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The Future Generation Z is growing up fast; chances are they’re part of your clientele already, so make sure your business is up to speed when it comes to serving the next generation. Nadine Dilong explains.
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s a business owner, it won’t come as a surprise to you if I tell you it’s important to know who your clients are. And by that I don’t just mean logging down their names and medical history, but I mean your client base as a whole, in other words, their demographics. Depending on your services and style of business, chances are the vast majority of your clients are Millennials (born between 1980-1994) or Gen X (born between 1965-1979). Your marketing strategies should ideally target those groups, but what about Generation Z? Generation Z-ers are born between 1995 and 2009, making the oldest among them 23 years of age. While this may sound very young – arguably too young to consider – dismissing this group from your target market could be a major mistake. According to Forbes, Gen Z will account for a whopping 40% of all consumers by 2020, so if you plan to stay in business beyond the current decade, better start thinking the way young folks do. In a nutshell, Gen Z is the digital generation; they are the first ones not to know what life without the internet and smartphones was like. In fact, 63% of 12 | SPA+CLINIC
Having grown up with the internet and smartphones, Gen Z-ers are digital experts.
them received their first mobile phone at the age of six, according to a study by Growth Tank that was presented at this year’s Naturally Good Expo. Gen Z-ers are connected over 10 hours a day and self-identify as digital addicts. They’re multicultural, educated (half of them will have a University degree), and have the shortest attention span ever counting only eight seconds. But what’s really important for spas, salons, and clinics, is to know that Generation Z is extremely savvy. They’ve grown up with Siri and Google answering literally all of their questions, self-educating and striving to make the world a better place. They’re open-minded and flexible, ready to move house up to an estimated 15 times in their lifetime while working 17 different jobs. They have the world at their fingertips, so in order to convert them into a customer, you need to stand out from the crowd. While Millenials tend to be brand-obsessed, Gen Z-ers are service obsessed. They expect five-star customer service that is personalised and genuine; it’s not so much about the brand itself, but the brand experience. They also tend to research a product or service online before buying, and are heavily influenced by social media.
