meaningful campaigns.
Make it Quick
Gen Z is accustomed to quick decisions and even quicker outcomes – a byproduct of the shortened attention span that comes with being able to immediately access almost anything. Therefore, you need to be able to communicate your message clearly and concisely.
Conclusion
Efficiency, authenticity, and value should be key components of your strategy when marketing to Gen Z. Make it happen and your business will quickly reap the benefits of being favored by this powerful demographic.
