The time of the “consumer” has ended.
Let’s stop using “Consumers” and go where the hockey puck is heading. We are now EXPLORERS.
We told ourselves consuming will make us happy and deliver a fulfilling life. To an extent that was right. It served its purpose. It did lead to innovation and economic growth, but it also contributed greatly towards climate change. The ideology that we are all consumers has reached its point of diminishing returns. Recent generations are discovering happiness through community, communication, and experiences. The need and want for consumption is declining. I will share 3 key characteristics companies need to adopt urgently to win over the explorers.
In the graphic below, McKinsey & Company outlines the progression of behaviors and consumption by each generation. The promise of happiness is trending towards experiences and community. The search for truth is the key motivation driving newer generations. Exploration and experiences are replacing consumption and consumerism. There is a clear rise of Explorers.
Companies need to retire the concept B2C (Business to Consumers) and evolve to the B2E (Business to Explorers) future. There are 3 clear characteristics that companies need to embrace to deliver the biggest positive impact in the B2E markets:
- Anchor to the truth: Authenticity and truth are paramount. Being an authentic company, aligning with the truth publicly and internally, is non-negotiable. Companies that shy away from this are giving themselves a major disadvantage. Examples of “anchoring to the truth” include companies demonstrating and acting on anti-racism initiatives. Just putting up a social media post and virtue signaling is not truth or authenticity. Explorers are seeing beyond that.
- Inclusion and belonging are mission critical: Organizations that understand the value of creating spaces where marginalized people feel they belong will deliver the most value to their customers and to explorers. More explorers will choose the brands that adopt this over ones that do not. You will get top talent and better financial outcomes. Companies that don’t try to understand this are intentionally giving up innovation, better financial results, and future growth and stability.
- Empathy is the currency of the future: Explorers want to be understood. Employees and customers both want companies to understand their emotional motivation. Brands and products that seek to understand or actually understand explorers and their unique individual identities will have a strong competitive advantage. TikTok is a good example where people can be their authentic selves. A large number of explorers feel a sense of belonging there. Companies that practice empathy in their products and services will likely be rewarded with greater market share than their competitors. Social entrepreneurship is rising and companies that start learning empathy now will be prepared the best.
4 traits of the Gen Z consumers as discussed by NC State University’s Langdon Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Stacy Wood are innovation, convenience, security, and escapism. Upon further consideration, these are all drivers for exploration. These all suggest a want for experiences rather than consumption.
I am not saying future generations will stop buying packaged/physical goods or won’t consume. Consumption will be focused on products & goods that create differentiated experiences. Product and services need to build trust, enhance security, and increase convenience to meet the needs of the explorers.
Services that enable people to discover more about themselves, the world, and the community will be preferred.
Let’s start delivering experiences to the explorers and stop thinking and calling them consumers. Language matters, and by using the term “Explorers” instead of “Consumers” we can drive a macro change in mindset and approach for all companies and organizations. We will be prepared for the exploration zeitgeist moment.
About the author:
Kevin Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Jaago. He has 13+ years of experience as a technical product and business leader. He has delivered complex IOT platforms and enterprise solutions. He has scaled products from an idea to multi-million dollar ARR businesses. Most recently he is focused on building a world where people seek to understand one another by making empathy a daily habit.
He has facilitated LGBTQIA+ safe space initiatives at companies and continues to act towards changing the toxic workspaces.
He is sometimes known as “Captain Empathy” as he is proudly harnessing the superpower of empathy.
Download the Jaago app now to make empathy your superpower. (LinkedIn, Twitter)
References:
- https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies
- https://iei.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/GenZConsumers.pdf
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2018/04/03/the-rise-of-the-social-enterprise-a-new-paradigm-for-business/?sh=1d9fb7db71f0
