What makes brand loyalty so important for Gen Z and what are its benefits?

Gen Z makes up a large portion of the current and future client base, so, understandably, companies are worried about creating brand loyalty in this age.

Generation X (born in the 1960s and 1970s), Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s and known as millennials), and Generation Z (born in the 2000s) are the four key generations having spending power today (born from the millennium onwards).

Generation Z wields most of today's buying power. However, this generation has high standards. To win and keep the business of Gen Z customers, businesses must now earn the loyalty of their customers.

This is the first generation to have grown up with the ability to achieve almost anything. Some may even have only ever used their bank's smartphone app. Music, games, and communication are all examples where this is true. Who says investing and saving should be any different for men and women? Tony Mallam, CEO of Upnup, Africa's first passive micro-investing platform, inquires about this topic.

Gen Z, according to some, should be the exception rather than the norm. However, they do need a separate set of engagement criteria, which may be a little overdone. As a result, they process information at breakneck speeds since they have no memory of a period when WIFI and cellphones were widely available. Anything that moves more slowly will be ignored. Because they are impatient and want things right now, they are impatient with everything.

Gen Z and loyalty program

Businesses must offer an outstanding customer experience that starts even before a person becomes a client if they want to engage Generation Z and build long-term relationships with them.

Businesses need to think about how they can save time since Generation Z loves efficiency." Andrew Bourne, Zoho's regional manager for Africa, asks, "Is it convenient for customers to contact your company at any time, even if it's only through a chatbot? Can they connect and make purchases using mobile devices?"

Brands need to understand that Generation Z is aware of the environment around it. This generation was raised in a post-9/11 environment, and many of them have seen their parents struggle to make ends meet during the financial crisis. They care about the world around them and will be attracted to and devoted to businesses and brands that reflect it.

Because Gen Zers grew up with smartphones and social media, it's critical that they continue to use these tools to express themselves authentically. It is important for marketers to exploit their prospective consumers' mobility to engage with them one on one and collect data to understand more about them and use it to generate customer loyalty. Many companies have had tremendous success using Instagram and Snapchat to connect with this demographic via creative videos and images. It is possible for a business to cultivate long-lasting brand loyalty by enticing Gen Z to post about their brand experiences on social media.

There is no doubt that Generation Z is a critical demographic. According to statistics given by the Census Bureau and quoted by Brookings, they are swiftly approaching the majority demographic, particularly in the United States. Millennials and Gen Z make up a total of 166 million customers or more than half of the country's overall population.

Consider a customer loyalty program that encourages engagement across all of your channels when making your investment. As a result, client loyalty may be increased among Millennials and Generation Z. The most popular loyalty program among millennials and twenties, Starbucks Rewards, does not allow online ordering. Instead, you may place an order ahead of time, pay with a mobile device, and then get points in-store. This provides clients a reason to interact with the company both online and in person.

Brands need to examine their own company principles and objectives in order to attract this demographic. Customers that share the same beliefs as a company's basic principles will form a genuine link and be more likely to stick around, according to Marcy Campbell, PayPal's Vice President and General Manager of North America. Nevertheless, a brand's target audience may become hostile if it fails to live up to its own principles in the way it advertises.

It's important for businesses to keep in mind that today's generation appreciates privacy. Companies should build their digital advertising tactics on the data that potential consumers freely submit if they want to respect boundaries and become a trusted brand in the eyes of this current generation.

For companies to successfully sell and cultivate long-term relationships, it is vital to secure the prospect or customer's permission before using first-party data, such as web pages seen and time spent on site, as well as purchase history and other information accessible via CRM systems.

One of the largest trends in recent years has been personalized consumer experiences, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Millennials and Gen Zers are searching for more customized and meaningful experiences when they contact a company. Sixty-eight percent of Millennials and Gen Zers want to have shops propose products based on their previous purchases, Salesforce's Shopper-First Retailing survey found Despite the fact that just 6% of online buyers click on product suggestions, they account for 37% of all money generated through personalization.

The payment experience offers an unexplored potential for marketers to connect and establish relationships with their younger customers.

Paying attention to "rewards," "Storage cash," "Honey offers," and other purchasing features may help companies discover "potentially lost consumers," Campbell explains. Personalization and geotargeting may also help companies talk directly to their customers to stand out in a sea of marketing, and these technologies can assist with that. As Teljoy CEO Jonathan Hurvitz puts it: "What the subscription model is truly providing to individuals is access." New markets are opening up and the experience economy is booming as a result. Generation Z is largely responsible for this, with their emphasis on experiences rather than material possessions.

According to Hurvitz, "These people prefer to spend their time and money experiencing things - from attending events to participating in athletic activities or exploring a range of cultural activities.

Retaining consumers by paying them for repeat purchases is the fundamental goal of a loyalty program. A person shows loyalty when they repeatedly shop at a store or non-store they know, like, and trust, as stated by Khan & Khan. In other words, a customer loyalty program is a strategy used to keep consumers coming back to a business and to help them develop buying habits that will keep them coming back for more.

Many research has examined the link between customer loyalty programs and long-term customer retention. The loyalty program of a Dutch financial services business was shown to account for 10% of the overall variance in customer retention and customer share, according to European research.

83 percent of consumers in recent research by Rare Consulting said that loyalty programs increase their likelihood of doing business with a certain company.

Loyalty programs for existing consumers are quite effective in keeping them coming back. Customer loyalty programs are essential in today's industry since clients are ready to transfer service providers or suppliers if they encounter any difficulties.

As soon as a customer joins a loyalty program, the company's database is populated with their personal information. Omnichannel, offline, and e-commerce segmentation may be used to identify the best clients and adapt their products to them. Data from loyalty programs may be used to improve inventory management, pricing, and promotional strategies since they provide a comprehensive picture of consumer behavior, purchasing patterns, and preferences. Aside from measuring the success of special promotions, this data may also be used to track how many purchases are made and how many channels are used.