The two questions you need to know the answer to
Why do you exist?
Why should anyone care?
These might seem flippant, but they’re actually two pretty fundamental questions you need to know the answer to when developing your brand.
Most people have got an answer for the first question (although worryingly not all). A lot of companies are in business to make a profit—which is all well and good—but if they don’t have a compelling answer to the second question, they often find themselves in purely transactional type relationships with their customers/consumers/audience (or however you want to label them).
We’re all creatures of habit, so a transactional relationship can be ok (we’re more likely to stick with what we know than risk switching to something we don’t if the outcome on offer is exactly the same), but the downside is it gives the competition an opportunity to muscle in on the action, for example with a lower price or some other added value that makes the risk of switching worthwhile.
So you have to fight harder to win and keep customers, because after all, most consumers aren’t looking to help businesses make money. They’ve got their own agenda to look out for.
Some businesses seem to forget this, but it’s worth bearing in mind—if you’ll entertain me for a moment—that in most instances people (your customers) only buy something when they’ve got a problem they want to solve: I want to secure my property, I want to feel confident in public, I’m hungry (or soon will be), I want to feel like I’m doing good in the world etc. In their mind the organisation they engage exists to help solve their problem. They’re not interested in helping boost profit margins.
But back to the second question… If, however, there is a reason for a customer to care about an organisation, you can move past the transactional, and take the relationship to a completely different level. One where the customer IS interested in helping the business. This might be through a shared vision, goal or approach.
Research from Accenture found 62% of consumers want companies to stand up for the issues they are passionate about.
The Body Shop is a great example of this. When it launched in the 70’s, it could have been just another company trying to convince you its cosmetics we’re going to help you look and feel great. But the way it did business, its ethical focus, and the campaigns it ran and supported (and still does), gave customers a reason to buy that was beyond the product alone. It had shared principles, shared goals. These created loyalty, and customers who would do more than just buy, they’d also become advocates. Dove, Farmison and Sport England with their ‘This Girl Can’ campaign are a few other examples that come to mind of organisations with principles that it’s easy for audiences to share.
An added benefit of focusing on more than just the bottom line is that it helps bring a sense of direction to a business. When you’ve got a clear destination it makes plotting the route easier. But if you’re not sure where you’re headed, any road might take you there.
Now, this isn’t to say that a business shouldn’t be aiming for a profit (I’m not crazy!), but loyal customers make that aim much easier to achieve than when you’re just trying the same things everyone else is (I’ve written more on this in the power of difference).
So… what are your answers?
And if you’re thinking ‘this is all well and good, but my industry is all about price’, then I’d say that it can sometimes appear that price is the sole motivating factor only because no one is trading on, or offering anything else, but if you can move beyond that, you can knock the competition for six (assuming you’ve obviously got a good product or service to start with, without which no amount of brand building will help).
If you’re still not convinced, then drop me a line and I’ll be happy to try and convince you otherwise.
*It’s worth saying that I mainly refer to business in the above, but I use that term to be all encompassing, in the sense that most people are trying to sell something. A product or service (companies), a goal (charities), the future (political parties), an experience (sports/the arts) etc.