The Gen Z Sales Revolution: How to Win Over the Most Influential Consumer Group

In 2022, Gen Z’s spending power reached $360 billion. Two years ago, it was less than half of that. In the coming years, Gen Z will become the world’s most high-value consumer demographic. Learn more about how your real estate business can build relationships with them. 

Gen Z’s level of market influence transcends mere spending power. They’re also the most active generation on social media, which just so happens to be the place where brands do the bulk of their marketing. 

Gen Z also influences their parents’ spending habits. Each year, teenagers convince their parents to spend more than $600 billion on commerce. Now, they’re coming for the housing market. 

In 2023, 86% of Gen Z want to buy a house, and 45% want to within the next five years. They’re developing an interest in property that is likely to blossom in the not-very-distant future. 

So Gen Z's spending power goes beyond just the money they earn or own themselves. Many in this generation have access to their parents’ budgets, stretching their already substantial consumer power even further. 

All in all, the consumer sway of Gen Z is growing, and naturally, that growth is only going to continue. 

In this post, we’ll look at different strategies for winning over this influential generation and find out how to connect with them on their level. 

Understanding Generational Marketing

Generational marketing is a marketing strategy that is shaped by the age demographic of your brand’s target audience. Age is a pivotal factor in any marketing strategy, and chances are your business already uses it to inform its consumer relationships.

Embracing generational marketing is one of the most important things any business can do. 

All five of the active generations have vastly different spending habits, product preferences, and brand values.  So, understanding how they work can hugely elevate your marketing strategies. 

This becomes even more true for brands that work in real estate, an industry that, up until recently, didn’t typically see a lot of Gen Z action and has been slow to digitize. But by learning more about their needs and expectations, you can sculpt a strategy that hits all the right spots for this dynamic consumer group. 

1. Give them options

Gen Z is notorious for having a short attention span. But it’s mostly down to the fact that they are natural multitaskers and enjoy being able to move through lots of different ideas at once. 

Your website or app should accommodate their desire for multiple options. They want to be able to explore a variety of different choices before settling. 

Listing all your houses for sale so that they’re easily comparable is key, but this needs to extend beyond the basics. 

Including a comparison tool that allows potential buyers to compare the features, location, prices, and other crucial criteria of multiple properties at a time would appeal to their need for immediate information and allow them to view several potential properties based on their exact specifics at once. Household cost estimators, on-demand video tours focusing on various property features, and information about broadband speed, main routes, local amenities and schools are useful additions too.

Providing a mortgage calculator is also an excellent idea, as it allows for easier financial planning, especially if different interest rates and loan periods are easily customizable based on preference.  

2. Embrace an authentic, familiar tone

Differently to Boomers and at times, Millennials, Gen Z prefers brands that emit a casual, warm tone. The real estate sector is definitely not one that has a casual feel, but to attract this demographic, that needs to change.

While still being professional, you can connect with Gen Z better by using accessible language, being conversational, and, of course, embracing authenticity. 

Engagement is key with this generation, which means that you need to offer them easy access to informative resources they can trust, and encourage them to view you as an expert in your field. Regular blog posts on your website that are written in jargon-free language can help, as can having a social media presence that’s interactive and approachable. 

While other generations tend to be more trusting of brands that stick to solid corporate identities, Gen Z wants to feel like brands they follow to see them as friends rather than just consumers. Being warm and engaging will give you points in their book, as will responding quickly to any questions or feedback they post online on your channels. 

3. Promote purpose, equity, and real experiences

Gen Z cares deeply about social matters and values. This generation has grown up being exposed to school shootings, climate change, and racial and gender injustices. All of which have been highly televised and absorbed by them from a very young age. 

This generation wants to know that they can trust you to make ethical, sustainable decisions. 

You can promote the use of electric vehicles, paperless transactions and other sustainable business practices to show your commitment to bettering the world. Providing information about energy efficiency and the sustainability of properties is suggested too, whether it’s in the form of tips on your blog or a sustainability assessment of every property you’re listing. 

Proudly displaying photos and bios of your team is an excellent idea too. In doing so, you can highlight your business's diverse talent pool and DEI principles. 

Businesses that promote purpose, equity, and authentic, lived-in experiences will find it much easier to align themselves with this age demographic.

If you can’t connect with them on these important topics, Gen Z will find another brand that does. 

4. Focus on UX and UI

Most of Gen Z know how to navigate websites like pros. If you want to attract them, your website or application needs to reflect a keen understanding of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. 

You can use a real estate website builder to develop a highly functional, sophisticated site that indicates your business has a clear understanding of contemporary technology. Good UX and UI are also necessary for delivering a quality user experience and easier navigation. Users will quickly rely on you for information and assistance if you make it easy to do everything from schedule property viewings to contacting an agent directly.  

Putting these practices at the forefront of your site means more visibility, more leads, and higher conversion rates.  

5. Develop strong brand values and meaning

Gen Z has been exposed to torrents of brand identities over the course of their lives. They’ve seen just about every brand identity under the sun. This generation is not interested in run-of-the-mill corporate companies; they want depth, humanity, uniqueness, and purpose. 

Developing strong brand values is important for any contemporary brand, but it is especially relevant to those marketing to the Gen Z demographic. 

Offer guidance on home purchases, provide information about the neighborhood, get involved in community events, set up local sponsorships where feasible, and establish yourself as a known name in the area. 

This will ensure that Gen Z recognizes your brand and the way you do business. It will also tell them that you care about more than just the numbers and that you play an active role in the community you’re selling in. In turn, this can drive sales, loyalty, and conversions.

6. Focus on short video marketing

Gen Z loves consuming content online. But there’s one form of it they love more than anything else: short, snappy, easy-to-digest short videos. A kind of visual snack, short video marketing is one of the best ways to reach the Gen Z audience. 

By focusing on short video marketing, you can reach a new level of engagement with the Gen Z demographic and get your social media accounts to reach new performance heights. Invest in a quality team of content creators to market your brand, thus boosting conversion. 

In the real estate industry, you could appeal to this young generation by developing quality videos of the properties listed on your site. You can incorporate video tours and provide QR codes that allow for quick and easy downloads of saveable content to create a visual, immersive experience that’s easy to access. 

7. Be transparent and responsible

Accountability is really important to Gen Z. 

If you want to win them over, you have to be transparent about your policies and values and hold your brand accountable when it gets the odd backlash or critique. 

This means responding to any negative reviews promptly, politely and in a way that encourages resolution, asking for feedback when a potential buyer is unhappy for any reason, and publicly apologizing if something goes wrong, such as a realtor being late for a viewing or a sale falling through, even if it’s out of your control. 

8. Keep it fun!

Gen Z was born between 1997 and 2012. So, in 2023, their age range is 10-24. They’re still young, and they appreciate a little bit of fun. You won’t have much success targeting them with overly serious, sterile content. They want brands they can hang out with. 

Bearing this in mind, approach your content and marketing strategies for Gen Z by getting loose and thinking outside of the box. Keep it light, bright, creative, and engaging. This approach can be used with regard to your website design, social media presence, and branding. 

Use current colors in your logo and marketing material, ensure your website is optimized for mobile and stay up to date with online and social media trends. Always encourage conversation and interaction on every channel you use. A great idea is to create Instagram Reels or TikToks that showcase aspects of properties in bite-size chunks in a less formal way. 

Conclusion

Gen Z is fast becoming the most pivotal consumer demographic on the planet. Tech addiction, brand-savvy, and multitasking are what this generation is best known for. But in reality, Gen Z is much more layered and complex. 

Taking a deep dive into their needs, ideals, and their desire for instant gratification can help inform your marketing strategy and make it more sustainable and successful. With these generational marketing tactics, you can form a winning strategy that appeals to Gen Z for years to come, whether you’re selling them property or any other product or service.