I’m getting tired of talking about millennials. I’m not dismissing their importance but as focused as we are on the present, we have to look to the future. While there are things we can’t predict, there’s one thing we know for sure – there’s a new player at the consumer table: Generation Z.
Who is Generation Z? They were born after 1995 (Baltazar, 2014). They are certainly an interesting group and much more than an extension of the well-known and well analyzed Millennials. A few fun facts about Gen Z: they account for 25% of America’s population; they grew up during a recession and understand financial hardship, are fiscally responsible yet they have approximately $44 billion per year to spend; they spend that money online; they are entrepreneurial; have short attention spans and are worried about the human impact on the planet (Lagorio-Chafkin, 2014).
Needless to say, the Gen Z consumer has grown up with computers and smart phones and their social media literacy is going to have an impact on what we hear from them and in turn what they want to hear from us as marketers. It’s a certainty that Gen Z will invent the next iteration of social media, which will undoubtedly change the way we market, yet again.
However, what strikes me most about what I have read about Gen Z is their desire to make a difference – “social entrepreneurship” (Lagorio-Chafkin, 2014). We crunch the numbers and study the demographics because it’s our job to figure out how to market or sell to this target group. This is based on an assumption that in both the near and distance future it will be business as usual. However, I’m not so sure that it is going to be the case.
Lately, I have been thinking a great deal about natural resources and their increasing scarcity. This probably has to do with the drought here in California. Putting aside politics and the debate over climate change, there can be no doubt that as the world’s population grows, resources will become scarcer. There are certainly those who believe this will lead to global conflicts, resource wars and unrest (Klare, 2013). So what does this have to do with Gen Z? I think everything.
Gen Z may have no choice but to change the world and in the process consumption and with that marketing. Products and services – where they come from, how they are made and sourced, their impact on communities and the environment, how they are employed and the footprint they are leaving could be central to how Gen Z consumes. What does that mean for marketing today and for the future? We often talk about two-way communication in social media marketing. I would argue that a great deal of this is disingenuous. Currently companies want to appear as though they are listening to and are engaged in a conversation with their consumer. When the Gen Z wave comes ashore, I suggest the conversation is going to get very real. If the Gen Z consumer acts in a manner consistent with the data, they may drive the conversation as well as the direction of the marketing not to mention the direction of the companies themselves.
I submit that now is the time to start honestly engaging with Gen Z. That does not mean tossing aside baby boomers and Millennials. It means using social media to drill down into the real needs and wants of Gen Z in a way that is authentic to them, not the brand. To bend the concept of the very in tune Gary Vaynerchuk, it is time for marketers to listen hard; time to seek out and take a few jabs before Gen Z throws a right hook.
References:
Baltazar, A. (2014). Everything you need to know about generation Z. JCK. Retrieved from http://www.jckonline.com/2014/09/04/everything-you-need-to-know-about-generation-z
Klare, M. T. (2013). How resource scarcity and climate change could produce global explosion. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/173967/how-resource-scarcity-and-climate-change-could-produce-global-explosion#
Joye, C. (2013). Is your brand ready for generation Z? Re
Lagorio-Chafkin, C. (2014). The most entrepreneurial generation yet. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/christine-lagorio/entrepreneurial-generation-z.html
Lepi, K. (2013). The complete visual guide to Generation Z. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/generation-z/
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