If you've ever read any business advice, I suspect I won't be the first person to tell you that you should be communicating your purpose, your 'why'. According to a recent report 71% of consumers and 83% of millennials prefer supporting brands that they feel share their values.* 

Identifying the "raison d'être" (the 'why') of your business will guide you in driving the business forward, with a consistent culture and ambition. Articulate that purpose well enough and you can create an emotional connection with the people (internal employees or external contacts) who can support you in reaching your goals and vision. Clearly a no brainer!

However, that said, when it comes to connecting with your ideal customer, no one wants (nor indeed has time) to read long paragraphs explaining your mission statement. Although this is an important part of your business thinking, it is an internal view point, and I'm afraid I see far too many SME's with long About pages on their website describing their company vision and mission statement.

To achieve emotional traction with customers, you need to keep your purpose SIMPLE and RELEVANT to them. That means putting yourself in their shoes and eloquently communicating why they should care about your purpose, so that you can create your 'brand stand'. i.e., Why is your 'why' important to them?

MY TIPS FOR CREATING YOUR BRAND STAND:

Articulating your 'why' may take a while to fine tune, but here are a few questions to get your thinking started:
1. Why does your organisation do what it does? What are you trying to change or do differently?

2. How does that solve a problem or meet a need for your ideal customer?

3. And most importantly, why is solving that problem / meeting that need so important to them?

Answer these questions to start defining your Brand Stand. So that everyone, from your internal contacts to your external customers, understands what you represent and wants to be associated with you.

If you’d like any help identifying and articulating your brand stand, please feel free to drop me a line to organise a free 15 minute chemistry check at Lisa@icingmarketing.com

*5W PR 2020 Culture Report

*Image Credit Canva February 2022