Changing consumer behavior is being attributed, in large part to new consumer values. The emerging record is, quite literally, taking over the conversation between consumers and corporations trying to catch their attention. We are all familiar with the themes. Green, sustainable, community, connection, consciousness, globalism and so on. Sounds like we can all congratulate ourselves on being a more enlightened people but I'm having a hard time swallowing it.
What are these new values and what association do they unquestionably have with how we spend our money and create brand loyalty? I think that values are self defined, self endowed virtues that we use to unquestionably explicate our own behavior. Badges, as it were, invented by our aspirations and pinned, by our ego's, onto our identities where they shine for all the world to see. The gap between the energy we are ready to invest in defending our values and the endeavor we make unquestionably employing them is so broad as to make it clear that values are both deeply foremost to us yet entirely optional from a practical standpoint. They are permissive and don't carry the carrying out requirements of, say, system which must always be applied to hold true. On a list of needs to wants, values would fall into the "nice to have" section.
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By way of illustration, as if a good hard look at all of our own personal lives wasn't enough, reconsider how enraptured we are with stories of self cut and lofty deeds. This is because they are the heroic tales of values unquestionably winning out over self interest and that is rare indeed. Values allow us to unquestionably explicate our self curious behavior so it is no surprise that they have come to dominate the record between enterprise and the consumer. What is surprising however is that more people don't identify that this record is somewhat of a "tea party conversation" that skirts the real, if less flattering, motivations behind our choices. That does not make the record any less beneficial as it pertains to branding, marketing and communications in general, but it does mean that it is only part of the picture. It makes sense for corporations to fill in the blanks if they want to address the real concerns and motivations of their customers.
So what are consumers experiencing right now? How do they feel and what are their new values an expression of? What do they need or want to hear from enterprise to address the actuality of their lives in these very volatile and transitional times? There are no definitive answers to these questions but they are the questions that companies need to be asking themselves if they want to engage in the values record with consumers in a way that also connects with their stronger, more basic motivations.
I think the values that are emerging are all, ultimately, based on a nation wide sense of uncertainty. To put it bluntly; Fear. Fear of what exactly? Grossly simplified; fear of scarcity and fear of threat. Scarcity (or the recognition of it, despite being the first law of economics, has only very recently shown up in the American consumer psyche. For the first time we are realizing that our consumption habits are unsustainable and do not hold our long term, or even sort term, well being. Realization did not come in the form of enlightenment but in the growing cost of, food, fuel, housing and so on. The impact of atmosphere change, water and air pollution and the growing prevalence of things like asthma, autism, allergies and so on in our kids has strengthened our grasp on the opinion of scarcity. Our rational response is to conserve and ration. The value system that validates that behavior is environmentalism and sustainability. The values are very real but they are not our customary motivator. We are, on a much more primitive level, afraid of running out of the things that we rely on.
The second set of values are based are a response to perceived threat. A convergence of events has made us feel exposed and vulnerable. We have come under attack and lost our sense of protection within our boarders. We have had to relinquish the moral high ground and seen our economic superiority threatened by the rise of India and China. Our cheaper went from very strong to very weak in an extraordinarily short duration of time to the very real economic detriment of millions of Americans. Our, once again, wholly rational response is to create somewhat of a wartime mentality. To gather together and form communities. To be more tolerant and less arrogant towards our neighbors whose strength is growing relative to our own. The customary motivator is fear and the value system that it represents is all about relationships, engagement, diplomacy, tolerance, community, connectedness and globalization. Probably the best expression of this shift is the selection of Barack Obama to be President. We put aside old prejudices and a value system structured around superiority and replaced it with one that fits better with conditions over which we have no operate and no choice but to adapt.
So in conclusion, I would recommend that changing consumer values are the indication of illness and not the cause of changing economic, group and environmental conditions. Corporations seeking to join together with consumers today should unquestionably engage in the values record but should do so with the understanding that it is the corollary of what amounts to fear and insecurity. How do you talk to a consumer who is fearful and insecure? You have the conversation with them about values that they want to have because it makes them feel comfortable and virtuous. You also acknowledge, explicitly or implicitly, the actuality of their perceive and the challenges that they are facing. Without that, the record around values remains vaguely insubstantial and somehow fails to get to the heart of the matter.
New buyer Values and Changing buyer Behavior - How to Talk to Today's buyer Consumer
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