But Here's The Truth - It's Not About What You're Offering; It's About What Consumers Value

Source: © 123rf 123rf Jacky Merola, strategy and insights director, Feel Good & Co. says marketing is not just about what you’re offering; it’s about what your consumers value

Get it wrong, and you won’t just lose a customer—you risk damaging your brand’s reputation.

Once that trust is broken, they’re unlikely to come back, and recovering from that misstep can be an uphill battle.

When you get it right—when you truly understand your consumers and what they value in your category—you don’t just attract them, you build lasting relationships.

You align your brand with what they value, creating loyalty, trust, and long-term growth.

That’s the key to making sure they stick with you, not just for a promotion but for the long haul.

Switching banks sounded like a good idea... Until it wasn’t

After 20 years of sticking with the same bank, I decided it was time for a change. I was on the lookout to find a bank with decent benefits at a lower rate.

And then, in what felt like a sign from the universe, I saw a shiny new promotional offer from a competitor bank.

All the benefits at a reduced cost if your partner banked there too… and yay me, he did!

Sure, it added yet another task to my already overflowing “to-do” list, but the offer seemed too good to resist.

I hadn’t really thought about how much admin was required when switching banks.

Every single debit order had to be manually changed. I spent hours contacting service providers, some of whom stopped just short of requiring a vial of blood to change my details.

Switching debit orders took so much longer than I expected that I had to keep my original account open for longer than I planned.

Did I mention that the switch was supposed to save me money? Eventuall,y I had to start an Excel spreadsheet to help me manage my payments for each bank account.

It took two in-person trips to the bank—yes, two—just to set up the account and collect my new cards, which I then couldn’t activate.

Things got really fun when I started noticing that the full banking fee was still being deducted instead of the reduced rate I’d signed up for.

Five months of chasing them down.

I was finally told (deep breaths) that I didn’t meet the “qualifying criteria” for the promo offer. Five months later.

Why value matters

After all that, I decided to switch back to my old bank. Which meant changing my debit orders again.

Crazy right? To go through all that and then change back to my original bank.

Here’s the thing: the price of the offer was attractive, but the value? It just wasn’t there.

The time, energy, and endless inconvenience outweighed any potential savings, and I refused to put myself through more headaches for a bank that clearly didn’t get it.

What does this have to do with marketing

As a marketer and strategist, this whole ordeal had me thinking.

I work with clients who are constantly chasing growth in a tough economic climate.

They often think the answer is to go all-in on flashy tactics—promotions, social media campaigns, influencers, you name it.

But here’s the truth: It’s not just about what you’re offering; it’s about what your consumers value.

If that bank had really understood what switching banks felt like for consumers (spoiler: it’s exhausting), they might have approached the campaign differently.

Maybe they’d have made the admin easier, understood that the switching phase was the honeymoon phase and they should have been on their best behaviour, or they could have ensured that customers like me didn’t fall through the cracks after the switch.

If they had nailed the value equation, they wouldn’t have lost me after only five months.

Understanding the value equation

Here’s a little marketing secret: value isn’t just about price. It’s the full package.

It’s the convenience, the experience, and the benefits your customers care about. It’s understanding what truly matters to them, not just what you think will attract them.

It looks different for different product,s but if you get it right, you’re not just acquiring customers—you’re building relationships that last.