Attracting different generations to your business means owning and wearing multiple hats all at once. While Millenials have their buying trends and what attracts them, marketing to Gen Z is a whole other ballgame.
Knowing how to capitalize on trends and what a younger audience looks for in brands doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars. Learning and taking the time to practice different marketing strategies that other companies use daily will pay off as you begin to attract Gen Z buyers.
1. Invest Time & Effort Into Social Media
Utilizing social media to your advantage can revive an entire company or build it up from the start. Generation Z grew up with technology. They watched it transform in front of their eyes and grasped onto platforms such as social media. They expect the same amount of social media knowledge in return from the companies they interact with.
Be smart about it and take the time to create original, relatable content that speaks to your brand’s voice. Hire social media experts to break down everything that should and shouldn’t be content that your brand puts out. They’ll be able to actively use social media strategies to make entertaining, quick, and relatable content that will reach Gen Z.
You don’t need to take it too seriously, either. Have fun with social media and use it as an opportunity to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Look into trends that fit the voice of your company. Interact with other companies or celebrities on these social media platforms to gain recognition and free advertising.
2. Market Your Values
Gen Z looks for brands that do more than the bare minimum. They want a company that uses their platform for good and has the same values they do. Use the values you have as a company, no matter how big or small, to your advantage. Something as simple as giving back to your local community can change how Gen Z perceives your business.
Employees with the most insight into your business’ culture have the best chance of influencing others and getting your values to be known. Utilize that to your advantage and treat your employees with respect. It will improve your reputation as a company and keep your employees happy and healthy. However, sometimes, just keeping the employees happy might not do the trick for you. For improving the overall reputation of your company and for controlling the digital narrative of your company on the internet, you might consider taking the help of an internet reputation manager.
You can even try being an advocate for sustainability. 75% of Gen Z say that sustainability in a brand is crucial to them. This can help you grow your company while also helping to save the planet.
3. Earn Their Trust
Unlike Millennials or Gen X, Gen Z doesn’t want the cheesy paid actors who have never used your services. They want a company they can trust and rely on. As they grew up with YouTube, they would be influenced by YouTubers who weren’t getting paid to read off a script but were genuinely trying to give them an unbiased review.
Do your research and look at who the influencers of today are. All it takes is for you to ask them to give an honest review of your company’s services and upload it to their social media. The more significant influencers may require a fee as they get multiple companies a day asking them, so if that’s a little outside your budget, look into either nano or micro-influencers.
Try using blogger outreach to find the right influencers for your type of service. This can quickly narrow your audience and make your company known to the right people.
4. Use A Reward System
Gen Z likes to feel appreciated by the companies they buy from. Starting a rewards system is one of the most common and well-known ways to ensure you create a meaningful bond with customers. Whether you use a point system or try a different method, it gives people an incentive to come back again.
It’s also a great way to keep track of recurring customers and receive feedback about your business. With returning customers, rewarding them after a certain number of purchases or points is harmless to your company and allows them to feel important.
Some standard rewards include:
- Birthday discounts
- Sign up rewards
- 10-20% off select items
- Exclusive products
5. Quality Over Quantity
The more customers you receive, the harder it may be to keep up with some of your more detailed tasks. Without the attention to detail that you started with, your reputation and quality of services decline as you focus more on the number of customers.
Gen Z looks for something that will last or something they can reuse without worrying if it will stay together. Finding the right balance between quality and quantity is essential, but focusing on quality each time will automatically bring in the number of customers you were hoping for without taking a toll on your company’s credibility.
If you end up in a situation where managing quality over quantity becomes difficult, try:
- Reducing your product catalog
- Hiring seasonal help or part-time workers
- Outsourcing simple or routine tasks
Why You Should Market To Gen Z
Gen Z dominates in today’s markets. They’re more likely than any other generation to buy products over experiences so it’s essential to grab their attention and gain their support. They can easily take an unknown company and change it into one of the most popular brands within days.
We’ve seen this happen repeatedly with brands such as Urban Decay and Lululemon, and it’s time to profit. That said, they can also take a well-known company that has been running for years and stain its reputation in the same amount of time. Awareness of your impact and your platform can be the difference between success and failure.
Using these five marketing strategies correctly and ethically to attract Gen Z buyers can help your company prosper more than ever before. Gen Z is a challenging but influential generation, and getting their attention is not easy, but it is now a necessity to stay competitive.
