Gen Z is anticipated to make up around 40% of the customer market in a few years. With more people from this group joining the workforce in the near future, the purchasing power of Gen Z is expected to increase. To capitalize in the lucrative Gen Z market, we must first understand what makes them tick.
People who were born after 1996 is referred as Generation Z (Parker and Igielnik 2020). Gen Zers are digital natives, who have no or little memory about the world as it existed before smartphones. In the late 1990s, consumers increased their access to available information (e.g. product specifications, comparative prices, product reviews etc.) through the use of the internet (Vollero et al. 2019), which in turn increases their consumer marketplace power as they develop the ability to express their opinions online and participate in decision-making. This concept holds true for Gen Zers, as the abundance of social media platforms (Communities, Publishing, Commerce and Entertainments) and product review pages have given them convenient access to insightful information. With limitless information at their fingertips, Gen Zers are open to change – constantly seek new ideas and experiences, and desire for their voices to be heard (TTI Success Insights 2019). They also tend to be more sensitive in product pricing, and will leverage on internet tools to source for the best price.
To market to them effectively, we must ensure that the media vehicles utilized are relevant, coherent, consistent, in continuity and complementary with each other.
- Social publishing – WordPress, Blogger, Youtube
Youtube and blogging sites are common platforms for micro-influencers. Employing youtubers as brand ambassadors is an effective way to engage Gen Zers, as 1) Youtube is the most common entertainment platform for Gen Zers, which maximizes effective reach and 2) Gen Zers will seek out opinion leaders to evaluate brands/products. As opposed to sharing the experiences associated with the product descriptively in social media, Youtubers are better in establishing the positive experiences in the consumers’ minds.
2. Social communities – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Community forums are essential in marketing to Gen Zers, as it fulfils their important need of expressing their opinions and getting involved in decision-making. Additionally, social communities are great platforms for brands to establish their brand positioning and value proposition, and to engage with Gen Zers in their customer journey.
This is the end of today’s post. Let me know your feedback. Thanks!
Word count: 388
Hao Zhen's Digital Marketing Journey 
Hi Haozhen,
Good insight! I couldn’t agree with you further. This is interesting, could you share with me some of the companies implementations/strategies on their new targeted market (Gen Z)?
LikeLike
Thanks for the question Dan! The first company that came to my mind is Nike. Nike is well-known for using sport celebrities from different categories such as Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James to endorse its products to generation Zers. Bonobos is another company that built its business based on content management.
LikeLike
I agree with you on a 100% ! But do you think that social media can often contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety if Gen Z’s do decided to feast on social media?
LikeLike
Definitely Rachel! As such, I feel that the government should inform the public not to indulge in social media, especially the teenagers and young adults, as the majority of social media posts only portray the ‘good’ side of individuals’ lifestyles, and thus they are an unreliable representation of someone’s life. Personally, while I agree that social media pull you closer with your friends and relatives, they may also make people feel inferior to their peers which, may cause them to have anxiety and/or depression.
LikeLike