The following is the “Embracing generation Z” — Exploration on the younger transformation of securities companies recommended by recordtrend.com. And this article belongs to the classification: Investment & Economy.
Generation 300million Z will take over and become the main force of society, and the wave of industry rejuvenation is coming
According to the current mainstream definition, “generation Z” refers to young people born between 1996 and 2010. According to statistics, the number of generation Z in China is about 300million, accounting for about 20% of China’s total population, and the population size is huge. Generation Z grew up under the background of strong national strength and booming Internet, and its personality propositions and consumption habits are different from those of other age groups. With 300million new generation people with unique personalities growing into the backbone of society, the younger transformation of securities companies is the general trend.
Generation Z with distinctive personality has already set off a wave of youth reform in the consumer industry. Thanks to the strong promotion of generation Z, trendy new consumption forms such as dismantling blind boxes, buying national fashion, wearing Chinese clothes, cloud sucking cats, script killing, star chasing and grass planting have exploded out of the circle for many times. Generation Z’s unique consumption proposition has a more and more significant impact on the future development of the consumer industry.
Generation Z is not only the main force of new consumption, but also emerging in the field of investment and wealth management. According to the post-90s savings report released by the China New Economy Research Institute and Alipay, the average age of the post-90s’ first financial management is 23, nearly 10 years earlier than their parents. Under the catalysis of the enthusiasm of the new generation of financial management, the new ecosystem of Internet financial management is booming, which brings great transformation pressure to traditional wealth management institutions, especially securities companies.
This paper will focus on the theme of the younger transformation of the securities industry, through the analysis of the core characteristics of generation Z population and the current situation of the securities industry, analyze the difficulties in the transformation of securities companies and give targeted reform suggestions.
How to attract generation Z? Securities companies need to understand its nine characteristics
Generation Z was born in the period of strong national strength. Most of them are only children and their family environment is democratic. Their growth process is accompanied by the rapid development of the Internet, instant messaging and social media communication. These historical backgrounds have created their unique personality. Therefore, we summarize the five basic characteristics and four financial management characteristics of generation Z for the reference of securities companies, so as to form a more comprehensive understanding of generation Z.
1、 Insight into the five basic characteristics of generation Z
Basic feature 1: generation Z has a strong sense of national pride and promotes the revival of Guochao culture
Generation Z prefers brands with positive energy values such as patriotism, and is more tolerant of new domestic brands with traditional cultural elements. According to the report “2021 Guochao proud search big data” released by the people’s Network Research Institute and Baidu, the search popularity of Guochao in 2021 increased by 528% compared with that in 2011, of which the Post-00 generation has the highest interest in Guofeng culture (see Figure 1).
Basic feature 2: generation Z has a strong desire to consume. Pleasing oneself and showing personality are the primary consumption power
Generation Z adheres to the life attitude of “pleasing oneself and generating electricity for love”, and is willing to pay for interest. According to the “generation Z consumption power white paper” released by Kaidu and Tencent QQ, 54% of generation Z said that “as long as it meets my preferences, I am willing to pay more money”. Creativity, novelty and interest have replaced practicality and become the priority decision-making criteria of generation Z.
Basic feature 3: generation Z has a significant sense of loneliness and is willing to get close to anthropomorphic things
The only child status leads to generation Z being relatively lonely and more willing to get close to anthropomorphic things. The most direct manifestation is the pursuit of pet economy. According to the survey of soul, a social software favored by generation Z in 2021, 65% of users are pet owners [1]. At the same time, secondary animation / virtual idols (Luo Tianyi, etc.) / brand image IP also received a lot of attention because it can stimulate the emotional empathy of generation Z.
Basic feature 4: generation Z relies on online social media for decision-making, and is willing to share their views
According to the online consumption insight report of generation Z youth released by the 21st Century Institute of economics, 78% of generation Z tend to understand brand and product information through the evaluation and recommendation of talents on social platforms. At the same time, 52% of generation Z watch the same good people in the circle pass on from mouth to mouth, indicating that they are very willing to share their real use feelings for others’ reference (see Figure 2).
Basic feature 5: generation Z pays attention to the social interaction of interest circles and creates its own exclusive language system
Generation Z is keen to build circles with interest. According to the social report of generation Z released by soul, 41% of the respondents value “common topics of interest” when socializing [2]. After the formation of each circle, a unique language communication system will be derived based on interest. This identification password can help Gen Z identify Tonghao more accurately.
2、 Four financial characteristics of generation Z
Financial management feature 1: social media is an important channel for them to obtain financial information
According to the latest research data of the daily economic news on the generation Z population, social media such as B station, Weibo, wechat, Tiktok and xiaohongshu have become important channels for generation Z to obtain financial management knowledge. According to the report of the massive engine “post-95 short video surfing and consumption atlas”, platforms such as Tiktok and xiaohongshu are important channels for generation Z to obtain financial management information; At the same time, post-95 people are more interested in learning financial management knowledge through short videos, live broadcasts and other emerging content forms than other age groups (see Figure 3).
The popularization and popularization of social media content is in line with the cognitive level of generation Z financial management Xiaobai. Most of the content forms are animation, video and live real-time interactive forms, which meet the needs of generation Z for fun and can quickly attract their attention. Content creators who excel in content tone and form are more likely to become “investment consultants” trusted by generation Z.
Financial management feature 2: the preferred third-party Internet wealth management platform for investment and financial management
According to the latest research data of the daily economic news on the generation Z population, 69% of the generation Z respondents chose the third-party Internet wealth management platform as the preferred trading platform. In contrast, securities companies are not attractive to them (see Figure 4).
The third-party Internet wealth management platform took the lead in connecting financial management scenarios with shopping / social life scenarios, realizing the ecological self circulation of mutual drainage between the two scenarios. Generation Z has a high acceptance of new things, making it the first batch of seed customers; At the same time, the Internet platform based on the continuous research and rapid iteration of seed users makes the user stickiness higher and higher.
Another advantage of the third-party Internet wealth management platform is to simplify, pursue the ultimate user experience, and find a perfect balance between customer patience and operation complexity. Compared with the complicated and difficult financial institution platform, it is more in line with the needs of generation Z customers who attach importance to experience.
Financial management feature 3: the principal is low and the loss tolerance is low. Funds are the main financial management category of generation Z
According to the “2021 Tiktok financial content white paper”, the three major financial management topics that post-95 pay most attention to are investment, finance and fund; According to the latest research data of the daily economic news for the generation Z population, fund products are the priority financial category for generation Z (see Figure 5).
Since generation Z is mostly a student, and the purpose of financial management is mainly to earn pocket money, the principal of financial management is generally low, making it more difficult to bear the risk of loss. According to the latest research data of the daily economic news on the generation Z population, about half of the generation Z research objects have a financial principal of less than 10000 yuan. Therefore, compared with buying high-risk stocks with high capital volume, fund products with low capital threshold and relatively low risk are more attractive to Gen Z.
Financial management feature 4: “star chasing” follow-up investment network red fund manager
In addition to film and television stars, some well-known fund managers were also on the 2021 Weibo hot search ranking list, which has repeatedly rushed into the top ten of hot search. Generation Z will take the past performance ranking of fund managers as an important basis for decision-making because it does not have a perfect financial management knowledge system.
According to the latest research data of the daily economic news on generation Z, when purchasing funds, generation Z gives priority to “independent thinking and buying”, “Internet hot list” and “friend introduction”. Performance ranking has created a star chasing space for generation Z, and fan culture has also been brought into the investment circle by them. Gen Z spontaneously searched the list for favorite fund managers, set up fan support associations, and designed exclusive support slogans. Finally, the popularity of star fund managers soared. Not only has it received wide attention from netizens, but also the characteristics that Gen Z is willing to share have a great impact on the investment decisions of the circle of friends (see Figure 6).
After understanding the basic characteristics and financial management characteristics of generation Z, it is not difficult to find that the Internet platform has strongly occupied the investment and financial management mind of generation Z. In the face of such a situation, securities companies need to evaluate the adaptability and limitations of the current business model based on the characteristics of generation Z, and then carry out targeted reform if they want to catch up with and surpass the new forces of Internet financial management and realize the younger transformation.
The current business model is difficult to attract generation Z, and the younger transformation of securities companies faces five challenges
Challenge 1: brokerage brands are seriously homogeneous and lack differentiated memory points to attract generation Z
Compared with the investment in personalized brands in the consumer industry, securities companies do not pay enough attention to brand building, resulting in users’ vague understanding of the brands of different securities companies. With the continuous development of the industry, generation Z is facing more and more choices. In order to finally attract their attention, securities companies need to create a distinctive brand positioning that is significantly different from competitive products.
Challenge 2: online customer acquisition is still in the exploratory period, and the influence of social media and financial talents has not been effectively utilized
The traditional customer acquisition channels of securities companies are mainly offline business departments. Although online customer acquisition channels have been built in recent years, they mainly rely on vertical channels, and the social media channels favored by generation Z still need to be developed. At the same time, considering the important influence of online celebrity financial talents on the investment decision of generation Z, securities companies should speed up the exploration of social media and financial talents to improve the efficiency of online customer acquisition.
Challenge 3: the traditional communication mode of securities companies is difficult to meet the content needs of generation Z
When providing knowledge popularization and investment advisory services to investors, securities companies are limited by compliance requirements. The relevant content is rigorous and standardized, the tone is objective and rational, and most of them appear in the form of long pictures and texts. These contents are easy to make readers feel distance, and they are not in line with the habitual communication mode of generation Z. Generation Z has high requirements for internal readability, interest and creativity. How securities companies adjust their communication methods to capture the “heart” of generation Z is a problem they can’t get around.
Challenge 4: due to strict regulatory restrictions, it is difficult for securities companies to keep up with the rapid pace of change of the Internet
Based on strict regulatory requirements, the securities industry often avoids excessive innovation, and will also set up multi coincidence audits for content materials. Conservative attitude and long process make it difficult for them to quickly adapt to the fast changing pace of the Internet. Recently, the supervision has continued to strengthen the professional review and entertainment restrictions of financial KOL, and the compliance treatment methods for this new customer acquisition mode still need to be explored.
Challenge 5: rigid organizational system constrains innovation and lacks Internet Professionals
The securities industry is subject to strong regulatory restrictions, and prudence is the primary principle of business operation. The business environment with multiple regulatory restrictions increases the difficulty of innovation and reform exploration. Whether the organizational form can be lightweight, agile and efficient determines whether securities companies can adapt to the market demand of rapid iteration.
For securities companies, online customer acquisition and Internet operation are new fields, which urgently need to quickly supplement relevant capabilities. At the same time, it is also crucial for securities companies to realize the soft landing of innovative talents by improving the incentive mechanism and other management means.
Eight reform suggestions to help securities companies transform into younger ones
Recommendation 1
Based on its own business advantages, establish distinctive differentiated brand positioning
It is suggested that securities companies should combine their own business advantages, create interest explosion points around the needs of generation Z, and attract their attention through clear positioning / IP. Generally speaking, the investment needs of generation Z can be summarized into three dimensions: investment confidence and investment outlook, smooth and pleasant practical experience, improving knowledge level and investment technology. Securities companies can design characteristic value propositions based on these three requirements.
Based on the various financial difficulties and real investment behaviors of generation Z, securities companies can launch corresponding investment and teaching content to arouse its resonance and gain its trust. For example, in terms of investment confidence and investment outlook, securities companies can be committed to building a “most intimate and understanding generation Z” human design. For the practical experience, securities companies can strive to create “the most fashionable and cool” human devices in the whole securities industry. By comprehensively upgrading the app interface, launch marketing activities that meet the interests of generation Z + financial content. In addition, for knowledge and technology, we can create a “learning while playing” human device, and attract generation Z to taste the fresh food experience and gradually increase customer stickiness by developing interesting teaching games and teaching courses in the form of talk shows.
Huatai Securities has insight into the pain points of generation Z job hunting, and has cooperated with Jiangsu Satellite TV to create a workplace observation variety “shining you”, which shows the securities industry and popularizes financial knowledge to the outside world through the internship process of interns at Huatai Securities. After the launch, there were not only many hot searches on various platforms, but also the real experience of job seekers of the same age made Gen Z express that they were very much like “themselves on the first day of work”.
Recommendation 2: enter the social media gathered by generation Z and explore the cooperative mode of compliant financial talents
Based on the attribute of generation Z Internet, we suggest that securities companies focus on Pan entertainment social media. After selecting the platform, securities companies can start incubating the official brand number or talent number, combined with the long-term operation of platform tools. In addition to self incubating accounts, we also suggest that securities companies directly cooperate with online celebrities. They can obtain talent information through MCN service providers / platform matchmaking, select talent whose fan portraits match the characteristics of generation Z, and use their influence to quickly establish brand popularity.
Huatai Securities fortune express app has accumulated a lot in this regard. It has invited popular talk show stars to carry out fund themed activities for many times and promoted it in Weibo, Tiktok and other all media. For example, we cooperated with top stream in financial background to carry out live broadcast and other investment and teaching activities, with topic reading of 70million, and the monthly life of fortune zengletone app of the month reached 8million. For example, they cooperated with Xinjin Zengli to hold the “fundraiser conference”, roast about buying fund fun in the form of talk shows, and directly targeted the high points of young people. The exposure of social media is expected to be 30million, and the broadcast volume of a single clip of Tiktok official number exceeds one million.
As the regulatory restrictions on the publicity and entertainment of securities companies continue to increase, in the future, financial online celebrities need professional certification and endorsement. We suggest securities companies to strengthen communication with the regulatory authorities and jointly discuss new measures that are more in line with the regulatory trend, such as the introduction of external KOLs and the incubation of their own KOLs.
Suggestion 3: Based on the communication habits of generation Z, optimize the form of content and enhance the attractiveness of content
Most of generation Z are financial management professionals, who need investment knowledge popularization and investment adviser guidance. However, the current communication form of securities companies is rigorous and professional, which is difficult to attract the attention of generation Z. To attract Z generation, securities companies need to develop more interesting and creative content. For example, it can track and analyze hot news in real time, change long speeches to Comics / videos, change professional descriptions to humorous tricks, and develop interesting breakthrough games.
In this regard, Tianfeng securities is at the forefront of the industry. Previously, they held the first “Tianfeng listen to me” talk show competition for corporate culture construction of securities companies. The participating employees have adopted the current popular talk shows, hip-hop rap and other forms of competition. After the video was online for 10 hours, it entered the 7th place in the “new list” video ranking, and its reading volume exceeded 100000 in less than a week.
However, the content of Pan teaching can only provide fragmented information, and it is difficult to establish a systematic knowledge framework. Therefore, securities companies should also develop investment and teaching courses specifically for generation Z. Combining the language style and expression preferred by generation Z, the series of theme courses should not only highlight their own professional abilities, but also have the eye-catching characteristics of popularity and fun.
Recommendation 4: optimize the service experience for generation Z and enhance user stickiness
Z generation has long been used to humanized and high-standard services on Internet platforms, and has higher and higher requirements for practical experience. Securities companies need to optimize the service system and standards according to the experience needs of Z generation, such as launching Z generation’s exclusive investment advisory services, improving app use experience, etc.
Taking the app experience as an example, securities companies can upgrade the interface to improve the eye-catching degree and operation fluency. In terms of interface attractiveness, securities companies can combine the interest points of generation Z, such as e-sports, quadratic, antique, etc., learn from the UI style of popular social media, improve the theme page and polish the details. In terms of operation fluency, we suggest securities companies to optimize the interface layout and jump logic in combination with the actual business process and customer usage habits. At the same time, pay attention to the collection of grey test stage and users’ daily use feedback, and then iterate and upgrade accordingly.
Hualin securities has begun to layout the service experience. It recently cooperated with volcano engine to develop dolphin stock app, and said that it will focus on the needs of “generation Z” wealth management, and carry out upgrading work from the aspects of video content, intelligent functions, game experience, social platform, personalized push, etc. Build it into a “financial management app that can be seen, played, learned and earned” that meets the needs of young people.
Recommendation 5: build a long-term operation position and optimize communication costs and efficiency
In order to realize the long-term sustainable operation of generation Z customer group, securities companies can actively create private domain positions, such as wechat group chat, APP interactive zone, etc., and create generation Z characteristic investment forum. These measures can not only give the generation Z customer group a sense of brand belonging, but also optimize the communication cost and efficiency. In addition, securities companies should sort out the service details related to brand value proposition and solving the actual pain points of customers, and formulate standardized service rules for each daily business Interaction scenario. In addition, in the process of interaction, securities companies should do a good job in data monitoring and customer feedback collection, constantly refine and enrich user labels, and then be able to make personalized marketing plans based on different characteristics of users, and carry out targeted content operations and activity operations.
Recommendation 6: maintain close communication with regulators, cooperate with regulators, and jointly explore the path of youth
In view of the supervision of the wealth management industry, securities companies should pay close attention to the trend of regulatory policies in the process of innovation and transformation, and timely check the current direction of innovation and the timing of the implementation of measures. Securities companies should take the initiative to maintain close communication with relevant departments. On the one hand, they should listen to the attitude and suggestions of the regulatory authorities on the progress of innovation, which is conducive to a forward-looking insight into the direction of regulation and avoid violations; On the other hand, feedback the innovation mode from the perspective of securities companies, and jointly explore the road of youth with the regulatory authorities.
Suggestion 7: establish an innovation transformation agile team based on the current situation of enterprise resources
Resource rich head securities companies can consider setting up an innovation department parallel to the business department internally, and set up a special team for subdivisional functions to operate cooperatively. The decision-making chain of parallel departments should be kept flat, and skilled talents should give full play to their expertise. At the same time, agile project management mechanism should be introduced. On the one hand, maximize the business effect, and on the other hand, improve the rapid response ability of the Department.
Small and medium-sized securities companies can transfer business backbones and z-generation employees to form a lightweight agile team based on the current situation of existing talent resources. Lightweight organizational form, combined with the age advantage and innovative thinking of generation Z employees, as well as the business experience of key employees, can realize the agility and feasibility of transformation initiatives.
Recommendation 8: accelerate the capacity-building of innovative talents and introduce mature experience of external innovation and transformation
Facing the new Internet model, we suggest securities companies to comprehensively consider and improve the talent security mechanism. Give full consideration to the expertise of the technology industry, recruit people according to their posts as far as possible, and quickly fill in the short board of ability. And optimize the assessment and incentive mechanism of innovative talents to avoid the deformation of reform actions. At the same time, organize training for relevant business departments, transfer innovative ideas, reduce the friction between old and new cultures, and give play to synergy.
If there are additional resources, securities companies can also consider cooperating with service providers with rich transformation experience, introducing mature experience of external innovation and transformation, helping enterprises sort out brand value positioning, clarify key areas of reform, and cooperate with innovation departments to ensure the landing effect.
Facing the incremental market of about 300million in Z generation, it is imperative to reform the younger securities companies. To master the new generation traffic password, securities companies should, based on their deep understanding of generation Z, establish a professional team for Internet channel construction, shape the value proposition of characteristic brands, and supplement the content and service shortcomings, so as to effectively attract and transform generation Z potential customers. It is suggested that all brokerage brands should lay out a younger track as soon as possible to seize the opportunity of reform.
From: McKinsey
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