7 Steps to Ensure a Top-Notch Customer Experience for Gen Z

Here’s some news for those that still associate Gen Zer’s with teenagers hanging out on Tik-Tok and criticizing Boomers for the climate crisis: Gen Z has grown up.

They have grown up so fast, in fact, that this young generation now has the purchasing ability adding up to $143 billion! And companies are rushing to get a piece of this huge pie.

Naturally, you need to be quick to adapt and cater to this growing customer demographic and ensure a stellar customer experience for Gen Z. In this guide, we’ll show you how you can do this with the help of 7 actionable tips.

About Gen Z Customers

But first, let’s get to know our young customers a bit better.

What are some of the defining features of Gen Z that make them a distinctive type of customer? This mind-map can give you a pretty good idea:

Image source: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/6-ways-to-shape-your-cx-for-gen-z

• Naturally, Gen Z is all about digitalization. They live in a tightly connected world, hang out online, and are very digital-savvy. This makes them receptive to quick online communication and accessible information.
• Gen Zer’s are also big on authenticity. They choose goods and services that possess unique qualities or swiftly solve a burning issue using modern approaches and technology.
• Zoomers are global citizens – at least 61% of Gen Zer’s say so. They resent unnecessary divisions, they love crossing borders – literally and figuratively – and their customer behavior is about freedom of choice and access to even the most “exotic” goods. Everything is at their fingertips.
• They value education. It means that Zoomers are not blind consumers: they try to choose wisely and opt for brands that have more than just goods to offer. It’s about vision, philosophy, and contribution.

These are just a few of many qualities we can safely ascribe to Zoomers, but they paint a unique picture of a demographic that craves novelty, value, and top quality in everything they get. Customer experience is no exception.

Top-Notch Customer Experience for Gen Z

Now let’s get down to business. How can you ensure a stellar customer experience for this young audience? These 7 tips will guide and give you all the answers you need.

1. Be Fast to Catch Gen Z Customers’ Attention

It’s no secret that people’s attention span shortens from generation to generation, and Gen Z falls under this tendency as well. In fact, an average Zoomer’s attention span is only 8 seconds, while Millennials can “boast” 12 seconds.

Why does it matter?

• Abandoned carts are a big issue. For instance, 98% of Zoomers are ready to abandon their cart if they don’t see their preferred way of delivery or encounter a technical problem with the website.
• Time spent on a brand’s website is shrinking. Zoomers tend to scroll through web pages quickly and they leave without hesitation if nothing has caught their eye.

What can you do to grab Gen Z’s attention and keep it, too?

• Explore their favourite platforms. Get on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat: post ads and develop your branded accounts for Zoomers to see your presence on relevant social media.
• Focus on the visual content of high quality. Ever heard of clip thinking? Zoomers are very drawn to visuals, and you should leverage that by providing young customers with eye-catching photo and video content.
• Make sure your web pages work seamlessly and are intuitive. 60% of Gen Zer’s will leave a website that is slow to load. A smooth-running web page with clear logic and redirection pathways will help you keep Zoomers surfing and scrolling.

2. Get Digital with your Gen Z Customer Experience

You cannot get around digitalization if you want to attract Gen Z customers.

Get on top of the new technology and integrate it into the customer experience.

• Introduce chatbots: they are a great asset when it comes to instant customer service, and Gen Z knows well how to communicate with AI. Introduce chatbots to your messenger CS channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.
• If you have the opportunity, add a voice recognition option to your bots. It will accelerate communication and pique your young customers’ interest – not so many CS chatbots are equipped with this feature.
• Use different channels to engage your Zoomer customers. 88% of Gen-Z prefer multi-channel communication with their favorite brands. Mobile apps, in-store shopping, phone orders with live agents, video chats with customer care staff, hosting informational webinars – you cannot overdo it here.

3. Personalization is Key for Gen Z

58% of Gen-Z are ready to purchase more expensive items if the brand is targeted at their individuality.

You know what we’re driving at, right?

Personalize customer experience for Gen Z to make them more likely to be drawn to your brand. To ace personalization, you don’t always need an elaborate marketing strategy. Start out with these simple tricks:

• Use surveys. There’s no better way to approach personalization than actually asking your Gen Z customers what they want.
• Target your content based on demographic criteria. For example, Gen Z is much more used to carousel ads than traditional advertising, while older generations might be less familiar with this ad format.
• Be creative with your content. Think outside the box – Zoomers appreciate it.
• Offer personalized rewards and incentives: discounts, coupons, and promo codes.

4. Provide Gen Z with a Unique Buying Experience

Think about this: 9 out of 10 Gen Z customers value experiences more than physical items when shopping.

Cater to their expectations by enhancing buying experiences.

• Make sure to provide quality delivery service. Zoomers are not very patient, remember?
• Build up a solid loyalty program. Issue discount cards, organize giveaways and client days – your loyal customers will acknowledge and value these gestures.
• Again, use technology. Augmented and virtual reality technology is what draws Gen Z more than anything else. A great example is Ikea’s virtual interior designer – a digital space where customers can create their own interior design on a virtual 3D platform. Some brands, like Amazon, go even further and install in-store VR kiosks where people can try on (digitally, of course) a dress or take a good look at a beauty product of their interest.

Image source: https://present.digital/ikea/

5. Interact with Gen Z Customers on Social Media

Social media is every Zoomer’s second home. And they expect brands to be present and available on social media platforms where they can genuinely interact with customers and hear their voices.

The best way to approach conquering social media as a brand catering to Gen Z is to take advantage of UGC – user-generated content. UGC includes pictures, videos, hashtag posts, and other types of content made by regular users for and/or in connection with your brand.

UGC is an excellent tool that boosts both your marketing success and customer experience for young audiences.

• Ask your Gen Z customers to take photos and/or create videos with your product and post them on social media.
• Start a unique branded hashtag that can make your brand-related content easily searchable.
• Share and repost UGC. Zoomers love being featured in promotional materials of their favorite brands.
• Post polls and quizzes. Ask your young customers which product design they prefer, or test their knowledge of your product line! Interactivity is a key factor for Gen Zer’s who love interacting with businesses and making contributions to their growth.
• Involve influencers. Partner with a trending influencer whose content is relevant to your brand. Influencers are Gen Z’s guides in the world of purchasing decisions – the way an influencer presents your brand can help you show your products in a new light and improve the customer experience for Zoomers.

6. Project Integrity and Solid Reputation

Now a huge part of customer experience for Gen Z – and any other demographic, really – is having their standards and expectations met. This might sound very trivial and obvious, but we can’t overstress the importance of this customer experience factor.

Consider two elements of brand integrity that especially concern Gen Z customers:

• Deliver on your promises to the customer. Make sure to post relevant, honest ads promoting your products, constantly seek to improve quality and organize a feedback channel where customers can address you with possible problems.
• Watch your ratings. Gen Z is much more attentive to reviews and ratings than older generations – they are an important source of trustworthiness and reliability of a brand. Do your best to get positive reviews and 5-star ratings – your Zoomer customers are likely to leave them more often than older buyers.

7. Show Gen Z Customers What You Brand Values Are

Last but not least – Gen Z customer experience is not only about quality goods and swift customer service. In fact, brand philosophy and values are extremely important for Zoomers when they come in contact with a brand.

68% of Gen Zer’s want to buy from companies that have a social responsibility and stand for a major social cause. For example, 77% underline that they prefer to stick with a brand that promotes gender equality.

Project that in what you do!

Try to opt for ethical practices: choosing cruelty-free, environmentally-friendly production, and sustainable goods is an excellent way to show you care. Gen is ready to pay more for products and services from companies that care about something more than just profits.

Besides, create ways for Gen Z customers to engage with your initiatives and contribute to these practices. You can organize social campaigns and events that attract young conscious consumers and encourage them to contribute to your cause.

It is a two-birds-with-one-stone scenario: you are providing an amazing customer experience and helping the world become a better place.

Take Comfort UK as a great case to learn from. This clothes care product brand takes sustainability very seriously and involves customers – especially young women – in their campaigns. Their 2019 Comfort Swap Shop organized together with the Elle and Cosmopolitan magazines, raises consumers’ awareness of the importance of recycling and allows people to buy unique second-hand clothing items in an improvised marketplace.

Such events provide a unique, memorable customer experience for Gen Zen’s who want more than a purchase – they want to make a positive difference. Let your brand be a channel through which such difference becomes possible.

Conclusion

Gen Z is the new, powerful customer demographic whose consumer habits are aligned with the digital reality they grew up in. When it comes to customer experience, they want to see innovation, convenience, quality, and value.

As a brand, you can feel like acing all these aspects is challenging – and you wouldn’t be wrong. You can choose to focus on the tips you find the most fitting for your niche and take baby steps in the right direction.

Remember – whatever tactics you decide to implement into your customer experience strategy with Gen Z, do it genuinely. Zoomers trust authenticity, openness, and true effort on the part of brands.

Author bio:

David Morneau is the co-founder and CEO of inBeat, a hybrid micro-influencer marketing SAAS/agency that helps brands scale their marketing efforts. He has helped over 200 DTC brands to date.