Brands and Businesses Should Be Harnessing The “Show Up” Generation

I was struck by two things this week which left me thinking, the kids are definitely alright.

Firstly is how few people from my home country seem to be focusing on how the foretold “Red Wave” that wasn’t is due in large part to Gen Z. Or as I’ve started calling them, the “Show Up Generation.”

For anyone who watches American politics, you know that the party in power almost always loses seats in the midterms. Since 1865 there have only been three elections where the president’s party gained ground in Washington.?

While pundits regale the fact that democrats should have been more vocal with their pro-choice stance or how those pushing anti-woke tempering better pay attention to victories in Massachusets, New Hampshire, and beyond; what I would expect to be hearing in chorus is ‘thank you’ to the 27% of young people (ages 18-29) who turned out to vote in the 2022 midterm election and helped decide critical races. Gen Z was the majority of the 18-29 year old group who showed up 24 points more likely to vote blue vs. red.??

This occurs at the same time that my company, Minna Technologies, a Mastercard company , in partnership with FT Strategies and Savanta are publishing a new report, Subscription Economy: A World Transformed, where we find that that 50% of Gen Z, (which includes, in part, the 25-35 year olds who have the most subscriptions), will switch banks to get a better Subscription Management solution in their banking app.?

The numbers seem to back them up. 奥美 has looked at why Gen Z is signing up to Neobanks and found that it is due to Neobank’s features which empower and meet their short- and long-term goals.?

What product leaders, businesses and brands should be taking note of is that Gen Z acts vs. talks; they show up for what they care about. Whether it’s voting, banking, or spending; this is a generation that is taking over Millennials as a leading market segment. In other words, Gen Z means business, and is likely to be the group you are courting for a long while.

They are showing they are willing to do much more that share posts or like content that they support. Their concerns (climate change, abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, gun safety) are massive, generational problems that won't be fixed in an election cycle nor with one purchase. While they are more likely to have concerns around spending too much time online - when there they are online they are most likely to follow an expert ( Data Source from GWI - GWI). They are willing to be catered to if you are serving them something they care about.?

One of the best ways for businesses to harness the power of Gen Z in their strategy is to consider reverse mentorship. Reverse mentoring pairs younger employees with senior leaders or executive team members to mentor them. As our species continues to experience longer life spans, careers are stretching too. The current?workforce consists of 5?generations which leads to an increasing gap between leaders and their employees. To infuse your company’s thinking with? strategic and cultural relevance for Gen Z (as well as avoid blind spots), leverage reverse mentorship.

If you are interested in exploring reverse mentorship as a way to diversify and future proof your business, be sure to do your research on the pitfalls vs. successes using the mentorship method. If you aren’t careful, you can do damage with your program and it is of critical importance to set up the program from the beginning with clarity around the role of the mentor (the Gen Z employee) vs. the mentee (the business leader);? the purpose of the mentorship engagement (for the mentee to learn from the mentor and not to slip into role reversion and agree on what is confidential. Do it right and your product, brand or business might just get Gen Z to show up for it.