As a startup founded by millennials and catering to Gen Z, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to communicate with a group of people that often baffles older generations.
At our women’s health company, Winx Health (formerly known as Stix), we achieved profitability by cutting our entire marketing budget without sacrificing growth. We learned that the path to profitability is not easy or linear, but it is achievable. And we achieved this by giving our customers something completely free.
The days of venture capitalist enthusiasm for pay-to-play are long gone, and to build a company that can grow sustainably with a focus on Gen Z, you need to gradually earn their trust. Gen Z is savvy and tired of the direct-to-consumer marketing strategies that millennials are so accustomed to. Your typical twenty-year-old today knows when he’s paying for your expensive meta advertising or fancy packaging and everything she In fact wants a quality product that will solve her problem.
We launched our company in 2019, during the heyday of a time when you could reach customers for pennies on the dollar with simple, aesthetically pleasing meta advertising. Over the past five years, algorithms and, more importantly, customer behavior have changed. Brands can no longer simply pay for their customers. We’ve found a better way to reach Gen Z: one that gives them something of value, doesn’t shove products down their throats, and allows them to discover our brand on their own terms.
Generation Z is different
Generation Z behaves completely differently than previous generations. They can see straight through the BS. They tend to ignore Google and use TikTok search where they can find authentic explicit videos from their peers rather than paid search advertising from big brands with deep pockets. So, when truth and quality are more important than influencers and pretty packaging, brands need to step up and cut through the clutter.
Among young consumers 81% value brands that provide educational content about their products before purchase, and according to a Morning Consult report, 54% of Gen Z adults trust online influencers and educators. This is a generation that wants to be aware of the brands and influencers they trust. And when 98% generation connects with products and brands on social media before making a purchase is a statistic that companies cannot afford to ignore.
A few years ago, we launched a simple educational platform to cover vaginal and sexual health topics that we could use as content for customer service and email marketing. Our goal was simply to provide our customers with supporting information about our products and the problems they solve. Because we expected to use the resources provided as additional content for our other marketing efforts, we did not invest in this.
Over the year, organic traffic has grown exponentially. As traffic to this part of our site increased, we began sharing more resources to help visitors. We still didn’t expect any return from it, given that we had invested nothing but time into it, but we were hopeful that it would at least inspire confidence among our consumers. Fast forward to today, this is the biggest lever that has allowed us to completely cut our marketing budget and become profitable.
While our brand sells home diagnostics, treatments, and preventive supplements for vaginal and sexual health, we do not sell these products at all. It may seem counterintuitive, but it turns out that when people need our products, they find them on their own, and we have our education platform to thank for much of that.
By providing something free and valuable to Gen Z, we can cut through the noise and grow without wasting money on unreliable marketing channels. Brands must be authentic and provide real cost do it in today’s competitive environment. So how can businesses leverage Gen Z consumer behavior?
- Invest in educational content: Providing valuable and educational content builds trust and keeps your consumers informed. This approach resonates well with Generation Z, who value authenticity and knowledge.
- Use organic growth: Focus on creating content that can attract organic traffic. Not only does this save on marketing costs, but it also ensures that your audience finds you through genuine interest.
- Use social media wisely: With 97% of Gen Z using social media as their primary source of shopping inspiration, having a strong and authentic presence on these platforms is critical.
- Build trust over time: Offering free resources and valuable information can build long-term trust and loyalty, which can ultimately lead to significant revenue and profits.
Generation Z values transparency, education and authenticity over flashy advertising and superficial marketing tactics. By offering valuable free resources and building trust, brands can build a loyal customer base that will drive sustainable growth. Investing in the knowledge and well-being of your consumers not only benefits them; this creates a ripple effect that drives organic traffic, enhances brand reputation and ultimately leads to profitability. This approach is not just a trend, but a fundamental shift in how companies like ours must operate to succeed in today’s competitive environment.
Jamie Norwood is a co-founder Winx Healthformerly known as Styx.
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