As a business leader running an online business, you know how important it is to get new customers. You want to appeal to as many customers as possible, of all ages and all incomes. Of course, you know how important it is to understand your ideal customers and what niche they fit into. But as your business grows and your products start trending on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, you want to break into even more markets. And recently, you’ve been thinking of attracting one of the most challenging segments of the US population: Generation Z.
They’re like millennials in lots of ways, with a passion for social media and progressive political values, but they’re different, too. They’re more resistant to traditional marketing strategies, and their sensibilities are not entirely relatable. Luckily, here are some guaranteed strategies you can use to get more Gen Z customers.
Make your site mobile friendly
As an ecommerce leader, you understand the importance of web design. There’s no brick-and-mortar store where you conduct your business; everything is online, and everything has to look beautiful and impressive. You’ve hired the best photographers to take pictures of your products, and you’ve made them the focus of your website. You understand the importance of a minimalist design that makes you look professional.
But if you want to attract Gen Zers, you have to go the extra mile and make your site mobile-friendly. Gen Zers spend more than six hours a day on their phones, which means that they’re going to find you on a small screen instead of a big one. You may even want to go mobile-first–which means that your site is designed specifically for mobile and adapts to larger screens. This will eventually impact your SEO, too. Smart Insights explains:
“Currently, Google uses your desktop content to rank your website on both desktop and mobile. Whilst you may benefit from having a faster site on mobile and of course, having a mobile-friendly site, your rankings are still predominantly based on your desktop content. The mobile-first index is going to flip this on its head. With the increase in the number of people accessing the web via a mobile device (overtaking desktop for the first time), Google has decided it makes more sense to base your rankings off your mobile content.”
Whatever you choose to do, it’s a good idea to talk to a UX designer or research your analytics to find out how much time your customers are spending on phones versus computers.
Provide reviews and lots of information
As mentioned earlier, Gen Zers are resistant to usual marketing strategies. They don’t want to watch your YouTube video that’s a general advertisement for your products. They’d much rather watch a video about how your shoes are made ethically, or run into an endorsement from an influencer on Instagram. This generation has grown up with media, with phones and tablets in their hands; they know when information from a company is genuine and when it is isn’t.
Gen Zers, because of their constant use of emojis and bitmojis and Snapchat filters, aren’t always taken seriously by marketers. But this is a mistake. They’re a serious bunch when it comes to the products they buy. They’ll spend a lot of time researching your product–and if you don’t have enough information on it and how it’ll best serve their needs, they won’t take you or your products seriously. Even though their average attention span is eight seconds, they’ll take the time to learn about your business.
So post as many reviews as you can of your products. Provide information about all of their features, and provide several pictures at different angles. If you can get a review from an influencer, it’s even better.
Engage on social media
It’s no surprise, of course, that Gen Zers spend a lot of time on social media. It’s an entire aspect of their lives, checking Snapchats from friends and catching up with their favorite celebrities on social media. 88 percent of students used Instagram and Snapchat in 2017. So if you want to connect with them, post about your products on social media. All the time. And interact with them, opening up dialogues and asking questions.
To learn more about how to engage with this generation, check out this article.
As you can see, connecting with Gen Z customers is about understanding where they spend their time, and how they think about the products they’re going to buy. What other strategies do you use to connect with potential customers, and how do you think this could affect your relationship with Gen Z customers?