Guide
Value-based marketing
Key principles, examples, and benefits
Value-based marketing aligns brand efforts with customer values and beliefs, moving beyond product features and pricing. This approach creates authentic connections and meaningful experiences that foster long-term customer loyalty through shared values.
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What is value-based marketing?
Value-based marketing is a strategic approach that focuses on delivering and communicating principles that resonate with customers' core beliefs and needs. It emphasizes creating meaningful connections through messaging that aligns with customer values rather than solely promoting product features or pricing.
Why is value-based marketing important?
Value-based marketing is emerging as a pivotal strategy, as personal values are increasingly shaping consumer segmentation and behavior in unprecedented ways. The Beyond the Generational Divide research revealed that four out of five consumers identify their mindset and values as more definitive characteristics than age, establishing values alignment as a powerful new paradigm for reaching relevant audiences. This approach has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness, with 79% of consumers reporting a higher likelihood of purchasing from brands whose values mirror their own. From relevant audience definition to comprehensive funnel attribution, value-based marketing has become an indispensable component in the modern marketer's framework for brand success.
How are value-based and traditional marketing different?
Value-based marketing differs from traditional marketing because it prioritizes long-term customer relationships over short-term sales metrics. While traditional marketing often focuses on product features and price points, value-based marketing emphasizes creating meaningful relationships through shared connection, authentic messaging, and customer-centric solutions.
Types of value-based marketing
Value-based marketing can be categorized into four main types, each addressing different aspects of customer value perception and contributing to a brand’s overall value proposition. While not all brands will use every type of value-based marketing, it is critical to understand each type to develop comprehensive marketing campaigns that resonate across multiple value dimensions.
Functional
Functional value is a core component of a brand’s value proposition, as it pertains to the practical benefits and solutions that products or services provide to customers. It emphasizes how offerings solve specific problems or improve efficiency in customers' lives.
Emotional
Emotional value marketing connects with customers on a deeper level. It focuses on how a customer feels and experiences the brand or product. This approach builds strong brand loyalty through meaningful customer experiences and personal connections.
Economic
Economic value refers to the perceived monetary gain or savings with a brand’s value proposition. This perception focuses on direct savings, long-term cost benefits, or return on investment.
Social
Social value marketing demonstrates how a brand's mission and actions contribute to broader societal goals, appealing to customers who prioritize social responsibility and community impact.
Key principles of value-based marketing
Successful value-based marketing relies on several fundamental principles that guide strategy development and implementation.
Customer-centric marketing is a strategy that places customer needs and values at the core of all marketing efforts, ensuring every message and campaign speaks directly to customer priorities and provides direct customer service. By offering value to the customer at every interaction, brands can inspire discovery, consideration, purchase, or loyalty, no matter where in their journey customers may be.
Brand trust refers to the connection that customers have with a brand. It is built from consistent, authentic, and accessible brand communications that demonstrate reliability and commitment to customer success. Brand trust creates customer loyalty, boosts brand advocacy, leads to repeat purchases, and builds resilient customer relationships.
Authenticity and transparency
It is imperative for brands to ensure their value-based marketing messages align with actual business operations to maintain authenticity. This transparent demonstration of company values differentiates brands from competitors and creates deeper resonance with modern consumers through genuine emotional connections.
Long-term value creation
While short-term sales metrics may provide immediate insights and feedback, focusing solely on these metrics can lead to shortsighted decisions that may harm the brand’s long-term sustainability. By prioritizing value-based marketing, companies will generate long-term value such as resilient customer relationships, consistent profitability, and business longevity.
What are the benefits of value-based marketing?
In a recent study, 65% of respondents said that when they buy a product, the brand is very important to them. Brands matter to consumers, as do their values. As consumers are showing up for their causes, it’s crucial for brands to understand and align with what their customers care deeply about, especially as economic considerations shape purchasing decisions.
Improved brand differentiation
In today's crowded marketplace, where products and services are increasingly similar, a brand's values and purpose create a meaningful distinction that resonates with consumers on a deeper level. By authentically communicating and demonstrating key values, brands can stand out from competitors and attract customers who share their beliefs, creating a competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate and sustain over time.
Enhanced customer loyalty
Value-based marketing generates loyalty by creating connections that transcend traditional transactional relationships through shared beliefs between customers and brands. This alignment creates a sense of community that makes switching to competitors less appealing as customers see the brand as an extension of their identity. The result is increased loyalty behaviors and resilient relationships built on shared mission and purpose rather than just products or services.
Higher customer satisfaction
When customers engage with brands that share their values, they experience greater emotional fulfillment beyond the basic product or service transaction, leading to higher satisfaction levels. This deeper connection results in customers feeling more understood and valued by the brand, while the consistency between marketing messages and actual brand experiences reinforces their satisfaction and trust in the company's authentic commitment to shared values.
Examples of value-based marketing
Case Study
Jeep partnered with Prime Video ads to create an impactful campaign celebrating women's achievements and leadership. The campaign resonated with audiences by aligning with values of equality and empowerment.
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Ad Council leveraged Amazon Ads Streaming TV, audio, and display solutions to launch their "Love Your Mind" value-based marketing campaign, showcasing how language learning nurtures mental wellbeing and personal growth, while connecting with audiences who value self-improvement and cognitive health.
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The “Louder than Cancer” campaign utilized Amazon Ads to amplify stories of cancer survivors and their relationships with music, creating powerful emotional connections with viewers while supporting cancer research.
Case Study
The Citizens watch brand effectively used Amazon Ads to communicate their commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly practices, reaching environmentally conscious consumers through targeted messaging about their solar-powered timepieces.
Amazon Ads solutions for value-based marketing
Amazon Ads enables brands to authentically connect with value-aligned audiences through powerful audience engagement capabilities and diverse ad formats. Leveraging Amazon's unique first-party insights and audience segments, marketers can reach relevant consumers based on their interests, behaviors, and values, while measuring the impact of value-based messaging across the customer journey.
Amazon DSP allows buyers to leverage programmatic advertising to help reach valuable audiences across multiple channels with relevant, value-driven messages.
Sponsored Display ads create visually engaging ads that help communicate your brand values and connect with customers at various touchpoints in their journey.
Amazon Marketing Cloud helps gain deeper insights into how your value-based messaging resonates with different audience segments and optimize accordingly.
If you have limited experience, contact us to request services managed by Amazon Ads. Budget minimums apply.
B2B marketing examples
Case Study
Samsung uses a video marketing strategy to reach B2B audiences
Samsung had developed a range of new business TVs with high-quality screens and easy-to-use software dedicated to B2B services, including restaurants, shops, schools, hospitals, and hotels. Samsung worked with Amazon Ads to reach B2B audiences from across these services for their business TV launch in Italy.
Samsung developed a marketing strategy with Amazon Ads to introduce the TVs to new business customers and engage the most interested audiences over a three-month period. The strategy used video ads, Amazon DSP, and ad placements on Amazon Business, which caters to registered and verified B2B customers. To complement this campaign, Samsung also remarketed to engaged audiences with creatives that included links to detailed product pages. Samsung saw a high video completion rate that engaged leaders at the businesses they wanted to reach in relevant industries.
