The Big Values Shift for Brands

The Big Value Shift. It’s what a lot of brands & marketers are missing today and a huge shift in how consumers are thinking. What does this mean for marketers?

Capitalism has been about the accumulation of things. That’s fine. But my netnographic research on consumer behaviours in these changing times is a fundamental shift back to how we valued things and found meaning in wealth long before capitalism. Wealth was circulated in communities, wealth was found in people and wealth as a healthy community.

For most of human history, economies were based on giving, not selling. In the coming years, brands need to not just consider conversion, but also thinking about the value you’re delivering to your community.

Trust is shifting. So is the concept of value with consumers. Brand reputation means something different today, it's becoming part of economic infrastructure. Consumers want more reciprocity. They want knowledge from brands, they want to feel they have some form of input. That it’s not just a basic exchange. The three core tenets of reciprocity are: to give, to receive and to reciprocate. If you’re not doing this today, you’re going to lose customers. This has direct implications for how brands build loyalty, community, and long-term relevance.

This isn't just about big brands either. It applies to SMEs as well. Arguably, SMEs are better positioned to develop and implement reciprocity systems because they're more adaptive than major brands.

People are migrating out of major social media platforms to Discord and Reddit communities because they feel the social contract has been broken. And it has. Brands that remain purely extractive will see less loyalty from their audience, which over time will erode trust, which is a slow decline in revenues. By the time your data shows declining revenues, it may be too late.

"Before markets, before capitalism, there was gift. For most of human history, economies were based on giving, not selling."

So what to do? Give more away. Less (ideally no) gated white papers designed for lead generation with little perceived value. Consumers don’t see them as “gifts” they see them as personal data extraction tools. Use your data to be reciprocal, like sharing insights or your brand community insights. They want to feel you’re giving back, not just extracting. Invite your community to participate in what you’re doing. People defend what they help build.

We live in Unmoored Times. Both business and consumer markets are changing because they’re trying to adapt to a new world where the rules aren’t the same, where there are no best practices. As I’ve discussed before, consumers (B2B and B2C) are seeking trust and identity anchors with the companies/brands they engage with. And no, just doing surveys or asking for feature feedback isn’t community building and surveys are terrible tools for gaining useful insights these days. Surveys are an old best practice.

You have to think actual value. Humans worked within value and reciprocity systems long before capitalism and many communities still operate this way. Those communities and reciprocity systems are still going strong. Find them. Engage authentically. Don’t just push content.