The rise of Gen Z, the first digital native generation, is forcing brands to revolutionise their marketing strategies.
Gen Z’s unique characteristics, from their use of social media to their social values, mean brands must connect with them in new ways.
Brands that fail to adapt risk missing the opportunity or becoming irrelevant.
In this Q&A, Jessica Dervyn, senior principal: research in the Gartner Marketing Practice, discusses how CMOs can shape their strategy to win with Gen Z in order to ensure their brand’s success now and in the future.
What sets Gen Z consumers apart from other generations?
Gen Z are unlike any generation before them, which is why many marketing leaders don’t know how to successfully connect with them. Gen Z are often grouped together with millennials, when in reality the two groups are distinct. Gen Z tend to be more cautious than millennials, more serious and more savvy. While millennials are mostly conformists who embrace societal norms, Gen Z are more comfortable stepping outside of the box and demonstrate a strong entrepreneurial mindset.
Gen Z have strong values, and this is reflected in their expectations of brands. A Gartner survey of 1,015 U.K. consumers conducted in July and August 2023 revealed 65% of Gen Z consumers believe businesses should take the lead in solving the key issues in our culture and society today. Thirty-five percent of Gen Z also agree that they “think about what a brand stands for – politically and socially – when deciding whether to buy their products”, compared to just 29% of U.K. total consumers.
How do Gen Z use social media differently to other groups, and how should brands pivot their social media strategy in response?
Gen Z has a different approach to social media – by ignoring this, brands face declining engagement and decreasing returns on their investment in social channels. Not only are Gen Z more likely to have accounts across multiple platforms than millennials, but they use these platforms in a different way.
This cohort uses social media more like a search engine: 58% of U.K. Gen Z consumers say they use social media to research new products and services, compared to just 41% of UK millennials and 35% of UK consumers of all age groups. Brands should identify search trends and leverage these trends in their content.
Gen Z are also much more likely to trust topical experts on social media because of their experience and expertise in a topic. Often, these experts have professional qualifications in their field. Forty-two percent of U.K. Gen Z agree that “I often turn to topical experts on social media to inform me on products or services I’m thinking of buying”, and they’re more likely to be influenced by these experts than by influencers. Brands can harness this by partnering with topical experts and prioritizing relevance over reach to foster authenticity, brand trust and engagement.
What should brands do to successfully connect with Gen Z consumers?
To truly connect with Gen Z, brands must also go beyond social media and fully understand Gen Z’s perspective. Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with smartphones, which makes them more digitally savvy than any other group. As such, they have high expectations of site experiences, valuing features such as reviews and live chat. Reviews are particularly important for cautious Gen Z shoppers: 62% of Gen Z check customer ratings and reviews in the “inspiration” phase of their buying journey.
Gen Z prefer brands that align with their values. Our survey of U.K. consumers found that equality, courtesy, and success, were the three highest ranking values (out of 93) for Gen Z.
CMOs should identify the most relevant values to connect with their brand, and audit their current core brand values to see how well they may (or may not) align with Gen Z. Brands can’t ignore Gen Z’s unique preferences – their future success depends on it.