The big existential questions … and branding!

Scale tiles spelling out Who Am I

Probably life’s biggest existential questions are “Who am I?” and “Why do I exist?”.

Philosophers have wrestled with these questions for aeons.

When we are talking about our businesses, these are questions that have to be answered quickly as the marketplace doesn’t take kindly to a company that can’t adequately define itself.

In our modern business landscape knowing what your brand is, what you stand for and why you exist is more important than ever before. I’d even suggest that these questions should be thoroughly addressed – before any product or service is developed fully.

So, Who are you? And what do you do?

They are the questions every potential customer has circling their brain whenever they encounter any new company or business person.

If a firm hasn’t defined the answers for themselves then they have no chance of communicating it effectively to any potential customer.

And if you don’t have the answers and can’t control that conversation yourself – then the customer and market will provide their own definitions? Which is usually a very wrong or, at the very least, a hugely skewed definition.

The good news is that when you do control of the narrative, providing your own answers to the questions and you communicate those answers clearly, then establishing a real connection with your target audience becomes a much easier task.

Framing who you are within a narrative story makes it more accessible for people, and much easier to communicate. It’s known as your brand story – and I’ve written about creating one in these web articles before so don’t intend on repeating myself too much here.

A brand story is a valuable asset. It should bring together the brand’s guiding principles in a relatable way, and should impact all aspects of the organisation and its activities as it looks to embody and live out those principles.

A good brand story is far more than a mere marketing message. It can form the roadmap for the business leaders to follow and ‘check’ their plans against. It can also provide the bones of a pretty impactive sales pitch too.

If we think of a logo as a badge are emblem that represents the company – the face of the company if you like – then we can think of the brand story as the skeleton that the company is built around.

‘Momentology’ conducted a survey which identified 10 brands that they considered to truly know themselves and their stories well. According to their findings each of their top brands has had a major market impact as a result of their clearly defined brand story.

The traits they noted as common to the most impactive brand stories are:

They Address Problems

This is ‘business 101’.

For any business to be successful you have to address real need(s) for your customers.

Telling the story of how you meet that need, what you do that addresses that problem, is highly impactive. Most importantly telling how the customer’s life is better / less stressful as a result is key. This is the foundation of a compelling brand story.

Bill Gates stated it this way:

“If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions, they will be moved to act.”

As scriptwriters the world-over have known for years, if there is no emotional engagement, if we don’t care about the characters, we will not be bothered to pay any attention. The story has to grip us.

With so many companies competing for our attention, combined with the speed and transient nature of modern communication, then the story has to grip us quickly.

Jennifer Eggers, Director of brand communication at Siegel+Gale said: “It’s important to have a story that people can understand and connect with … Especially with newer brands, people care and expect that the brand is coming into existence for a good reason – to solve a problem, to change how we do things, to meet a specific need – and the story is central to communicating the brand’s purpose.”

Defining your purpose

‘Purpose’ has become one of those words that we hear repeatedly in business. In truth, we hear it so often, especially in branding circles, that we become desensitised to the powerful impact it can have.

Yet ‘purpose’ has been a prime factor of the most successful brands in recent years. And that fact is not going to change any time soon.

Our societal trajectory of travel sees Generation Y, Millennials and Generation Alpha all citing purpose and social impact as key considerations for which products they buy, and which brands they affiliate to.

Richard Branson stated the importance of these considerations for business like this:

“The brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit.”

Making a positive impact

Many modern brands incorporate an element of social good into their brand stories – whether that’s giving back to their communities, being at the forefront of sustainability or helping consumers on their own journey of self-discovery and fulfilment. Sounds rather grandiose, but again, these lofty goals make for great stories.

The underdog

Many of the brands that Momentology referenced would be identified as ‘the underdogs’.

A consistent aspect of their brand story was that they were brave enough to take on both the industry leaders and established industry practices.

Tackling the titans of industry in a David and Goliath scenario is a significant trait of many of the most powerful brand stories. We commonly call such companies ‘disruptors’.

Redefine the customer experience

To truly own the disruptor name tag each of these brand stories has something worth saying – often that’s because the brand itself has taken a common industry practice or customer experience and reinvented it. Usually being creative in that reinterpretation, turning it on its head and generally making it more customer-centric in the process.

Steve Jobs said:

“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way around.”

It’s a theory that doesn’t only work in the tech space. Putting customer experience first and foremost is always a big plus for any business.

Build communities of devoted fans

Brands that have a clear identity and purpose will form more meaningful connections that result in truly devoted, loyal fans. For them, it’s not just a brand or a product, but rather a personalised statement of identity or belief which is personified by the brand in question.

To put it another way, the brand represents the identity and values that they want to be aligned with.

Taking a strong stand will mean some people are ‘turned on’ to the brand (which also means some will be ‘turned off”). This is not to be feared in branding. Finding ‘your tribe’ leads to increased customer loyalty. Devoted fans breed other devoted fans, they introduce and refer more than the average customer does. Losing some custom but gaining a tribe of fans is proven to be good business.

“If people believe they share values with a company they will stay loyal to the brand”

Howard Schultz, Chairman & CEO of Starbucks

“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.”

Chip Bell, author and consultant in customer loyalty and service innovation.

Workplace Culture

Great brands do create fans who are passionate. The best brands recognise that a great brand culture is foundational. In such firms, the biggest fans are often the employees.

Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization’s makeup and success — along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like… I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. former Chairman & CEO of IBM

“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”

Simon Sinek, author, Start with Why

If the employees love the brand they want everyone else to love it too. It’s infectious and can be highly contagious when handled well.

Visible Founders

Companies with great cultures historically have founders and leaders who are actively hands-on in the company. Some even hold titles like Chief Evangelist (although I have to confess I’m not personally a fan of such titles).

What these founders have in common is that they surround themselves with a team who share their vision – and then they treat that team well.

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.

Richard Branson, Virgin

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” –

Theodore Roosevelt

It’s also proven that companies with leaders who are active on Social Media see a boost in recruitment. CEO Hangouts research stated that 82% of people are more likely to trust a company whose senior executives actively use social media.

Toms Shoes

According to their website founder Blake Mycoskie while travelling in Argentina in 2006 “witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes”

“Wanting to help, he created Toms Shoes, that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need.” The simplicity of the idea was easy to communicate and easily understand – One for One.

The company reported donating 95 million pairs of shoes through 2019.

Over and above that, Toms has helped restore sight to over 360,000 people and has helped provide over 250,000 weeks of safe water across six countries.

Toms also launched its Bag Collection in 2015. With each bag purchased, the brand will help provide a safe birth for a mother and baby in need.

Toms did later switch from the BOGO model to pledge to give 1/3 of its profits to organizations creating grassroots good .

Know, Like & Trust

Establishing and developing ‘know, like, and trust’ have always been the pillars used when building a brand. Concepts like ‘giving back to society’ and ‘making the world a better place’ have not always been high on the list for businesses historically – but now look to be key factors for the modern brand and consumer alike.

“With social media, brands are now more than their price points, they are living, breathing entities with personalities, goals and values” … Consumers want to feel not only like they are getting a good product, but that they are getting it from a good brand. For example, Toms was able to enter an extremely competitive industry with products very similar in price, quality and style to that of its established competitors. They were able to do so by combining their product offering with a robust brand story that consumers could get behind and feel good about being a part of.”

Stephen Golub, Vice President of a digital marketing agency

In a nutshell, Toms solves a problem, has a visible founder and does good – and so the Toms brand ticks multiple boxes.

Uber

Uber claims ‘to be evolving the way the world moves’. It’s another bold vision. Uber is clearly a disruptor, the David to the Goliath of the established taxi industry. The rebellious alternative that has redefined the marketplace.

Uber say:

“By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers.”

The idea is stated simply in their strapline: “Your Ride, On Demand”.

Airbnb

Airbnb is another disruptor. This time in hotel accommodation market.

Their vision is to be a trusted community for consumers to list, discover, and book unique accommodations for unique travel experiences.

The strapline “Welcome home.” sum up the added bonus of offering a more home-form-home experience.

In 2020 a total of 251.1 million nights were booked and 2021 saw 356.9 million nights booked on Airbnb.

Under Armour

Under Armour defines itself as the originator of performance apparel. They create athletic gear designed to keep athletes “cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or workout.”

The brand states its mission originated in the pursuit of a t‑shirt that provided compression and would also wick perspiration away from the skin – regulating temperature and enhancing performance.

Under Armour came to market as a huge underdog – taking on the established global sports brands. But they understood and solved a unique problem. Under Armour has perfected its voice and knows how to communicate with its legion of devoted fans.

Beats

Beats say they bring the energy, emotion and excitement of playback in the recording studio to the everyday listening experience. It’s hard to know how many of their customers actually have any point of reference for experiencing a studio playback but it’s undeniable that Beats have captured a corner of the market for quality headphones.

Beats leveraged their founder Dr. Dre’s fame and introduced a new generation to the possibilities of premium sound entertainment and became a fashion brand in the process.

Technology giant Apple acquired Beats in 2014 for $3 billion.

Beats addressed the problem of subpar headphones and redefined both the expectations and the way many consumers listen to music.

Existentialism

Knowing who you are and why you exist is more important than ever before in the business world.

A company that simply wishes to make a profit and provide a decent standard of living for its employees is unlikely to capture the imagination of its audience anymore. Not when there are so many competitors who have a bigger ‘reason for being’ that they are happy to share with all who will listen.

Not every company can be a disruptor – but if you are not one, then being aware of how a disruptor might enter your own marketplace, and what they might do to challenge the norm is well worth your consideration.

As Sun Tzu says in The Art of War

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Knowing where and how ‘an attack’ might happen is how we formulate a defence plan. Being aware is half the battle.

Regardless of where you fit into the market, engaging your customers and telling them what you stand for is a proven strategy to succeed.

The questions remain who are you? and why do you exist?