Over years marketing adapted well to changing times. From the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomer to Gen X and Gen Y, every period in time has heralded its own marketing challenges. Even so, the challenges posed by Gen Z to marketers are incomparable, as it is the first ‘digital native generation,’ a population that has never seen a world without the Internet and digital technology. The denizens of Gen Z have integrated technology seamlessly into their lives.
This necessarily means that any company wanting to win today must make full use of the Internet and the social media and must be digitally accessible at all times.
But why is Gen Z so important for marketers?
Well, for starters Gen Z represents USD 44 billion in purchasing power, as reported by the “Uniquely Gen Z” study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value. The Gen Z is a market of high but fickle spenders with no strong brand loyalties, the study found. Seventy five per cent of the people in the study said they spend more than half of what they get on discretionary goodies. But ,what’s more significant is that 52 per cent of them will hop from one brand to another without the slightest thought if they aren’t happy, according to a report by the National Retail Federation, USA.
Secondly, the Gen Z population is swelling rapidly around, led by India. By the end of 2019, one in every three human on planet earth will be a Gen Z’er to coin a phrase. A whopping 472 million of them will be in just one nation: India. Thus connecting with this influential group would continue to gain in importance for retailers and businesses. But it is not so easy, especially keeping in mind the fact that Gen Z has an attention span of just 8 seconds compared to the span of 12 seconds of the millennial.
So how to connect when you have only 8 seconds to gain attention?
Every person loves his or her language and Gen Z is no exception. So you will have to:
Communicate in Gen Z language:
Gen Z is particularly adept at using emojis, memes, animated GIFs and the visual medium. If you make proper use of these elements in your marketing communication then you have a greater chance of catching attention and sustaining it for the period of your communication.
Be active on social media
It is no secret that Gen Z is an active social media user. So marketers have to be present across various social media channels. Remember, just churning out videos, article and blogs with regularity will not do the trick as far as this generation is concerned. It is an interactive generation, so you must be ready with pictures, reviews, polls, comments, quizzes and user generated content. You must also respond to comments and chats.
Focus more on mobile devices
Your website and marketing messages must be optimized for mobile devices too. You could invest in a mobile app and/or take advantage of mobile push notifications.
Why?
Because Gen Z is a multi-device user. According to an IBM study, 66% of Gen Z often uses more than one device at the same time. So, whatever you do it must give a seamless customer experience across all devices.
Use the power of personalization
Gen Z loves personalization. As far as possible, personalize all your marketing efforts. It could be in the form of SMS, tailor-made lists, a chance to create something for themselves or displaying advertisements for products recently visited and this is sure to pay you rich returns.
