For GenZ customers (born 1995-2009), having an online presence is no longer a bonus, it’s expected.
If an online search doesn’t quickly and efficiently find your site or e-store, they’re out, moved on. If, when they find that store. the purchase process seems unwieldy, they’re out. If the shipping experience is disappointing, you better believe that product is coming right back and they are out for good, along with all the friends with whom they share the story.
And on that note…
These days we talk about your customers’ ‘friends’, we’re not limiting it to the narrow description of people your customer’s actually know. With social media at their finger-tips, your customers can share their one bad experience with their thousands of close, personal acquaintances with a few taps of a screen. And for GenZ, that’s just second nature, having grown up with smartphones as an extension of their person. It’s not a question of whether they’ll share; only what they’ll say.
In 2015, a study found that the active average Instagram user had 200 followers and snapchat is higher than that. That’s 200+ people whose only familiarity with your business, might be that one customer over whom you have no control. And that’s the average person, not an influencer commanding and veritable army of followers.
That said, you shouldn’t blindly get on the hype train, conventional advertising and promotion still make sales, especially to certain demographics or industries with a more ‘serious’ business edge to them. We’re not suggesting you ditch your core market for the flashy new toy in the corner – not by a long shot.
You just don’t want to look up one day and realise all the potential business you squandered living in a time-gone-by and refusing to engage with ‘these young people’. No, it’s not you – you’d never do that; it’s those other people.
So, how do you engage GenZ?
In the words of Donald O’Connor, ‘Make ‘em laugh!’ A 2018 survey found that 70% of Generation Z folk are more likely to respond to funny promotional material. Whilst this isn’t a brand-new observation, it’s one that some businesses are leaning into whole heartedly – and reaping the benefits.
Numerous small and large businesses alike have been throwing off the conventional cheesy persona of their social profiles in favour of hilarious and absurdly personal posts, even joking with their competitors online and Gen- Z is loving it. It’s not necessarily about being funny so much as it’s about being genuine and authentic. It’s that you aren’t a faceless, unfeeling money-gobbling entity. You’re a business of people, you can make (and take) a joke.
Ok, so you make them laugh, now you have to give them what they want. That means research, or at the very least communication. Gen-Zers can love your brand, love your online presence, go online to your store and not find what they want – and go somewhere else. That’s how many options they have. So unless you want to go full superstore and offer a little of everything, you need to be able to anticipate those purchases.
How to use social to get what you need
Thankfully, your social presence and customer interactions give you the perfect opener to find out exactly what it is the latest generation of shoppers want. Use that connection, send out surveys, conduct straw-polls, deliver your social media one-liner and follow it up by straight-up asking them what they’d like to see from you. In doing so you get all the information you need whilst simultaneously letting this new crop of customers know that you’re aren’t another out-of-touch big business who’s not taking them seriously, you’re listening.
Now you’re on your way to building that all-important GenZ relationship, it’s all about getting your products on the move, and that’s where we can help. If you’re ready to take your customer’s e-commerce experience to the next level, we’d love to talk. You can always give us a call on +61 2 9828 0111 (Sydney), +61 3 9240 6300 (Melbourne) or +64 9 263 8855 (Auckland) or drop us a note via the form below. Alternatively, you can find a full list of available services here.