In today's highly competitive business landscape, having a clear brand purpose has become a crucial aspect of marketing strategy. Marketers must recognise the importance of developing a value proposition that has the brand's purpose at its core. This purpose acts as a guiding light; defining authentic values that resonate with both customers and employees.
A value proposition is your promise to customers and communicates how your product or service adds value to their lives. When defining your organisation's value proposition, your purpose is where it all starts – if it’s not clear why your organisation is doing what it does, it's impossible to craft compelling messages with any real meaning.
In this article, we explore the significance of brand purpose, the role of a brand audit in establishing core values, and how embracing these values can shape company culture and lead to long-term success of any brand.
The Importance of Brand Purpose
Brand purpose goes beyond just selling products or services. It’s the ‘WHY’ your company exists, its impact on society, and the values it upholds. Take The Body Shop’s brand purpose as an example, “To fight for a fairer, more beautiful world.” Their brand purpose is communicated in everything they do with its commitment to ethical and sustainable practices.
This approach strengthens its brand identity, builds trust with consumers, and attracts individuals who resonate with The Body Shop's purpose of promoting ethical beauty, sustainability, inclusivity, and social activism.
A well-defined brand purpose also gives significant benefits to a brand, including:
- Differentiation: In a crowded marketplace, a strong brand purpose helps differentiate your business from competitors. It creates a unique identity that attracts like-minded customers and cultivates loyalty.
- Connection with Customers: Brands with a clear purpose create emotional connections with customers. When people can identify with a brand's values, they are more likely to become loyal advocates and engage in long-term relationships.
- Employee Engagement: A compelling brand purpose inspires and motivates employees. When employees believe in the brand's purpose, they feel a sense of pride and are more engaged, resulting in higher productivity and job satisfaction.
- Shape Company Culture: When a brand's purpose and core values are integrated into the company culture, it creates a strong sense of identity and unity among employees. This, in turn, fosters a positive work environment and helps attract and retain top talent.
One of the most important factors to establishing your brand purpose: A Brand Audit
Values make up a big part of a value proposition so like your purpose, they should be authentic and they should resonate with your team, your customers and stakeholders. Remember, your purpose is your organisation's reason for existence and is the why in all you do. Defining values and making sure they are alive in your organisation is a crucial step in ensuring that everyone is working towards achieving your purpose.
To define and refine your brand purpose effectively, conducting a brand audit is essential. A brand audit is a comprehensive evaluation of your brand's current position, including its perception in the market, customer feedback, and internal culture.
This process allows marketers to:
- Benchmark Current Position
- Uncover Authentic Values
- Effectively demonstrate the impact this project has on shaping company culture.
Download your FREE brand values audit here.
Embracing Brand Values: A Mini-Course to Success
Once your brand's purpose is defined and you’ve conducted a brand audit, it's crucial to ensure their integration across all aspects of your marketing strategy. To support marketers on this journey, we have a brand values mini-course that covers everything you’ll ever need and more to define authentic brand values for your organisation.
It provides:
- A training session that takes you through what organisational values are, and how to build yours alongside your team
- A 5 point checklist so you can audit your values to benchmark your existing company culture
- A guide on how to run a successful values workshop with your team
- All the tools and templates you need to deliver your workshop
- Examples of unique brand values that are a cut above the rest to guide you when creating your own
- A guide to embedding values in your organisation so you can build brand loyalty and level up your company culture
Sign up today here.
In an era where consumers increasingly seek meaningful connections with brands, having a well-defined brand purpose is essential for marketers. It serves as the foundation for developing authentic values that resonate with both customers and employees. By conducting a brand audit and embracing these values, businesses can shape a strong company culture, differentiate themselves in the market, and drive long-term success.
Check out our ‘Purpose is Everything: building an authentic brand’ webinar with Chris O'Connell, founder of Base Mindset. In this webinar we covered the importance of purpose in leadership, how to define your personal purpose and how purpose can transform a business. Watch this here.