Cause and effect. Beginnings and ends. Questions and answers. You can’t have one without eventually finding the other. Business basics are full of these types of unions. Each leadership decision will have a corresponding result. Every campaign launch will eventually come to an end. And sometimes just asking your employees the right questions will get them all the way to the answer.
The same principle should dominate your marketing tactics. The vision for your brand needs to be clear and well communicated – the kind of clarity where each employee can articulate the vision immediately. Your purpose should be sturdy enough to build an entire brand on top of it. That’s REALLY sturdy. So how do you do it? Determine the why.
Your why matters. You are halfway to the goal when you know the motive behind what you’re doing. There’s no one way to identify it and no easy way to articulate it, but there are a few questions you can ask to put you on the path of discovering your purpose.
- What change did you want to make when you started your business?
- How will the pursuit of such change make a bigger difference?
- What are your business’ greatest strengths?
- What is the greatest value your business can contribute to the world?
- How does your brand fit in when you look at the changes others wish to see in the world?
- How will you articulate your purpose in a way that will create trust among your audience and support of your brand?
- What makes you feel alive?
- How can your purpose motivate the people you work with?
Take a look around and you’ll see plenty of examples of brands that know exactly what their why is. TOMS, Warby Parker, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola are just a few that have discovered their why, not only from a business standpoint but also their why for changing the world around them.
Once you identify your purpose and spend good time processing the full vision, your brand can more easily slip into a customized plan of action tailored to its unique shape.
You can’t set sail without a destination in mind or it turns into merely drifting. Don’t drift. Be proactive. Brand purpose should not be a whisper, but a shout. Not a suggestion, but a declaration. Practice daily the discipline of asking yourself why you’re doing that and how it’s going to get you there. Wherever there is.
