How to Find Your Brand Purpose

What does your brand do? That’s quite an easy question to answer. Most CEOs know precisely what their brand does and how it operates. However, the next question can often leave many business owners stumped;

Why does your brand do what it does?

It may seem strange to think that your business is ticking along without a purpose. Of course, most brands do have a purpose, but it can be hard to articulate. Furthermore, when a business focuses on meeting the day to day requirements, it becomes easy to forget the long-term aspirational goals as to why your brand is in existence.

So, why does your business exist? And why is it so important to be able to answer that question?

Brand purpose is the underlying strength of your business. It shows your ability to live up to your commitments; it gives your employees a reason to come to work every day and provides a competitive edge.

What purpose should your brand have?

In the past, it was commonplace for brands to pit themselves as ‘the best’, ‘the most’ and ‘industry-leading’. Now, brands are more focused on the purposefulness of the business, showing what benefits the business can offer to people’s lives. It is about making the difference rather than making a profit.

So, how can you find your brand purpose and craft a purpose statement to not only be proud of but to believe in?

Purpose statement or mission statement?

Remember, a mission statement is one that is achievable a purpose statement will continue to push your branding forward regardless of the goals you achieve.

1. Ask a lot of questions

You need to get down to the core of your business, and the best way to do this is by asking questions. An endless spiral of ‘why’ questions can help you to drill down to the very heart and purpose of the business. So, why does your business exist? Why are you still in business? Why do you do what you do? Keeping going until you get to what matters most.

2. Balance rationality with emotion

Your brand purpose should be felt in the heart of employees and consumers as well as having the rational approach that what you are doing is achievable. Your purpose needs to connect and engage which will require a balance of facts and feelings. By which, it should be understandable and logical but invoke an emotion at the same time.

3. Be genuine

It is so easy to lose your purpose in a statement full of buzzwords, abstract concepts and unrelatable content. For your purpose to really connect with your audience, your purpose statement needs to be tangible, understandable and pragmatic. A purpose statement is lost if it doesn’t guide the actions of the brand and show your employees how to honour your brand so that it can achieve its fullest potential.

Once you think you have your purpose statement in place, invite feedback. Can people understand it? Does it use the plain language that makes the statement easy to remember and more importantly, can your brand purpose be brought to life?