Gen Z is the current youngest generation. As with every demographic, there’s always a new set of marketing problems to ponder. You should focus on Gen Z consumers because Gen Z is the first group to be raised in a truly digital era. They grew up with the internet and navigated it with shocking ease. Not only that, they are more progressive and diverse than any generation before them.
They also have a lot more knowledge than any generation previous. It’s important for businesses not to underestimate the strength of this demographic. There are plenty of reasons to cater to Gen Z’s needs. It’s a demo that still isn’t fully understood, but has loads of profit potential.
Reasons To Focus on Gen Z Consumers
Here are some of the best reasons why Gen Z is a wonderful demographic for marketers.
1. Chronically Online
Gen Z spends almost half their day glued to their screens, whether for school, socializing, or even work. Smart brands should have a strong presence on social media platforms. Because Gen Z is always online, that means they’ll be exposed to tons of brands nearly every day. Reaching people online is the standard for marketing. Gen Z accounts for a third of that online population.
2. Shorter Attention Spans
This might seem counterintuitive, but a short attention span means your projects are also much shorter. While it certainly takes effort to build a good ad campaign, there’s no longer the need to hold people’s attention for as long.
Gen Z, thanks to growing up in a digital era, processes a lot more information at a quicker pace. If you can keep up with that, that means you could have several small ad campaigns going on at once with a huge pool of people to reach.
3. Focus on Gen Z Consumers because They Love Engagement
Food brands such as Wendy’s and KFC are focusing restaurant advertising on Gen Z. While the snark of Wendy’s towards customers or the absurd video games that KFC put out might seem silly, there’s no denying their effectiveness. KFC and Wendy’s have been made synonymous with quirks brands, and for this reason, they have a strong Gen Z crowd.
4. Don’t Like Missing Out
Learning important knowledge for the future is something that Gen Z values a lot. They are healthier than the generations before them and also have access to far more information. That means they dislike missing out on trends or information. Gen Z fears missing out, and that’s why they’ll be more aware of what brands are doing, even if only for a few seconds each day.
5. Trendier Than Ever
Access to the online world means Gen Z is always on top of trends. They communicate this very quickly. There’s a lot less guesswork nowadays about what Gen Z wants because they’ll be talking about it. The only real issue is figuring out which trend to hop on because now, there’s no shortage of them to pick.
6. Wonderful Sense of Humor
Gen Z is infamous for its surreal sense of “zoomer humour”. Although it may seem confusing, young and creative marketers are bound to have a fun time. As stated with KFC and Wendy’s examples, Gen Z loves witty brands. Marketers are given more incentive to be creative and out there with their ad campaigns. More often than not, they get rewarded for that creativity.
7. Appreciates Customer Service
Gen Z, although far from being paragons of politeness, are more empathetic than previous generations. The shifts in culture, as well as exposure to other perspectives, make Gen Z people more patient with customer service workers. Interacting with Gen Z lets marketers work on their online communication skills without being too scared of rudeness.
8. Believes in Brand Power
With more and more brands targeting younger generations, a subtle understanding has been born. Teens are very self-aware of how branding affects people’s perception of them. The use of brands tells a silent story to other people. Good brands have a much higher chance of retaining customer loyalty nowadays.
9. Brutally Honest
This also sounds like a negative, but it’s a positive as far as customer research is concerned. A lot of previous generations were less honest in their surveys and polls. They were often one-on-one, or they misunderstood what it was.
The popularity of online surveys means Gen Z is more comfortable, and therefore honest, in their own homes. Honestly means your marketing data is much more accurate. You know exactly what areas to improve on and which areas are best left alone.
10. Incredibly Diverse to Focus on Gen Z consumers
When you analyze the market segmentation of the existing generations, Gen Z has the most cultural and ethnic diversity than any generation before it. This means Gen Z is far more open to change and new voices than generations previous. It’s still young, but the brands of today will go through more changes than they have in the past decade.