Businesses get ready for Generation Z

Businesses get ready for Generation Z

Sit back and have a good look at your children, parents often make jokes that their kids know their way around a computer better than they do.

Keep this in mind, as today's kids are tomorrows consumers, the first tier of this Generation will be earning an independent income in 5 years. Generation Z, also referred to as the Digital Generation, have grown up with the internet, digital communication and social networks, it wasn't invented during their life time, they have never known a life without the 'digital revolution'.

Gen Z children were born after 1995, they can multitask, gather information quickly, make purchasing decisions faster, and the level of risk of buying online is perceived to be lower than Gen X & Y.

Gen Z will also be the influencers of Gen X and some Gen Y parents, the household filters to mainstream "spray" media campaigns, they are advertising savvy and very used to handling multiple communication streams concurrently, if marketers don't get smarter they will be "junked" and the bar is only going to get higher.

Research (Experian Consumer Research USA) shows that 89% of this group is active online, they have developed different communication styles to their parents, and ultimately, have experienced a radically different childhood to other Generations. This will result in them as adults having vastly different expectations of commerce, business and lifestyle to our own.

Research suggests for this Generation there will be an increase in online shopping and downloading, and they will expect quick solution marketing, which provides instant answers and results in faster purchasing. Generation Z will be much less tolerant of businesses that prefer to maintain traditional forms of communication and marketing, they will want to research and buy online, pay immediately and receive an instant response so they can move onto the next thing. This active group will be less interested in hybrid marketing - where an online presence merely enhances an offline business. They will engage with only businesses that 'get them' so businesses better be fully capable of servicing a customer without making them pick up the phone or jump in the car. If a business can't engage with them fully online, they will have already clicked back and bought from a business that can.

Social media is increasingly going to play a part in business to consumer relationships. Generation Z is far more interactive than any previous generation. Already marketers are aware of the power of referral marketing, this will only become more important. Generation Z will use blogs, forums and trusted online sources to research products and services. Passive streams of marketing such as magazines and TV will still be an avenue for information, but they will continue to shift to online. Whether through a PC or laptop or mobile phone, commerce will occur more readily with the features and rapid response functionality they demand.

To learn more on how to reach Generation Z contact femail@femail.com.au or girl@girl.com.au