28 Jun Brands Need A Purpose To Find Their Market

It’s amazing how many brands or companies conduct business with no real purpose besides profit. I am not one to say that profit isn’t the motivating factor when it comes to business but I would say that the companies that are more successful understand that adding purpose to their brand is one of the most important things they can do.

Erin Mulligan Nelson, VP – Chief Marketing Officer at Dell, has written a great article for Advertising Age that talks about the importance of adding purpose to your brand. Nelson breaks this idea down into a three-point system, which I find to be useful and truthful. She cites her examples from her experiences with Dell making her points valid in my opinion. Here are a couple of points:

Let your customers, your people, and your heritage be your guide

Purpose is derived from history and people. History refers to past ideas that were successful and the attributes that your company is known for. This is only applicable if you have a successful history. If you’re a new company then you are faced with the decision of what your purpose will be. If you’re a company who has been around for a while then you probably already have an identity. A solid example would be a development company who cares deeply for the environment. Their history should reflect this and employees should share this passion. It should be a cascading effect. Employees must represent the purpose of the brand. This is highly important in real estate.

Use your purpose as fundamental driver of your communications and customer-engagement strategy

I think this goes back to creating a niche for your business. Your passion and purpose should always describe your niche. If that same hypothetical development company communicates in a language similar to their passions and purpose then they will attract the appropriate prospects. Potential buyers who hold similar passions will enjoy communicating their passions and this creates a strong bond between a company and its customers. The truth is that people want to stand for something and a major way they express that is through their purchase decisions. We buy hybrids because we care about the environment right? It’s the same thing with real estate. People are going to buy sustainable products because they either care about the environment or they want to lower energy costs. If your passions reflect on your product and employees then the right consumers will no doubt see the value in your product.

The bottom line is that brands need to have a purpose to find their market.