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Some companies these days are realizing that the best opportunity is not to drive people to your website, but to get them to think about your way of thinking.

People put their money where their values ​​are. While buyers are sometimes on the fence about which new jeans to buy if those jeans are sustainable, recycled, recycled, or use part of the profit on something, this makes it easier for buyers to lean towards purchase.

This phenomenon occurs not only in consumer marketing but also in other sectors. For example, the Global Alliance for Banking on Values ​​(GABV) has erected a tent pole of sincerity, honesty and accountability in a category that is repeatedly held accountable for greed, corruption and fraud.

“We are a pioneering movement,” says Marcos Eguiguren, Managing Director of GABV. “We want to change the way the world sees banking.”

Eguiguren’s goals couldn’t come soon enough.

Shaken by allegations of greed, fraud and outright corruption, banks are being bypassed by financial giants who are not banks at all. PayPal, Apple Pay, and Amazon are common examples, but even Brendan Eich (the computer assistant who created JavaScript and Mozilla) is involved. Basic attention tokens (BAT) are now used to monetize the internet.

“Millennials want to have a Google wallet, they want to use Apple Pay, Venmo and PayPal,” said Rebecca Hoeft, Chief Brand Officer of Sunrise Banks. “They just don’t care about banks because they don’t trust us.”

The mix of banking and values ​​has gained credibility as the combination can have measurable side effects to the well-being of the community. The Brookings Institute recently found that even in the world’s richest countries, frustrations about income inequality and unhappiness are mounting.

“Trends show that even with prosperity, a lack of hope can have high negative costs for society as a whole,” said Carol Graham and Sergio Pinto in a recent article by Brookings. Organizations recognize that the tool for resilience and regeneration is a triple bottom-line outcome that benefits people, the planet and prosperity.

According to a GABV research report, “real” economies offer “economic resilience, environmental renewal and social empowerment for the communities and people they serve”.

“We’re concerned with social change,” said David Reiling, chief executive officer of Sunrise Banks, whose company is a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. “We happen to be bankers.”

Sunrise Banks just published a book called Fintech4Good that identifies young tech companies like Peanut Butter, TrueConnect, EarnUp, and others that are making value-driven personal finance smarter and easier – by using traditional, occasionally predatory, usury practices like payday loans, student loan debts and credit bypass scoring and more.

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values ​​was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in the Dutch provincial town of Zeist. It includes 54 banks from around the world. France’s Credit Cooperatif is the largest member with a balance sheet of over $ 22 billion.

In the US and Canada, B Corp companies like Amalgamated Bank, Beneficial Bank, VanCity and Sunrise Banks are leading the charges.

The new age of banking responsibility

“When someone thinks of banking, they think of finances first,” emphasizes Marcos Eguiguren. “But banks [also] have a responsibility to address the other challenges facing humanity today. “

Many traditional companies view social values ​​as something that could sacrifice profits. Indeed, social vision, values, and profit growth need not be mutually exclusive. Many new businesses create a social vision precisely because they can achieve both purpose and gain through social positivity.

“We’ve heard the argument that a socially responsible business can’t be profitable,” said Peter Neiman, chief marketing officer for Amalgamated Bank in New York City. “But the truth is, these types of organizations are now being sought by investors.”

Neiman points to a Nielsen study that reports that 55% of global online consumers in 60 countries are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that promote positive social and environmental impact.

“Most of all,” Neiman adds, “it’s the right thing to do.”

The most trustworthy brands all have one thing in common: They believe in something that rules them beyond profiting.

As Anne Bahr Thompson writes in her book Do Good, “The most trustworthy brands give and take”.

The rising power of the good

The more people understand the impact big companies have on the world, the more they expect those companies to use that power forever. The ubiquitous swath of giving is no longer limited to TOMS, WarbyParker, or charities. Altruism has become a year-round benefit.

But the purpose must be a combination of spine and rigor. Businesses have to prove that they are good citizens. Banks that apply to the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, for example, go through a rigorous review process, both qualitative and quantitative, and reduce applicants who try to justify other intentions.

“We want members of the highest quality in terms of values,” emphasizes director Marcos Eguiguren from Barcelona. “GABV is the only banking association that carries out full due diligence. We examine your policies and practices to determine whether they conform to our principles. In contrast to other organizations, it is very difficult to be a member of the GABV. We don’t want to be oversized. It is not easy to become a member. It is not enough to just sign up. “

To date, GABV members serve nearly 50 million consumers, have over $ 163 billion in assets and tens of thousands of employees.

This can be considered a little potato when you understand that Citibank has huge banking assets of $ 1.8 trillion. According to GABV leadership, however, there are even more ways to measure banks beyond the size of assets. A useful measure could, for example, be how people are better served.

LAPO Microfinance Bank in Nigeria, a GABV member, helps over 4 million customers, 78% of whom are women. BRAC Bank in Bangladesh provides one of the largest online banking service networks in Bangladesh, a country of over 160 million people whose lives are marked by extreme poverty, illiteracy and disease, and which traditional banks tend to overlook.

We live in a time when people have lost confidence in leaders, hierarchies, and institutional rhetoric. Fake news, scripted sound bits and simultaneous puffing through the sound pipes for an audience that is alternately surprised and amazed. Authentic falsehood has become big business, and big banks punished for fraud, corruption, and lying has become a social meme.

Establishing a connection to values

“As a species, we crave connection,” writes John Doerr in his book Measure What Matters. And what we connect is also important. When we connect to a value, that value is sometimes not that easy to measure.

This is underlined at the GABV annual conference, where conference topics are not about finances, but about topics like migrants, #MeToo and melting ice caps.

“It’s a metaphor for diversity, financial inclusion and equality,” explains Eguiguren. “In the years to come, banks should be part of the solution to human challenges, rather than part of a problem.”

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values ​​believes that at the core of human society lies a soul inclined for good, not evil. The weight of this desire will be discussed as members point out ways to not only improve the world’s financial well-being, but also determine how to turn the cause for the good into one of the big bets in the global financial industry.

Human values ​​may not be measured in terms of gold or silver wealth, but their wealth is a standard that companies are gradually coming to believe.

Contribution to the Branding Strategy Insider by: Patrick Hanlon, author of Primal Branding

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