Get Clear On Your Purpose

I guess you know what the purpose of a business is. It’s to make money. See, if it doesn’t, it isn’t really a successful business, or it should be named a Not For Profit, Charity or Organisation of some sort. It’s pretty crass, but ultimately that is the purpose of a business.

But do you know what the purpose of a brand is? Ultimately it can be different things for different brands: it could be to change the way people eat, protect the environment or build confidence in young people – it’s sharing a clear message that makes a real difference.

Successful brands are often built around that particular message, which is instilled into every area of their company and is then likely a message the company becomes renowned for, it becomes their culture. When your brand has real purpose like this, all other areas tend to flow better, and working towards a common end becomes so much easier.

Having a clear brand purpose in your business can be rewarding in many ways. The more people can enjoy a bigger purpose than themselves, the more connected, engaged and happy they can be in the workplace.

This isn’t to say you disregard the needs of employees simply because they should feel connected because of the purpose you outline, but rather to ensure they feel balanced, appreciated and have a connection to that purpose. (So paying them peanuts and expecting them to work for the ‘greater good’ of the company is not the way to go.)

Let’s take ‘protecting the environment’ as an example of brand purpose. A way to get staff to connect might be through making their office environments very eco-friendly using recycled material or low pollutant materials, or offering transport options amongst staff like car pooling, train tickets or allowing them to travel at non-peak times to avoid sitting in traffic for long periods of time, or even by encouraging days out of the office to help community environmental programs.

Whatever your brand purpose, it’s important to ensure that you’re really connected to it and allow it to filter down through the business in more ways than one. Let your customers know this purpose via marketing, staff interactions and the choices you make in business, and integrate it into your team as part of your shared values and culture.