Beyond the bottom line: why brands must show they care to connect with customers

By Vadim Grigoryan, Partner, Lunu

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an ever-growing activism among consumers, with public opinion demanding that their concerns be heard and addressed. No industry has experienced this more than the retail sector, with brands regularly slammed by NGS or consumer-led initiatives for violating legal requirements or moral principles. Moving one step further in the experience economy, brands are not only required to provide a first-rate customer experience, but also a conscience. The product must be good quality, as should the experience of purchasing it. But now on top of that, consumers should feel positive about where they’re spending their money. This is particularly true in the crypto community, with cryptocurrencies regularly pointed out as too speculative as a product, or to energy-intensive. Is this really a surprise coming from a generation whose top concerns are collective ones such as the environment and global warming? The answer is a straight no! Brands have to face this new reality and embrace it accordingly.

This next step in the experience economy, that can be called conscious consumerism, provides an opportunity for brands to reinvent themselves and bring to the top of their agenda something that has so long been kept at the bottom, or on the side. Brands need to stand for something bigger than themselves. If they fail to do so, they will also fail to make an impact in the consumer’s mind, ultimately disappearing as a brand altogether.

1. From the experience to the conscious consumerism. Today’s economy is as much about giving people the opportunity to feel good while purchasing the product or service, as it is about the feeling after the purchase. Environmental, social, and moral concerns are increasingly at the top of consumers’ minds and on the front pages. Brands need to realise this and adapt, but also accept this as an opportunity rather than a constraint. Profitability isn’t the number one priority anymore and they now have the chance to fully develop their CSR programmes without facing many of the internal/external constraints they would traditionally have faced.
2. Having a meaning actually means something. Modern brands have to stand for something and if they do, they will also stand out in the consumer’s mind. Your brand won’t just be a jewellery maker anymore – it will be one that aims to make diamonds cleanly and ethically by creating them in a lab instead of digging them out from thousands of meters below the ground. Standing for something will also give you a voice and help you break through the noise, reaching out to ever more consumers.
3. Having a purpose provides a valid reason to exist. By this we mean existing in the customer’s mind, as well as in stores and shops – because the truth is, both are now linked. To truly connect with your customers, brands need to go beyond their bottom line. They also need to show that this bottom line serves a purpose and isn’t a finality. Don’t be scared to embrace a cause if you want to keep a place in consumers’ hearts and minds.