The Challenge of Building Meaning in the Marketplace

The insecurities and challenges facing our world – the climate crisis, shocking levels of inequality, the war in Ukraine, a looming recession, to name only a few – are causing people to rethink their values, lives and place in the world.

The marketplace does not remain untouched by this search for meaning and purpose. According to global consulting agencies, most consumers expect companies to take a stand on important issues. As a result, companies have sunk millions if not billions of dollars into campaigns that have landed them in unknown territory, often with no effect or much backlash.

With the rise in accusations of “purpose washing,” marketers will do well to consider how their company can authentically bring meaning to their consumers’ lives. This starts with a consideration of what consumers even want when they seek meaning from the marketplace in the first place. Herein lies the problem. Beyond anecdotes and personal opinions, there are few informed answers to this important question, leaving many marketers to their own devices.

To help address this gap, my colleagues and I have been studying marketplace meaning for the better part of the last decade. Before we began, research found that meaningfulness came from activities that are “free” such as praying, taking care of loved ones, or volunteering. In addition, the nature of those free activities tended to take on a certain flavour: they were focused on being a “giver” rather than a “taker”.

This may breed skepticism that meaning can be found through buying stuff. Indeed, in studies that Lawrence Williams and I conducted across Canada, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, we found that people chose cheaper products, services, and experiences when they were seeking meaning from consumption.

This is problematic. Cheap goods are less likely to deliver meaning over time and they also attract higher replacement and environmental costs all of which will lower customer satisfaction. So why were consumers “cheaping out”? We found that people were buying the less expensive options because they were thinking about what else they could do with their money. Put differently, they felt that the stakes for finding meaning were high, and that buying things would not meet that bar.

Some people find these results surprising. It’s easy to find companies that have been successful through a purpose-driven strategy, such as Patagonia or TOMS. However, the skepticism that consumers have toward purposeful claims may mean that such top-of-mind examples are currently the exception rather than the rule.

To be clear, I believe that business can be a force for good. But my research and consultation with companies who seek a purpose-driven strategy suggest that the execution of this strategy is not easy. We need to carefully consider what makes a company successful alongside what research tells us about the search for meaning.

First, to be meaningful, the company must benefit others, even at their own expense. Patagonia, for example, pledges 1% of their sales to the planet, they minimize harm to the environment and they support their employees through progressive policies like health and childcare. Most of their actions consistently tell their customers that they care a lot about the planet because it’s the only home we’ve got.

Second, to be meaningful, companies can partner with their customer on the quest for a meaningful life. In other words, the company’s branding, communications, and product are not going to be meaningful per se. Instead, people will create meaning with the company through interaction with the firm or use of its goods. To continue with the Patagonia example, consumers experience meaning when their purchases enable them to be the best version of themselves. In an age when products expire far too early, I can honestly say that my Patagonia fleece has kept me warm and hassle-free while hiking in Colorado, going on a walking Safari in Tanzania, and enduring long nights of feeding with a newborn. The 12 years I have worn the fleece – without the need for repair or replacement – has led to a product that is more than a fleece. It is a part of my life that has helped to create and reflect life’s meaningful moments.

The coming years will bring many more unprecedented challenges. Consumers will continue to search for meaning, both in and out of the marketplace. Whether you can authentically deliver that to your consumer depends on your ability to benefit society and partner with them to create the most meaningful versions of yourselves.

Nicole L Mead , Lawrence E Williams, The Pursuit of Meaning and the Preference for Less Expensive Options, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 49, Issue 5, February 2023, Pages 741–761, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucac019

Nicole Mead is an associate professor of marketing at Schulich School of Business and founder and director of the Well-Being Research Laboratory which uncovers novel psychological insights that can be used to improve personal, societal, and environmental well-being. Her research has been published in international peer-reviewed journals and featured in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, Business Insider, Scientific American, CBC, among others.