The term “brand” originates from the need to brand and stamp one’s character on a product, a physical object: something that makes it easier for customers to recognize it. Today, brands exist for both goods and services. This is, however, more of a challenge for services because they lack any physical dimension. In many cases, there is nowhere else to brand than on a business card, a sign or an invoice.
The actual service is difficult or perhaps totally impossible to brand. In the Western world, where services account for a large element of wealth creation, creating equally good and recognizable brands is a challenge. The reason for this is not just that it is difficult to brand these services in the same way as physical products; it is also because services are created to a greater extent through the experience the customer obtains. It is mainly people who are responsible for this experience. Where there is a lack of ways to guide an employee on how services are to be produced and supplied, it is in many cases up to the individual employee to find this out by himself. For this reason, there are great variations in the experience for the customer, which again makes it difficult to recognize the brand.
In this article, I advocate that it is fully possible to build alliances between brands and people. The solution is to get to the bottom of what is the most meaningful part of the brand. For that, we have peel away the layers to get to the brand’s core. Here we find the brand’s purpose. And the brand’s purpose is the most important asset in relation to the target groups.
Purpose is the brand’s real self, it’s the guiding star everyone who works with the brand should steer after. Many companies have long been concerned with core values, but the fact is that these do not differentiate the brand in the same way as purpose. While values act as guidelines, the purpose says something about why we have chosen to do the job we do – why companies exist.
The purpose is what links the company’s stakeholders together in a way that strengthens the brand while serving everyone who is concerned about it. This makes the brand more human, attracts customers and potential employees and represents value beyond pure financial gain.
But how do you get started? And what means must be used to succeed? This and more is what I want to address in this article where I go into the depth of how purpose builds bridges between the brand and the people closest to it.
Read on to find out which branding activities you need to employ to ensure that your audiences find the best value in your brand. We will look at this in relation to customers, employees and even investors. These groups are different in nature and require a tailored approach.
It is often useful to see how others have solved it. Therefore, in this article I share examples of some strong purpose statements (and one not so strong) from real brands.
If you’re passionate about connecting with your audience, then I’m positive you’ll benefit from reading the full article.