Conversational Marketing and Gen Z

TL;DR 

A fun-sized summary of this article

• You want Gen Z’s attention, and we want yours. Opening up a channel for mutual engagement may just be the key to building loyalty in this demo of consumers.

• But, uh, Gen Z is a bit high-maintenance - we want to be able to reach brands 24/7, and expect them to provide the resources and support channels to do so. 

• Automation tools and chatbots help brands keep up with the demands of consumers. Brands should prioritize creating seamless interactions that meet our consumer needs.

It should be no surprise that this generation of certified yappers want to talk your ear off. In 2024, Gen Z expects brands to facilitate two-way conversations that make space for our feedback in real-time. Conversational marketing strategizes to meet those needs by allowing brands to open up new channels for engagement - and with that, purchases. 

Real-Time Engagement

Here's the good news: since this generation is all but surgically attached to our phones, digital window shopping can happen at any time of the day. 

Here’s  the bad news: Because we are on our phones 24/7, we kind of expect you to be too. Meaning, brands need the infrastructure to support personalized communication at all hours. You know, just be available all the time without exception; perfectly reasonable, no? Well, it can be - with the use of automation tools. 

When consumers reach out to companies, we want to keep interactions snappy. Over 90% of consumers globally want immediate assistance; integrating AI can help you to deliver that round-the-clock support. The beast of instant gratification is difficult to sate, but these tools can help brands stay accessible - and approachable - at all hours. 

Functionality

So there’s another catch (sorry). Automation tools are essential to any good conversational marketing strategy; but poor design can drive away customers by the droves, especially when considering Gen Z’s high expectations for digital shopping experiences. We want functional automation and chatbot AI - not frustrating, broken conversation loops that waste our time. 

But how do you automate, not irritate?

Quite a few companies make the mistake of jumping on board with automation without putting in the work to make it practical for their customers to use. Chat AI is only as valuable as it is functional - and unfortunately, just having it there isn’t enough. Automation can be powerful, but if it frustrates, it fails. 

Personalization

Tailored experiences are an incredibly powerful way to reach Gen Z consumers, whose foremost desire is personalization. I mean, the internet (our home territory) is an endless, convoluted tangle of billboards posing as organic content, a never-ending feed to weed through in search of finding what we acutally want. So yeah - we appreciate when brands make it easy for us. 

87% of young consumers want personalization, and conversational commerce is the perfect channel to cultivate it. Every conversation - whether facilitated by a bot or a human - adds to the understanding of consumer preferences. And brands can utilize this data to create customized experiences that serve individual preferences. 

Take Away

Fundamentally, one of the biggest driving points of conversational marketing is the desire to be known;  the smart strategy for brands is to interpret this reciprocally. Gen Z wants to be known -  and seen -  as we are by brands; conversely, we also want to get to know you. Opening up channels that facilitate this relationship is what, in the long run, builds loyalty, along with a healthy ecosystem of feedback.