Throw your sales funnel out the window. The traditional sales funnel is broken.
Gen Z in particular ? but also shifts in consumer behaviour as a whole in a post-COVID world ? are reshaping the way brands interact with their audiences, ushering in a new era of marketing strategies.
The era of the traditional consumer funnel, while still relied on heavily by traditional marketing agencies and hack companies trying to sell heavily recycled sales-generating ?systems?, has come to an end. Today?s consumers have unique priorities, influences, and technological immersion, and no longer make purchases in a linear way as we once thought. Instead, conversions happen interconnectedly within a matrix or as part of a journey, and those purchases occur at any step along the way.
The role of social media in consumer decision-making
Gen Z and Millennial generations live in a world where social media serves not just as a marketplace but also as their entertainment hub, social sphere, learning platform, and news outlet. For them, the path to purchase is a blend of influences and mindsets, making the traditional funnel obsolete.
To grasp the dynamics of this shift, Archrival (a US-based youth culture agency) conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research focusing on Gen Z consumers aged 13-25 and their Millennial counterparts aged 26-40. Through surveys and focus groups, they uncovered a fundamental transformation in consumption patterns ? an endless loop of inspiration, research, engagement, and advocacy.
In an era of unprecedented content creation and consumption, brands face a daunting challenge: breaking through the cacophony of information.
According to insights from Archrival, a staggering 80% of Gen Zers acknowledge being bombarded with brands and advertisements, surpassing even the exposure levels of Millennials. Short-form video platforms like TikTok emerge as leading players in this landscape, offering both immense potential and unpredictability.
Amidst this deluge of content, consumers are surprisingly not overwhelmed. Instead, they seek to discern the gems amidst the clutter. Rather than disengaging entirely, they are on a quest to unearth valuable content and experiences amidst the noise.
This signals the need for a complete disruption of the mindset of both brands and marketers alike in terms of where and how consumers interact with, and purchase from, brands.
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How the new consumer journey works
This is not a journey with linear steps from discovery to conversion. Instead, it operates like a web or matrix, where each touchpoint ? or, element ? works together to impact consumers? decisions and preferences.
Element 1: Inspire
Inspiration, the first element of this new paradigm, is where consumers? constant stream of inspiration guides their navigation through the world.
Social media reigns supreme as the primary source of inspiration for fashion and beauty purchases, with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram leading the pack. This inundation of content presents a challenge for brands to cut through the noise. However, Gen Z consumers actively seek inspiration and discovery, making it crucial for brands to deliver relevant content at the right moments.
Influencers continue to play a significant role in shaping trends and driving inspiration. Social media influencers, in particular, hold sway over Gen Z?s inspiration, with over half of them crediting influencers for creating new trends. Celebrities like Hailey Bieber and her skincare brand Rhode, wield immense influence, effortlessly translating trends into tangible products and experiences.
Element 2: Research
The exploration element unveils how consumers delve deep into product details, conducting thorough research before making purchasing decisions.
Again, social media serves not just as a source of inspiration but also as a search engine for product information. Brands must adapt by providing informative content, engaging with reviews, and offering a seamless online and offline experience.
Archrival?s research shows that 70% of Gen Zers and 69% of Millennials only trust a brand after they do their own research on it. And how do they carry out that research?
- In the comments section on social media
- Watching social media videos from influencers and user-generated content for reviews and how-tos about the brand/products
Element 3: Engage
Community has emerged as a cornerstone of the new consumer journey, with brands tasked with fostering a sense of belonging. Successful brands go beyond merely selling products; they build universes where consumers feel part of something larger than themselves.
By creating communities, brands can tap into Gen Z’s longing for connection and belonging to something greater.
This can involve inviting consumers to interact with the brand, through online or IRL events, inviting them to share their own content and experiences with the brand, or creating spaces that promote positive mental health, through Facebook Groups or authentic content from the people behind the brand, just to name a few examples.
Element 4: Avocate
While Gen Z stands out as one of the most knowledgeable generations, they paradoxically exhibit one of the lowest levels of commitment. To captivate this elusive demographic, brands must engage them consistently over time, establishing a diverse array of touchpoints for exploration beyond mere transactions. Successful brands understand that loyalty transcends the point of purchase, recognizing that the journey to first purchase, and then repeat transactions, extends far beyond the product itself.
Here?s where brands will need to turn their beliefs about brand loyalty on their heads: Unlike their Millennial counterparts, a significant portion of Gen Z individuals assert that loyalty doesn’t hinge solely on making purchases.
Rather, a considerable majority believe that loyalty involves simply sharing their positive experiences with friends, underscoring the importance of word-of-mouth promotion. This shift in perspective challenges brands to rethink their strategies and prioritize fostering genuine connections and advocacy among Gen Z consumers.
Loyalty, in this new paradigm, is not solely based on repeat purchases but on reciprocal relationships between brands and consumers. It?s more aligned with the idea of advocacy, not what we used to think of as brand loyalty.
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Gen Z values brand relationships that extend beyond transactions, seeking authenticity and engagement. User-generated content (UGC) plays a vital role in community building, allowing consumers to remain connected to the brand’s story.
Email marketing is integral to the element of loyalty ? it?s a reliable platform where brands can be sure their story and the benefits they offer to their customers is heard, whereas social media algorithms mean messages get missed in the sea of content on FYPs and Feeds.
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How brands can be successful in the post-sales funnel era of eCommerce
In essence, brands must embrace a holistic approach that encompasses the infinite loop of inspiration, research, engagement, and advocacy. Gen Z’s influence permeates every stage of the consumer journey, from inspiration to post-purchase reviews. By prioritizing connection, engagement, and authenticity, brands can thrive in this new era of consumer behaviour.
In the new consumer journey ? or better, matrix ? there’s a distinct absence of the start and end points we associated with the now-defunct sales funnel.
Brands have the ability to influence consumers regardless of where they stand in their purchasing journey ? be it at the outset, during research, or even post-purchase review, and across the key platforms that impact that journey ? social media, email and digital advertising. This phenomenon revolves around entertainment, active participation, and, above all, fostering connections.
For brands aiming to resonate with Gen Z consumers, mastering this dynamic is paramount. Those who successfully navigate these elements stand to gain favor among Gen Z demographics in 2024 and beyond.
The essential platforms in online brands? sales toolkits have changed
While social media is proving to be less transactional than the so-called experts once believed it would, social lays the groundwork for the inspiration, exploration and community that a brand can offer to its customers.
Email, meanwhile, is proving to be a powerful tool in brands? toolkits for converting sales. By landing the right message in the right customers? inboxes at the right time, at Legendary, we?re seeing our brand clients propel their sales exponentially with email, with a very low investment requirement.
Paid digital remains essential to building brand awareness and trust, and often remains the first and last touchpoint brands have with their customers before a purchase is made. Paired with a website that is properly optimized for conversions, brands can be well-suited to make the most of the new paradigm in eCommerce sales with a simplified online checkout process.
By shifting our mindsets toward the new, less rigid idea of a sales funnel and toward a new, freer-flowing idea of inspiration and cultivation of trust, brands and marketing teams can make decisions that will influence buying decisions that occur both online and offline.
