A company’s purpose flows expressly from its heritage and leads directly to its values.James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine III, Authenticity
A brand is a living entity with three elements: vision, culture, and customer. Leadership creates a vision that inspires employees whose behaviors—through direct interaction and marketing— translate your brand to your customers. These elements influence each other and collectively create a perception of the company. That perception is the brand.
Underlying all three of these elements is your purpose: what your brand stands for beyond profits. A purpose is why you exist.
A purpose forces an organization to stand for something and against something else. This is something Cult Brands are great at doing: They promote inclusivity—anyone that wants to can join the community—but, not everybody wants to join. They don’t say who can and who cannot be a member. Instead, as a result of what they stand for, they naturally attract some people and repel others.
Having a purpose forces a company to become the best version of itself, rather than constantly chasing the next sale from a customer that may never buy from them again.
Your purpose should change your customers’ lives by improving it in a way that’s in line with your purpose and it should change your employees’ lives by providing meaning to their work.
Without a purpose, it’s impossible to attract passionate customers and employees because your brand has no chance of making them feel that the brand aligns with something inside of themselves.