Generation Yers and Gen Zers think like customers.

Why? The marketplace has extended its reach beyond malls and into their homes through the Web. At the same time, because Gen Yers and Gen Zers have had more buying power at a younger age than any previous young generation in history, marketers have targeted them more aggressively than any new consumer markets in history.

Once they reach school, don’t Gen Yers and Zers think of themselves as students as opposed to customers? Yes and no. As the so-called customer service revolution has reached across the private and public sectors, institutions ranging from hospitals to universities have sought to incorporate the logic and practices of customer service into their standard operating procedures.

Playing the customer or consumer role is usually Gen Yers’ and Zers’ primary experience in the public sphere prior to arriving for their first day of work as employees. Many have little or no experience on the other side of the marketplace transaction, as vendors. “It carries over into their entire way of being,” said a senior loan officer in a large financial services firm. “They come in the door with this expectant look on their face, like, ‘Are you ready to give me a good job experience now? What’s going to happen to me first? What is going to be done for me?’”

Gen Yers and Zers tell us they are ready to do their part, work hard, and do whatever is asked of them, within reason. They look at their own time, dedication, and best efforts as a kind of currency. They bring to the table their ability and willingness to work hard, and they want to know what they can buy with it. What kinds of success and rewards can they buy from your organization? What kinds of interesting experiences and conditions can they earn with their currency? They are on the edge of their seats, expectant indeed.