What is Brand Purpose:

The Orbit Path of Your Business

What is Brand Purpose? Google states their purpose is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Walmart’s purpose is “saving people money so they can live better.” And Facebook: “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.”

Some will define brand purpose as the virtues behind a business, or what a company brings to better the world. This can be the case, but brand purpose is more than that. Yes, Google’s purpose statement focuses on what it gives to the world; of course it doesn’t mention the monetary return it gets for those services. Business is always an exchange, and your company has an idea at its core that provides something for the world around it. It is the core of why you do what you do, beyond simply making money. In short, brand purpose is why you exist as a business.

An easy way to view this is through the lens of Simon Sinek’s “golden circle” idea. Picture three concentric circles, the largest of which is your What, next your How, and finally the core circle is your Why. Your What is usually easier to define–it’s what product or service your business offers. The How defines your strategies, organizational methods, and systems. The Why is the purpose of your product and your belief in its value. The Why is your brand purpose. It guides your decisions about how you run your business and what you are offering the world. It should drive everything you do.

The Value of a Brand Purpose

A strong brand purpose should show up in everything your business does–this includes the services/products you offer, the feel of your product, the look of your logo, the way you interact with customers, and the way you present yourself to the world. Every product, service, and decision that Google’s brand purpose revolves around giving people better access to information. Their Why is what determines what they offer and how they do it. We know exactly what kind of product we’ll get from Google, and as consumers we like to know what to expect.

In the same way, your customers will stay loyal to your business when they are secure in the knowledge that your business stays true to its purpose. Have a clear and defined brand purpose–the core of what you offer the world–and everything your business does should follow that orbit path around your purpose.