From Gen X to Gen Z: Adapting Your GTM Motion for a New Era
5 Essential Strategies to Engage with the First Digital-Native Decision-Makers and Unlock Growth
For the first time in decades, the demographics of software buyers are undergoing a significant shift. Gen X buyers, born between 1965 and 1980 and currently aged 45 to 60, have long dominated purchasing decisions. While they remain influential, a new wave of decision-makers is emerging: Gen Z.
Gen Z professionals, born between 1997 and 2012, are rapidly moving into decision-making roles, including software purchasing. By 2025, Gen Z will account for 27% of the global workforce. Approximately 20% of the workforce in the United States belongs to Gen Z, representing millions of professionals. Among them, an increasing number are achieving senior management and director-level roles, particularly in tech-forward industries. Reports suggest that around 10% of Gen Z workers globally hold managerial positions, a figure growing annually.
Who Is Gen Z?
Gen Z—the first generation to grow up with the internet—is distinct from their Gen X predecessors. Their formative experiences, shaped by the Great Recession and COVID-19, have fostered values such as diversity, pragmatism, collaboration, and self-reliance. These digital natives are:
Digital-first: Living on online platforms and expecting their solutions to do the same.
Socially influenced: Heavily impacted by social media, short-form videos, and peer recommendations.
Pragmatic and savvy shoppers: Skilled at comparing products and prices, with a preference for transparent pricing and personalized experiences.
Omnichannel enthusiasts: Demanding seamless, fast, and intuitive online and offline interactions.
Research-driven: Often deep into the buying process before contacting vendors and less forgiving of brands that fail to deliver on their promises.
How to Meet Gen Z Where They Are
To resonate with Gen Z buyers, software companies must rethink their go-to-market (GTM) strategies. Based on how Gen Z likes to buy, here are five actionable steps to ensure you’re meeting Gen Z buyers where they are:
1. Focus on the Brand
Brand is becoming more and more important, and for good reason. Research from Forrester suggests that a staggering 74% of business buyers are doing deep research before they reach out to vendors and because of this, buyers need to know you from a brand perspective. Beyond logos and typography, your brand is the sum of all expressions by which your organization is known. It’s a defined set of emotions conveyed through visuals and messaging that are consistently woven through every touchpoint of a company. From logo to website, to email, to UX, messaging, and every interaction from someone within the company. It all needs to flow seamlessly. And because Gen Z gravitates toward authentic, values-driven, and emotionally resonant brands, focusing here is vital to your success with this audience.
Audit your touchpoints: Review the buyer journey to ensure all touchpoints, both prospect and customer, tell a consistent, compelling, and differentiated story.
Review your messaging: Does your message share the “why” behind your product, what problem it solves, and how it impacts users? Is it differentiated from competitors? Does it flow, support the prospect and customer journey, and tell the right story?
Leverage storytelling: Leverage customer success stories, testimonials, and case studies to highlight your impact. Review your website, social media, presentations, etc. Do these contain social proof? These need to feel authentic so watch for too much gravitas.
2. Build and Distribute Social Proof
Recommendations are crucial for Gen Z buyers so you should make a concentrated effort to share customer reviews and success stories. Transparency in reviews and success stories builds trust and establishes credibility. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube are fertile ground for sharing this content, using engaging visuals such as GIFs, videos, and animations to capture attention. When it comes to social media, make sure you remain true to your brand.
Invest in review platforms: Programs like G2 and Software Advice provide buyers with unfiltered feedback on products and services for prospective buyers. Partner with one or both of these organizations and own and build your presence. Build gathering reviews into your customer marketing and success programs so that you always have a steady stream of new content. G2 prioritizes how old reviews are as part of their ranking and grid reports. Implement practices to solve challenges that may be noted. Place in the G2 seasonal grid reports. It may seem silly but if you aren’t there and your prospects are, you won’t be part of the consideration set for Gen Z.
Establish a social media strategy: If an ongoing strategy and tactical plan don’t exist, build this now. Plan and build content to reinforce what customers are sharing authentically and ensure all content produced supports/reinforces the brand.
Leverage retargeting: Set up retargeting campaigns to stay visible across platforms. Use your case studies and reviews as part of your retargeting programs.
3. Prioritize Simplicity and Transparency
Gen Z values personalized, frictionless interactions. They want access to demos and tools to play with and review on their own, and engage with sales on their timeline, not yours. Gone are the days of shuffling prospects through a pre-defined funnel to achieve a unified result. Instead, companies need to be prepared to provide the tools Gen Z prospects need, when they need them, and in a manner that encourages response and engagement. If they request a demo, they don’t expect that they will need to be on three phone calls with AEs and SEs before they are provided one. If you do this, they will go elsewhere (and TBH, this is true of any prospect). Additionally, opaque pricing models are a deterrent. Transparency is a vital need and applies to the entire buying process.
Don’t gatekeep: Review the assets you offer and consider whether or not gating them is necessary. If someone downloads a datasheet, are they really ready to engage with a sales rep (the answer is unequivocally “no”)? Gate only those high-value offers that signal they are deep in the buying process (demos, trials, etc.). And by all means, do not gate customer case studies and reviews.
Streamline engagement: Review the journey your prospect will take between asking for a demo and getting one, and again from demo to contract. Is your team providing personalized presentations and is the demo request frictionless? Is your sales team using a 30-page slide deck with prospects? If so, tighten this up and eliminate any unnecessary steps in the buying process.
Be transparent: Publish clear pricing information and provide tools like ROI calculators to help buyers make informed decisions. Take cues from industry leaders HubSpot, ChiliPiper, and Salesforce.
4. Emphasize Learning and Support
Gen Z prioritizes collaboration and community. By providing buyers with learning and support solutions that help foster a sense of community, you will win over this audience. Simple ways to do this include investing in robust educational content, offering continuous and consistent support, and gamified onboarding content to keep buyers engaged and on the path to success. The goal is to have your Gen Z buyer become a raving fan (remember, they prioritize recommendations) so they recommend you to others, and this is one way to make that happen.
Provide resources: Develop explainer videos, how-to guides, and webinars tailored to their growth.
Optimize learning programs: Review the learning programs you have in place and determine if gaps exist. Review where your customers are spending their time within the learning program and optimize around this.
Ensure success stands out: Implement chatbots and knowledge bases to ensure customers have access to information 24/7. Review your response SLA and actual time to respond and optimize.
5. Innovate Continuously
Gen Z expects the solutions they purchase to evolve with their needs. Demonstrating a commitment to innovation helps retain their trust.
Be transparent with your roadmap: Regularly update your roadmap to reflect advancements and communicate these updates effectively. Use a quarterly customer call or webinar, in product call-outs, user conferences, or other times to share your roadmap.
Be selective: Don’t add features and functions simply to add the latest bell or whistle. Focus on innovation that solves emerging challenges or makes your customers more productive. Highlight this with your customers and prospects.
Gen Z buyers are reshaping the software purchasing landscape. By understanding their values and preferences and adapting your GTM strategy accordingly, you can not only capture their attention but also build lasting relationships. The key is to be authentic, transparent, and relentlessly focused on delivering value in ways that resonate with this dynamic, digital-first generation.