If you asked me whether a company’s purpose drives consumer purchasing, I admit that my gut response would probably be “not that much.” 

Here’s my thinking: purpose is hugely important for building culture and guiding strategy, but typically only really helps a few mission-driven companies like Patagonia, Toms, and Bombas sell more stuff.

I think I may need to rethink my thinking.

First, there are a bunch of super successful, established brands like Harley Davidson and Apple that have sold tons of products based on connecting with consumers’ values.

Second, and maybe more importantly, I’m seeing more consumer brands emerge that are engaging in a phenomenon I’d call “purpose matching.” 

That’s where a brand designs its product features to align with the purpose of the company and the values of the consumer–and enables the consumer to participate in delivering on the purpose by taking action. 

Increasingly, I think it’s going beyond the “one for one” model of socks and shoes to some really interesting places. 

Case in point: a new green finance company called Aspiration has created a personal impact score to help consumers shop in ways that match their values. 

Here’s how they describe it: “Aspiration Impact Measurement gives you an easy way to find out if a business’s social and environmental practices align with your values – and allows you to adjust your spending habits accordingly.”

I think it’s entirely possible that consumer brands–and maybe even B2B brands–which are not as mission-driven as Aspiration will engage in purpose-matching. 

It’s easy to see how this approach could drive off-the-charts customer engagement and loyalty.

But then again, maybe I’m overthinking it?