On many occasions, the success of companies is due to the fact that they follow a set of objectives. A company is always founded for a reason, a mission. It may start with a purely altruistic or minority purpose, with the good fortune that it ends up helping many people. The purpose of many entrepreneurs is to alleviate a problem to which they cannot find an existing solution.
how do you identify the purpose of your business?
Generally, not all companies are clear about their purpose, most organisations are not clear about the point of the company's mission. From the internal perspective of companies, the failure occurs where their employees do not know the motives of the organisation they work for. Simon Sinek has attempted to investigate the reasons for this phenomenon, creating a useful framework that he has called the golden circle:
Most companies start to be built from the outside in. Starting the house from the roof is an absurdity - when we speak in business terms - just as we cannot start a business idea from the what to the why. One of the reasons that explains the failure of many companies that start with the what is the lack of concreteness in the why, it is much easier and less abstract to conclude in the what, in the product; service; or sector in which you want to found a company. However, if we define well the why, that is, the reason why we create a company or project, we can aspire to grow more and better. If the purpose of the company is well defined, the what and how will emerge naturally.
It is a mistake to think that profit and growth are our main objective. It is clear that success can be a sufficiently satisfying motivation to be included in the company's objectives. But it is not only money that can sustain a company. This profitability belongs to the question of how we differentiate ourselves or develop as a business.
The mission of entrepreneurs should be to represent or reflect future ideas about the expectations of their company. Sinek criticises entrepreneurs who are unable to explain why their organisation exists, beyond its products or services. Identifying the why can have an impact on the way employees work and the performance of a company.
If a company does not have a single defined purpose, it is normal for multiple objectives to occur in each of the teams that make up the company. If these do not work in an aligned way, motivated by a common purpose, however much the objectives are included in the SMART characteristics, they become obstacles to working together. All teams in the company, marketing, sales and service need to share the same idea of the organisation's purpose and have a unified strategy to achieve the objectives. Even the administrative, accounting and finance teams can provide a key and symbolic customer experience in the relationship with customers.
One place to start to improve the company's purpose is to define the company's culture. A company's culture is the environment that defines and regulates how employees represent customers. It is part of the product and service a company offers and the promise you make to your customers. During the Inbound marketing strategy, we try to humanise the company by developing empathy and friendliness with customers. In doing so, the customer experience around the company becomes a clear priority and objective.
You can find out why by listening to customers. Customers and loyal consumers of your company can provide an alternative related to the reasons why they are loyal to that company. Orienting the objectives of the company to what customers expect from that business can benefit the company with great growth. Initiating a dialogue between consumers and the company about their opinion can open a space open to criticism that enriches the relationship and the customer experience. They feel that they are a value to your company.
Moreover, with dialogue you have the ability to open a space for criticism and suggestions. If your customers ask you to improve a specific point about your company, it is good to take it into account.
Your company must reinforce its personal brand. The purpose is linked to the corporate image of the company. How is your company perceived from an external perspective? We cannot forget this field, the opinion of others, criticism and comments are crucial for the image they perceive of our personal brand. As professionals, we must take care of that image and enhance it. One strategy to optimise and monitor the corporate image is to make good use of social networks. Continue reading our article on personal branding.
Another concise objective is to get a company to try to solve the problems of the type of customer you want to help. Defining the profile of your buyer personas can be a possibility to create a target. Knowing what type of audience you are targeting and what they expect from your company, helps you to better understand the reasons why your customers are loyal to your business.
Ultimately, the answer to success lies in defining your company's purpose. By keeping these in mind and following the values on which the brand was founded, you demonstrate truthfulness and credibility to your existing customers and future leads. Consistency serves as an example of how your company works internally.
