The Trust Economy: Why High-Value Lead Generation Is Moving Beyond the Purely Digital

In premium segments — private banking, luxury hospitality, and high-end B2B services — traditional lead generation is increasingly under pressure. Digital reach has grown significantly in recent years, but so has skepticism toward purely digital touchpoints.

The result is a widening trust gap: executives systematically and substantially overestimate how much customers actually trust their companies.

High-Value Lead Generation and the Data on Personalization

The shift toward personalization is no longer a “marketing trend,” but an economic performance lever. McKinsey reports that faster-growing companies generate 40% more of their revenue from personalization than slower-growing competitors.https://shorturl.at/jFE2F

Deloitte Digital also finds that 75% of consumers are more likely to purchase when brands offer personalized content.https://shorturl.at/n820G

From Promotion to Value Exchange

In this environment, generic touchpoints are often a missed opportunity. High-value lead generation increasingly behaves like a value exchange: the prospect receives something genuinely useful, rather than promotional clutter.

A professionally produced business portrait or a LinkedIn video business card is not a giveaway. It is a professional asset.

At this point, behavioral research also supports the underlying mechanism: when people are involved in creating something — even through limited effort or personalization — they assign greater value to the result. This phenomenon is known in Harvard Business School research as the so-called “IKEA effect.”

The Competitive Advantage

Many organizations are now investing in personalization. For premium brands, however, the decisive differentiator remains unchanged: high-quality, personal trust-building through direct interaction.

It is the difference between being a data record in a CRM and being remembered as a credible, relevant counterpart.

The central question therefore is:How are you currently ensuring that your most valuable contacts receive the level of personal connection — and the caliber of professional value — they increasingly expect?

Sahin MacKrodt Strategy & Growth, Midday Film Productions