Rules of Engagement: Gen Z and Millennial Respondents
Millennials have now surpassed Generation X to become the largest generation in the American workforce, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. But Generation Z loosely defined as those 20 and younger, is close behind as they are starting to spend their own money and are coming into their own when it comes to consumer purchasing habits.
Marketers and researchers need compelling ways to engage a decidedly digital population that expects the ease of technology to reach every aspect of their lives. This fast-paced, technology driven audience needs to be approached in ways that fill their need for instant gratification.
So how do we engage these fickle generations that are having/are poised to have a significant impact on purchasing decisions and consumption? Companies need their input in order to create sound business decisions for the future. By meeting them on their own technology-saturated turf which, according to a recent article in Wired Magazine, needs “to provide the most usable, self-guided, hiccup-free, efficient user experiences in history.”
They also demand choices that fit their lifestyle and individual needs. We were at The Quirk’s Event earlier this week, examining this phenomenon from a market researcher’s standpoint. Industry consultant Kristin Luck joined our Jonathan Price on stage to dig deep into how to capture these generational audiences from beginning to end of the research process. As they said these generations simply “expect technology to simply work–so you’d better make sure that it does.”
Engagement: “What’s in it for me?”
Research technology companies have to avoid dropout by making the interface for research itself engaging – such as social media and video interfaces for qualitative research and dynamic questions for qualitative outreach. (And let’s not forget mobile – the technology that is nearest and dearest to the hearts of today’s consumers.) Initial engagement needs to address the “what’s in it for me” question or we can lose these demanding respondents from the outset, and this requires rewards and incentives that are technology-based, instant and customizable.
The Quirk’s Event session covered a number of real-world case studies of companies that have used new techniques and technologies to engage Millennials and Gen Z in market research. Check our case studies page for some of those insights! Researchers have been able to increase response rates significantly through the use of incentives that resonate.