Gated offers
The issues consumers care about require large-scale and long-term changes that may take many years. But brands are in the unique position to activate value-driven customer segments by using gated offers to reward consumers for living their values today.
Run-of-the-mill promotional offers cast a wide net and provide value to anyone who has a coupon book or simply shops during a particular season. By contrast, gated offers provide exclusive value to consumers who are verified members of a specific group like teachers, healthcare workers or charity volunteers. This makes gated offers ideal for attracting purpose-driven customer segments because their members define themselves by their everyday actions—and purchases.
There are many ways brands can use gated offers to attract value-centered customer segments. For example, Ben & Jerry’s appeals to consumers who support racial justice by providing gated offers to those who donate to a cause like Black Lives Matter. Big-box retailer Target appeals to customers even more broadly by using gated offers as a way to support teachers. Every July, the company offers teachers a back-to-school discount to help them save money on school supplies.
Target is doing well by doing good. Honoring groups like teachers appeals to consumers who care about how businesses show up in the community. It’s also profitable: Target knows that an exclusive offer for teachers drives customer acquisition by increasing loyalty among teachers, who feel rewarded for their work, while also generating an affinity for the brand in the minds of everyone else grateful for the value teachers provide.
More broadly speaking, gated offers not only speak to core aspects of consumers’ identities but also reward them for embodying their values with everyday decisions like purchases. When consumers see businesses honoring the values that define their lives, they also start to see how those businesses can fit into their own lives.