By Kelli Newman, APR
A common mistake organizations make in telling their story is focusing on what they do and how they do it, rather than explaining why. The why, or purpose, is a critical distinguisher; it inspires an organization’s formation and supplies the emotion for motivating action. Connecting purpose with identity also impacts bottom line.
An Accenture Strategy’s study of nearly 30,000 consumers revealed that 64% are attracted to brands that actively communicate their purpose. Additional research reported that 8 in 10 consumers said a company’s purpose is at least as important to them as customer experience. Clearly, articulating purpose has reached a new level of significance in an organization’s success.
Declare Your Purpose
To realize the competitive advantage of uniting a brand’s identity with purpose, the connection must be reinforced throughout a company’s messaging. Two examples of this come from our work with both corporate and nonprofit clients:
- WaterFleet is an innovative company whose mobile, disruptive technology transforms unhealthy water, often in remote locations such as drilling sites, into safe, clean potable water. If its story focused strictly on what the company does, WaterFleet’s identity would be solely associated with technology and where it’s used. By weaving WaterFleet’s belief that clean, safe water is a basic human right throughout its messaging, its identity expands to that of a company dedicated to a healthy and productive workplace by way of pioneering technology. It’s a purpose that is not only expressed in its marketing materials, but evident in WaterFleet’s culture, employee values and customer experiences as well.
A cause is often the motivation for why an organization is formed. It is inevitably at the heart of a nonprofit, however the purpose that distinguishes its services can be missing from its identity.
- Westside Homeless Prevention was established to help parents of school-age children who are, as a result of financial circumstances, struggling to keep a roof over their heads and at risk of frequent moves or worse, homelessness. Neither the organization’s name, nor descriptions of financial counseling case management provided to clients identified the compelling seat they occupied at the homeless prevention table. In fact, the focus of their existence was to prevent the damage done to a child’s education and social development by repeatedly changing schools as a result of eviction or homelessness. After rebranding, including a name change to Raise Up Families and making their mission of ensuring uninterrupted childhood learning a central theme of organizational messaging, their purpose was soundly attached to the organization’s identity.
The Power of Emotion
Why is purpose such a strong motivator? It’s where the emotion of your story lives. That’s important because research has shown we are neurobiologically dependent on emotions for making decisions. In communicating your organization’s story, it is critical that you consider the emotions to be associated with your purpose.
Regardless of whether it’s joy, inspiration, compassion or even some discomfort, it can’t be overstated that the emotions you engage must be genuine. Audiences know when they’re being played and any emotions you engage in defining your purpose must be authentic, sincerely conveying the impact your organization has on the lives of those it serves.
Competitive advantage, brand loyalty and inspired employees are all outcomes of associating purpose with identity. As Accenture’s research has revealed, standing for something bigger than what the company offers has assumed a new bottom-line priority in consumer expectations. It may be time to polish your messaging and reconnect with the why that inspired your purpose.
© 2021 Newman & Newman, Inc.
