Your brand may have an identity, but does it have a brand purpose? Your brand purpose can heavily influence how everyone who connects with your brand feels about it—and what you’re putting into the world.
What is a brand purpose?
Brand purpose is the high-level reason for your brand’s existence, how it contributes to the betterment of your community and those who engage with you. Unlike a brand promise, which explains what can be expected from you, or your brand identity, which helps make your brand recognizable, brand purpose helps you connect with your target audience on an emotional level.
Think of it this way: Brand identity is the who, while brand purpose is the what, how, and why. Savvy consumers want to see that your brand is going above and beyond, making a positive impact in whatever community you’re part of.
Examples of brand purpose
Your brand purpose should include at least one way what you create plays a part in improving the quality of life for members of your community. Include what your do, how you do it, and why. Examples of a brand purpose might be:
- Highlighting that your products are made with vegan-friendly ingredients to show your commitment to opposing animal cruelty.
- If you sell food, part of your brand purpose might be donating meals or extra stock to a local shelter.
- If you’re a social media influencer, your brand purpose may involve your direct efforts to give back to your community. This might include you encouraging your online followers to help a local family in need or highlighting a fundraiser that supports a cause you’re passionate about.
Why is having a brand purpose beneficial?
Having a brand purpose shows your target audience that you care about more than just making money or increasing your number of followers. It has the power to make those who connect with your brand feel connected and understood because they see themselves in your brand.
A good brand purpose can also increase loyalty and advocacy for your business. A consumer may be more willing to support a small business because of its brand purpose rather than patronizing a larger, national brand that’s prioritizes profits. That same customer might recommend a business to their family and friends because they know that it has a positive impact on the community.
How you can create your brand purpose
When considering your brand’s why, first make a list of 10 to 20 things you think your community needs. Next, try to organize the list based on what you are most passionate about. Then, figure out what your brand is good at doing or providing. If you find places where those three concepts intersect, that should be the starting point for creating your brand purpose.
Once you figure out your general brand purpose, write it out using your brand’s voice and tone so that it effectively lands with your target audience.
How to use your brand purpose when conducting business
Your brand purpose should be evident throughout all of your business practices. From the time that you’re designing a product or service’s concept, you should consider how it fits into your brand purpose. What materials are you using when making your product or providing a service? How do you package your products? What happens to any leftover products or materials after you’ve made a product or have provided a service? Consider how all of those aspects fit into your brand purpose. If any of those factors don’t match your brand purpose, you should think about changing your business’s practices to align with its purpose.
Having a brand purpose builds customer loyalty with your business. It highlights the ways your business is helping your community and other members of society. Include your brand purpose on your business’s website, emails, and any other business letters or forms of communication that you send to customers, prospective customers, investors, and other brands you work with.
