Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Who defines marketing efforts today?

Last class we discussed about the relevance of Social Media and some of the most popular platforms out there.
I wanted today to talk not about SM but about whoever is behind those screens, the type of consumer he/she is, and how is affecting the businesses, and specially marketing efforts. 
Many business people, have opined that with the increased acceptance and convenience of online shopping and social media interaction, consumers will eventually cease to visit retail stores altogether and instead shift their shopping online, specifically through mobile devices and apps.
No generation will more contribute to this shift than Generation Z.  Roughly defined as anyone born in the mid- to late-1990’s, they are estimated to have an average allowance of $70 a month, which equates to an annual purchasing power of $44 billion. As they start to hit legal employment age, their influence will increase dramatically.
Generation Z, however, will likely have no brand loyalty.
They are reported to prefer and lean toward companies that produce goods and services that have real rather than perceived value, and they more readily rely on the opinions and recommendations of their peers when making a purchasing decision.
To take advantage of Generation Z’s inconstancy, and assure that you do not become a victim of it later, here are a few business strategies to consider.
1. Presence. Generation Z will be a completely social and mobile generation, relying on mobile devices almost entirely for content consumption, browsing and shopping, as well as social media for interacting with friends. For this reason, your strategy needs to prioritize mobile marketing and social media. 
2. Value. Creating value in your products, through better quality design and manufacturing, will elevate the reputation of your company, an important attribute to Generation Z. It will no longer be enough to create value through branding alone, as this generation will see through this and ultimately call you out.
3. Transparency. Generation Z will demand that companies be honest and transparent. With social media and peer reviews, companies will be unable to hide from negative comments or controversies. 
4. Tastes. These future consumers are unique in that they respect and value individuality while placing a great deal of importance on group acceptance. 
Embracing these new and unique tastes will help your company better connect with this generation. A good advise will be for your company to consider hiring and nurturing individuals from this generation as part of your marketing team (when they are old enough, of
5. Convenience. This generation will demand the convenience of browsing, shopping and receiving customer service through mobile and social-media channels, so your strategy, from marketing to operations to human-resource management, needs to consider this.
6. Privacy. Collecting and using data has been a hot and sensitive topic. While many companies collect and regularly use customer data to tailor shopping experiences, Generation Z will be much more tech savvy, understanding better than most how to control the data that they share. Businesses will need to respect privacy to a greater extent or risk losing customers to other companies who will.

It is clear that Generation Z is posing immense challenges and headaches to businesses. For companies that have the patience and the plan to deal with them, a huge market of consumers with growing purchase power and no brand loyalty are just waiting for a company to court them

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