Despite what the title of this article might lead you to believe, I’m a massive advocate of brand purpose.

There’s plenty of debate in marketing as to whether it’s a valuable brand building asset, or whether brand purpose is simply a fluffy way for a brand to seem like it means more than it does.

The fact is, the answer to this debate lies entirely in HOW you approach brand purpose.

Starting with Why

Simon Sinek published his book Start With Why in 2009.

He said –

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

Many business owners (especially SMEs) will be familiar with the concept of the Golden Circle which drives the Start With Why concept – where the Why sits in the middle and the How and What on outer rings that you define after you’ve defined your why.

The Golden Circle makes plenty of appearances in the current brand strategy landscape.

Even though it’s more than 10 years old.

And I’ve got some bad news. Nobody but you cares about your why.

Why nobody cares about your why.

Your brand purpose is expressed best as a brand vision.

All brands need to have a vision.

The thing is, that many brands get their brand vision confused with their business vision. And this means that their vision is all about THEM.

In reality though, nobody outside your business cares about your business goal.

Want to be the biggest retailer in Australia?

Want to become the leading business in your field?

Want to be the only business able to deliver on a point of difference?

Want to be a $1 million microbusiness?

That’s great. These are all excellent and worthy goals for your business. And you’ll need to have these types of goals clearly stated if you’re going to try and bring your internal team along for the ride in building a business.

But let me tell you a hard truth.

None of your customers care about your business vision.

And this is where the often-forgotten part of Simon Sinek’s philosophy comes into play.

Because he also said –

“The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”

If you want your tribe to care, then your brand vision needs to be shared.

Brand Vision MUST be a Shared Vision

Shared vision (or shared purpose) taps into the part of Simon Sinek’s Start With Why that many brands simply ignore.

Your brand vision needs to be bigger than your business goals.

Your brand vision is the change that you want to see in the world. It’s the positive impact you’re aiming to make by doing whatever it is you do.

And it has to consider your tribe.

When we bring our tribe along for the ride (and do business with people who believe what we believe) that’s when brand vision creates brand loyalty.

Why Brand Purpose is Important

Brand Vision is a critical driver when it comes to building brand story.

If you want to use brand story as strategy in your business, then you need a clear and compelling brand vision.

I’ve always believed that strong brand purpose is the key to building brand loyalty and advocacy.

There’s also plenty of data that shows customers are more likely to support a purpose-driven brand.

In Australia, a 2021 survey conducted by the Zeno Group found that:

89% of Australian consumers are more likely to support a brand making a profit if they have a positive impact on the world
88% seek out brands with a strong purpose
Australian consumers are 4 x more likely to purchase from purpose-driven brands

The challenge we face is that the survey also revealed that:

Only 28% of Australian consumer believe most brands have a strong purpose

This means that most brands have work to do when it comes to creating a shared brand vision.

Is yours one of them?

The Secrets to a Great Brand Purpose

Consider Your Tribe

Considering your target market when crafting your brand vision is the key thing that will make it a valuable asset to the growth of your brand.

You should be asking the following questions –

What does your customer get out of joining you in your vision?

How does the change you’re creating impact them?

And most importantly why should your tribe care about your brand?

Be Authentic

We’ve already talked about the fact that you aren’t selling to everyone here.

So, when I say “Be Authentic”, what I mean is be authentic to the change you’re trying to create.

Not everyone will want to come along for the ride. What’s important, is that the people you want to serve believe that you truly believe in your purpose (another reason to use brand story strategy).

Brand vision needs to live at the centre of everything you do. If it doesn’t, then it’s not authentic and your tribe are clever enough to be able to see right through it.

Use it to drive business decisions

Another way to describe a brand vision is your brand’s North Star.

It should be the guiding light for the decisions you make in your business (supported, of course, by the other elements of your brand story strategy – mission, values, differentiators, tribe and personality).

Using your brand purpose in this way helps with the authenticity piece too.

Start with Why – just don’t stop there.

Starting with why is at the heart of brand purpose.

But you can’t stop there.

When you build an authentic, shared vision that brings your customer along for the ride, you’ll be on your way to creating the type of brand loyalty that every brand dreams of.