Marketing strategy for Generation Z: Purple Cow!
Hello dear reader! How did you find this article? When content is thrown at your face by millions of people around the world, how did I get your attention?
Let me introduce you to a Purple Cow: a marketing concept created by Seth Godin for creation of remarkable products. Yes, that is what I used to get your attention! When most people are advertising ‘their’ products to increase sales, you will be reading ‘our’ content that will be produced through the combination of your and my imaginations. Let’s get started: I can’t bore you anymore!
Table of Contents:
Introduction.
Old marketing strategies.
Purple Cow: remarkable products!
You sell the ‘experience’!
How to communicate with Generation Z?
Conclusion
Introduction:
Each of us has to make hundreds of choices every day: we choose what we eat and drink, how we commute to our workplace and back home, how we communicate with our friends. Each choice has its own sub choices: thousands of food brands, various transportation options, several communication devices and websites.
Do you think you make your choices? The first answer that comes to mind is clear: yes, I am free to make all the decisions in my life. However, what makes you eat products of your loved brand for the breakfast, or how do you decide what to wear for the dinner party? Yes, you got it by this point: most of our actions are results of marketing campaigns that have been around for hundreds of years.
However, the times have changed, and old marketing strategies do not work when there is a plethora of information around. It is getting harder and harder to get the attention of people, especially of Generation Z. The question that entrepreneurs and marketing department ask is this: how can we differentiate our products? To understand new strategies of marketing, let’s check out the old marketing strategies that have been around for ages!
Old Marketing Strategies:
Companies have been advertising their product for centuries. They have been using billboard advertising, POP advertising, newspaper and TV ads, and many more advertising techniques to sell their products. The main goal of a marketing department was to capture your attention by placing as many ads as possible around you. Most of the marketing activity was done by the marketing departments which were under the pressure of corporate management. If the product did not sell well, it would be the marketing department’s fault.
The advance of technology in the last 3 decades led to the creation of new types of marketing: digital marketing was created to target technology users. Social media marketing became another invention after Facebook was founded: people using social media had to be targeted through social media sites/apps and social media icons. Last decade witnessed the invention of another type of marketing — influencer marketing.
Increasing social media addiction of people helped marketing teams reach a larger audience. There was only one problem: every company decided to use new marketing tools to get to their target customers. Every marketing channel became so densely populated that the importance of marketing campaign became declined.
Now, how can companies attract their audience, if traditional marketing researches and marketing plans don’t work in the age of technology? Maybe it is time to change the marketing culture, not only marketing tools. It is time to make products market themselves, or companies will lose market of Generation Z!
Purple Cow: remarkable products!
Companies have considered advertising to be an essential part of the business for a long time. The basic concept was revolving around having an average product with good advertising. Let me remind you one thing: times have changed! You can have good profits with average products for a short period of time, but your company will be the loser in the long run. Therefore, it is time to prepare ‘remarkable’ products for remarkable marketing to Gen Z.
Concept of Purple Cow revolves around the idea of an attractive product. Consider what happens when you see a simple cow? You are interested for several minutes, and you interest fades with time. What if you see a Purple Cow: Purple Cow will attract you for a long time until you get habituated to Purple Cows. As I mentioned in my previous article, companies need to understand their products and focus on value. Therefore, it is essential for entrepreneurs and companies to focus on the creation of remarkable products and brands that can be the base of marketing to Generation Z. How can companies develop a good marketing strategy or marketing mix for that? Below we will be going through new marketing strategies that should be utilized in the new age of technology.
1. Make an authentic product:
Generation Z a special generation: it has grown on self-growth and self-confidence books. Therefore, every member of this generation likes being authentic. Companies should focus on preparing products that will be special and attractive: those products will be the new marketing! How can you do that? Restaurants should focus on tailored service to every customer; hotels should prepare the customized interior design and authentic customer service; companies need to prepare products that fulfil the wishes of customers.
2. Do not let corporate management ‘sell’ the product, market the product:
This solution is a bit tricky: company management is doing its job to sell as many company products as possible, while the main goal should be marketing the products correctly for attracting customers. The marketing strategy should focus on designing attractive products that can create a euphoric effect in the customers: the company should not spend millions of dollars on hiring marketing companies to advertise the product but spend more money on designers, engineers, artists and other people that can add value to the product. Do not just sell the product, sell value!
3. Do not sell an obsolete product to new customers — understand when it is time to leave the current product:
Companies usually do not understand the concept of sunk cost: once the investment is done, you should not be emotionally attached to it. If your product does not sell well after millions of dollars are spent on the product, it is time to leave the product in the past. Likewise, do not try to sell obsolete products to Gen Z, even if you are in a loss because of low sales. Rather than spending huge funds on marketing activities, give that money to designers and innovators of the company to create a new product!
4. Find your niche market:
Generation Z encompasses much more diversity than prior generations, thus, you should not try to address every member of this generation. Find your target customer group and focus on creating remarkable and attractive products for them. This niche market can play a role of idea disseminator for your product: people who like your products will spread your fame to other niche markets. Let the product talk for itself!
5. Focus on sustainability:
Generation Z likes sustainable products that tell true stories. Thus, presenting sustainable products to Gen Z will make your brand more trustable. You should market your sustainable development goals to your audience: show them what you do for sustainable living! However, do not lie to your audience: if you do not have a strategy for sustainability, do not try to show yourself as a sustainable company. Generation Z respects brands that tell the truth and hates the brands that lie: do not risk your brand reputation by providing false information about sustainable development goals!
You sell the ‘experience’!
1. Sell the experience: scarcity, novelty, and exoticism:
Well, I told you how Generation Z likes authenticity: one of the Generation Z characteristics is their affinity of ‘remarkable’ experience. Your product — whether it is a stay in a hotel, automobile, or iPhone 12, should encompass great experiences for Gen Z population. Generation Z age range is from 25 to 10: these are people who like sharing their everyday experience with their friends. Therefore, that experience should be exotic and novel, so that their friends and Generation Z will like it. How can companies do that: restaurant can offer customized food and interior design; the hotel can integrate local cultural food and experience with its modern and authentic interior design; a chocolate brand can sell a limited number of its remarkable chocolate bars in limited locations. Do you get the idea? Make Generation Z customers feel special when buying your service or product.
Question is whether it is marketing or not? Yes, it is the new marketing — products do their marketing by themselves! Companies spend money on the innovation of the product, not on the marketing of futile products.
2. Market Instagramable product/experience:
Instagram is probably the most crucial social media application for most people’ lives. Whether you use the Instagram site or the Instagram app, you spend some time talking to your friends and sharing your experience. Instagram helped many Instagram influencers become famous: influencer marketing was created mostly as a result of the introduction of Instagram. Therefore, your products/service should be authentic and Instagramable: your customers can play the role of brand ambassadors. Attract Generation Z by having your own Instagram account and posting about exotic/attractive products: do not forget Instagram captions. The Instagram caption is the second source of an impression after Instagram photos, thus, prepare interesting Instagram captions! Show Gen Z that they can have a remarkable experience when choosing you. This needs to be part of your marketing plan!
How to communicate with Generation Z?
After a thorough analysis of Purple Cow strategy for marketing, it is time to define new marketing channels for communication with members of Generation Z. Though some companies use these channels already, most businesses can not adapt to the changes brought by the era of Generation Z. Let’s discover some new marketing strategies and marketing channels companies and entrepreneurs can use to reach the members of Gen Z.
1. Social media is the king:
If you would like to hunt your prey where would you go? Would you stay in your own house and wait for your prey to come? Surely the answer is no: you need to go to the habitat of your prey to get it. Likewise, businesses need to follow their customers and target audience. Social media is the right habitat to go for reaching Generation Z. Therefore, companies need to devise social media marketing strategies: find appropriate social media sites and social media apps; prepare personalized communication tactics; collaborate with authorized members of social media sites —social media influencers.
Social media influencers will play an important role in the social media marketing strategy of a brand: the company needs social media influencers and social media icons to be their ambassadors in communication with Generation Z. Gen Z community would be more enthusiastic communicating with members of their community — thus, companies need to use influencer marketing in their communication.
2. Communicate the values of your company:
As we discussed before, members of Generation Z are savvy at understanding the lies told by companies. Therefore, communicate your values through various channels. Show that your company cares for what your customers care: whether it is sustainability, climate change, poverty, racism, or sexism, companies need to have firm stands that they will communicate to their audience. Yes, some portion of your audience will not appreciate or oppose your values, but the remaining part will feel committed to your brand.
3. Use ‘visual communication’:
Ok, the era of text-heavy email marketing is finished: you can’t communicate with your customers unless they read your message. As we discussed before: you need to adapt to the rules set by your customers. As most members of Gen Z are brought up in the era of high-quality visuals, you need to have high-quality visuals. People dislike reading text messages, while visuals on Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter are always interesting for most people. Therefore, change your company strategy: use visuals in your communications!
4. Concrete Social media website recommendations:
Let us stop for a moment and think about the trending platforms of our days: Instagram (‘Mr Everyone is here’), Facebook (dying star), Twitter (middle guy), YouTube (‘Mr I am here all the time’) and TikTok (rising star). You need to engage in all these platforms. Start your day by posting a story on Instagram; during your lunchtime answer to some tweets and post some funny video on TikTok; in the late afternoon write some content about your business on Facebook; finish your day by recording a valuable video on YouTube.
What I want you to understand is that branding through social media websites is the way for most companies to grow and innovate in the era of Gen Z. Social media websites can help companies in two ways: firstly, companies can have a conversation with their audience; secondly, companies can use the inputs from conversations to innovate their products. Therefore, be on social media, if you want to capture the attention of members of Gen Z.
Conclusion:
If you reached this far, it means you learned the new model of marketing for dealing with Generation Z. Apple, Tesla, Google and many more companies focused on delivering a remarkable product to their customer: thus, they have the majority of the market for themselves. Purple Cow strategy for marketing focuses on making the product do its own marketing. Our discussion ends here, and I hope you could derive one thing from our conversation: remarkable products combined with remarkable communication creates a great brand!