If it is your job to differentiate and grow your business, you own a tall task—especially in this environment of information overload, when all of us are overwhelmed with new platforms, media channels and ways to get noticed.
Trust in companies and institutions has plummeted over the last two decades. At the same time, the number of choices in the marketplace has skyrocketed. With so many options, a growing number of consumers are examining the greater meaning of their purchases and affiliations. What is the story behind the company? What is their carbon footprint? How do they impact their local and global communities? How do they treat their employees? Does the organization’s values reflect my own? What contribution are they making in the world?
More and more creative entrepreneurs, frustrated GenXers to Millennials and corporate-tired Baby Boomers are searching for more meaning, creating businesses on their own terms, and doing things differently, well, because they can. They are finding their tribes, where purpose and meaning are resonating more than ever.
Just as information and technology superseded manufacturing as the core of innovation and economic growth, we are entering the age of the “Purpose Economy,” according to author Aaron Hurst (and others), where purpose and mission will become the new currency of value creation. I’ve certainly felt it. Have you?
Conscious capitalists and purpose-driven brands like Whole Foods, IKEA, Costco and Zappos are laser-focused on delivering meaning to their customers, employees and stakeholders. They understand, according to Hurst, “that to build loyalty and value they need to play a core role in all three areas of meaning creation for their stakeholders: relationships, impact and growth.”
The book Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, shows how some of today’s best companies “get it.” They go beyond corporate social responsibility and aligning stakeholders’ interests in making the world a better place. These companies are becoming the ultimate value creators. “They’re generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s ‘politically correct’ but “because it’s the only path to long-term competitive advantage.” They are helping to address this desire for meaning, making a profit and having fun doing it.
If you want to compel people to choose your brand and attract today’s workforce, you need to stand for something more meaningful than simply ‘selling stuff to make money.’
Today, more than ever, successful branding is not just what you as an organization (or solopreneur) claim it to be, it must align with your core values and culture as well as the greater impact you have in your community. We all know that your brand is not what you say it is, but it’s what your stakeholders feel about you. It must authentically shine through in your visual identity, marketing and customer service practices. But it’s far more intricate than that.
Branding is about knowing what you stand for and how you convey the values and character of your product or service. Your brand helps facilitate your relationships, which, in turn, facilitate your business. So you must be crystal clear in how you communicate that brand.
Oh, yes, and you have about three seconds, if you’re lucky to make a first impression. [According to a recent Google study, it takes only 17 milliseconds to form a first impression about a website. With a fraction of a second to make an impact, brand consistency is key. So whether that point of introduction is Facebook, LinkedIn, your website, Instagram, an exhibit opportunity, whatever—clearly, compelling visuals are vital to an organization’s brand. But that’s a topic for another post.]
Here’s what we recommend stay top of mind when communicating your brand message:
1. Keep it simple. With so many people, services and products vying for attention, clean design and concise language stand out. The strongest brands are successful because they’ve found a way to reduce a meaningful difference into a simple, clear and cohesive thought.
2. Know your purpose. Some people call it their brand manifesto. Some people say it is the culture. Know your “why” (if you haven’t heard Simon Sinek’s famous TEDtalk, spend 18 minutes to do so). What is that thing about your brand that provides meaning and can be embraced by your employees and your customers?
3. Get real. Until you connect on an emotional level, you will not be remembered. The emotional centers of the brain are where all decision-making happens. Really.
4. Be distinctive. People will notice more when you are different. Tell YOUR story. Try not to be like the others.
Be bold and stake your claim. When you can stand behind your meaning and purpose, these are genuine and powerful differentiators for your brand.
— Wendy Baird, president & creative director
*A similar version of this article was first published for The Business Monthly, but since updated and extended.
