If you think you’re having problems selling to Millennials right now, just wait until the purchasing power shifts to Gen Z. Oh wait, it already has. 2019 is the year that Gen Z becomes the largest global generation group, slipping past Millennials. Gen Z is now nearly a third of the world’s population — 7.7 Billion people have been born since 2001.
According to Bloomberg research, some 61 million people in the U.S. are between the ages of 7 and 22. This Gen Z group of your future customers have never known a non-digital world, while some of their Millennial brothers and sisters had to become “digital immigrants” (shiver). According to Campus Commandos, a marketing firm targeting college students through mobile phone ads, email, and blog content, neither Millennials nor Gen Z’ers use e-mail or Facebook very much, preferring Instagram and YouTube instead. They’re into thrift-shopping and internet influencers, and since they don’t watch traditional TV, they sure don’t watch any ads there. “They prefer word-of-mouth (preferably through meme or post or video) when it comes to enlightenment about what to buy,” says Adam Grant, 33, the CEO of Campus Commandos. “What’s better than learning about a product or service than from your friend?” Do you have a youngish friend to help you sell to your customers and prospects? If not, you might want to get into the recruiting mode for one.
"The key factor that differentiated these two groups, other than their age, was an element of self-awareness versus self-centeredness," according to a study done by Marcie Merriman, an executive director at Ernst & Young LLP. Millennials are "more focused on what is in it for them. They also look to others, such as the companies they did business with, for solutions, whereas the younger people naturally sought to create their own solutions." If you think you’re moving fast enough to keep up with your Millennial clients, you’ll need to double-time it as you move on to selling to Gen Z. No generational group has seen more changes —social, economic, political, or technological disruptions than these young people. “Disruptions” may just sound like modern marketing-speak, but the E&Y report is worth a read when considering tomorrow’s new clients. It begs the question, “what if the next big disruptor is not a what, but a who?”
As you shift your marketing efforts into the digital space, you probably know that is a good news/ bad news situation. While the good news is you can gain efficiencies online, you need to be able to handle the complexities of digital marketing at the same time. "Each generation comes with a unique set of behaviors and presents a unique set of challenges for those looking to reach them," according to a report by research firm Nielsen. "Gen Z are bombarded with messages and are a generation that can quickly detect whether or not something is relevant to them."
A survey of 11,000 U.S. adults by Bloomberg News and Morning Consult shows the generation is more willing than its predecessor to put its money where its values are. “If they’re paying money to corporations, they have to align with what they believe in,” says Corey Seemiller, an associate professor at Wright State University who became a lecturer on Gen Z after a student asked to skip a community-service requirement because she was running her own nonprofit.
Then there’s the case of Patagonia, the self-proclaimed “Activist Company,” which looks at the social value alignment concept from the supplier’s perspective. You may have heard that Patagonia has chosen to sell only to corporate customers that more closely align with their values, choosing to selectively NOT sell the well-recognized Patagonia Nano Puff Vests to be co-branded and used as the “power vest” of the “bros” on Wall Street. In a published statement, Patagonia said, “Our corporate sales program manages Patagonia’s sales to other companies, non-profits, and other organizations. We recently shifted the focus of this program to increase the number of Certified B Corporations, 1% For The Planet members and other mission-driven companies that prioritize the planet. This shift does not affect current customers in our corporate sales program.”
One distributor shared a rejection letter from a corporate Patagonia reseller with Buzzfeed News: “Patagonia has nothing against your client or the finance industry, it’s just not an area they are currently marketing through our co-brand division. While they have co-branded here in the past, the brand is really focused right now on only co-branding with a small collection of like-minded and brand-aligned areas; outdoor sports that are relevant to the gear we design, regenerative organic farming, and environmental activism. Patagonia is reluctant to co-brand with oil, drilling, dam construction, etc. companies that they view to be ecologically damaging” and, while orders are approved on a case-by-case basis, this includes “financial institutions.”
It was my experience both as an end-user, and in my days with the Quality Certification Alliance, that with a few exceptions, price led the selling discussions and social conscience brought up the rear, if corporate social responsibility was discussed at all. I don’t think it will be a bad thing at all that as the buyers continue to get younger we find ourselves dragged into responsible sourcing discussions, even if it is kicking and screaming. Doing the right thing, even if your hand is forced, is still doing the right thing. I’m all in on that one.
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. You can find him volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Connect with Jeff on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.