How To Effectively Market to Generation Z

Written By: Lauren Pflug, Senior Content Strategist, Blueprint Evolution

In line with the significance of human-centered/people-first business values, we want to also put emphasis on the people who interact with your brand from the outside. Getting your team on board with living your organization’s core values is a great accomplishment.

Effectively marketing these values to your consumers and showcasing your business as an appealing brand is an equally important mission.

As mentioned in the previous blog, the business and marketing worlds are changing. Anyone who may be impacted by your organization is undoubtedly interested in your values and what you stand for.

According to Business Wire, 63% of consumers want to support brands that align with their own personal values. People will go out of their way to avoid brands that don’t follow their personal beliefs.

Business Wire further states that 62% of global consumers want companies to take a stand on social, cultural, environmental, and political issues.

65% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by the values and actions of a company’s leaders, and 65% of consumers want to support companies that treat their employees well.

Knowing your consumers is the first step in successfully marketing to them, and Gen-Z makes up a large portion of the consumers in every industry. It won’t be long before they make up the majority of the market.

This Generation stands proudly in their strong values and high standards. “Gen-Z is well-known for holding strong convictions and high ethical standards, and gaining their trust is essential” (Forbes). Additionally, Forbes states that if Gen-Z can obviously tell that marketing has been specifically tailored to them, it could actually backfire!

Generation-Z is very keen on authenticity. There has been a shift; people are less interested in perfectly-curated brands and content, and more drawn towards a raw and authentic feel. We are craving relatability. Therefore, you should absolutely be marketing to Gen-Z authentically.

While you do want to strategically market to them, it is important to stay true to your own values in doing so, and doing so in a way that is relatable to them. You want to maintain your brand’s authenticity and transparency while not being condescending, or seeming like you’re pandering to this generation. If you are able to manage and maintain these aspects in your marketing, it will be well-received.

If your company is not yet marketing towards Gen-Z, the time is now to make that pivot. Forbes Coaches Council lists 9 ways you can appeal to Gen-Z without obviously appearing to do so:

Communicate in an authentic, familiar way – you want your brand to feel relevant, but not forced.
Use Gen-Z to market to their peers – Keep a pulse on their culture and pay attention to trends, which will be hot one week and forgotten the next; stay on top of this!
Appeal to what matters most to them – Speak to their values (mental health and work-life balance are the BIG ones– this generation would rather not work than work somewhere/for someone they do not like).
Live values of purpose, lived experience, and equity – “We must remember that this is the generation that grew up with the climate crisis, racial injustice, and school shootings as mainstream issues and part of their everyday lives. They care deeply about purpose, lived experience, and equity. The companies living those values are the ones that will market themselves most organically to Gen-Z. If you can’t walk that walk, Gen-Z will walk the other way (Randi Braun, Something Major).”
Make your business unique in the value it adds – Make sure you are highlighting the value your brand brings to the world, lead with your purpose; Gen-Z will let you know if you’re doing something wrong.
Incorporate visual platforms into your strategies – Short form content is what they like and is the most digestible, take advantage of TikTok and Instagram Reels, use the trends and music to your advantage.
Create entertaining, interactive content – This generation likes to engage with content; use polls, ask questions, indulge in creativity. Present them with opportunities to be heard.
Partner with Gen-Z in a co-creative manner – Hire them and listen to them! Include them in your brand to make an actual difference in the future of the company, have real conversations.
Ask them to participate in your marketing – Interact with them, get their feedback, both good and bad, and share it. Be real. Authenticity and transparency are your best friends.

Although some people are struggling to accept it, Gen-Z is here to make waves. It is wise to embrace them (as both employees and consumers), listen to what they have to say, and value their perspectives.

We are in the digital era, and they are the digital generation… They know what they’re talking about.

Adopting Gen-Z’s standards and values is exactly what you want for your brand. Remember, they will soon make up most of your market! If you aren’t currently marketing to appeal to Gen-Z, you are resisting an inevitable change, and it’s time to reassess.

Of course there are other generations included in the consumer market that are impacted by your business values. What the consumer market has in common is, they are watching. So, how do you want them to see you, and how do you get them to see you? Effectively marketing your core values is just as important as ingraining them into daily operations. Gallup reports that this is achieved through two main strategies:

Sharing real human stories
Staying accountable

Real, human stories are the best evidence of your lived values and will show your consumers that your company culture really is the foundation of why your brand exists (as it should be). When you can demonstrate that your brand holds value in things other than monetary gain, you will attract the consumer base you want, as well as the talent you want.

Accountability will show your consumer that your brand is transparent and has a sense of self-awareness. As an entire culture, we have been walking away from the perfect, squeaky-clean, curated branding we’ve been used to and moving closer towards transparency and authenticity.

It is not just Gen-Z who resonates with this. If your organization can take accountability in a way that feels human, people will always respect that and gravitate towards it.

Gallup illustrates a perfect example where both accountability and real human stories fused together for Southwest Airlines. Southwest is known for being a pioneer of values and organizational culture. The company supports their core values with appreciation, recognition, and celebration; three things that Blueprint Evolution will always highlight. All employees really want is balance in their lives (Work Life Balance), and to be valued for their hard work (Quiet Quitting). Gallup continues by stating that Southwest is a people-first organization (every organization should be undergoing this transition).

Southwest has a “50-year history of protecting the jobs of their employees . The CEO, Gary Kelly, stopped taking a salary, and other top executives took 20% pay cuts when the recent pandemic devastated their industry” (Gallup). This is a real, human story that perfectly demonstrates accountability as one of Southwest Airlines’ core values.

This is exactly how you market your organization’s values. When this is the type of culture you represent, consumers will flock to you, and employees will want to work for you. The human-centered/people-first approach is not just the right thing to do. It will indisputably boost your business from every angle.

Your consumers are curious about your values.

People are interested in companies that are living their personal values. They’re interested in the brands that have cultivated an inclusive organizational culture.

If you have already been operating this way, know that marketing this way holds just as much weight. It’s not too late to be the brand that is known for its values and inclusivity. Share your stories, show the human aspect. Consumers are hungry for authentic brands that lead with purpose. Humans are ready and waiting to support the brands that know their greatest asset is valuing people– both inside and outside of their organization.

Sources:

Davies, L. (2018). Majority of Consumers Buying From Companies That Take A Stand on Issues They Care About and Ditching Those That Don’t, Accenture Study Finds. Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181205005061/en/Majority-Consumers-Buying-Companies-Stand-Issues-Care
Forbes Expert Panel. (2022). How To Appeal To Gen-Z Without Obviously ‘Marketing To Gen-Z’. Forbes Leadership.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/08/24/how-to-appeal-to-gen-z-without-obviously-marketing-to-gen-z/?

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