Defining Your Brand Purpose
Why Does Brand Purpose Matter?
Your brand purpose is a unifying goal. It tells people what problem your business is solving and how it is doing so. It takes you beyond being a transactional delivery of services and changes the tone to being aspirational and mission focused.
By investing time into shaping a brand purpose that resonates with your customers you can:
Build Trust and Loyalty
Trust and loyalty are feelings that are hard to pin down and often difficult to understand. They are shaped by positive perceptions and strong relationships. A clear purpose shows what you stand for and why it matters, almost immediately establishing an emotional connection. Your purpose and positioning can take your relationship with customers beyond transactions because they now feel they are contributing to your vision of the future.
Guide Decision-Making
When you know why you are doing what you do, you have a stronger sense of direction that will guide your business forward. This should shape how decisions are made from strategy to day-to-day actions. Your purpose is the signpost that helps you navigate a fork in the road when moving forward in business. When your brand aligns with its purpose and this connects with your audience, you create authentic engagement. Consistent purpose-driven decision making is a long-term strategy to build trust with your customers.
Differentiate Your Brand
Customers now face more choice than ever, and brands are adding to noisy, attention-grabbing, trend-focused content. This is not wrong, but these are short-term tactics. Pinning messaging to features and prices alone will not build sustainable trust and sales in competitive spaces. What stands out now are values and purpose. Purpose gives your brand a unique story and identity that competitors cannot replicate, making your brand more memorable. A strong sense of purpose will help your brand stand out against this backdrop and even offer benefits when it comes to pricing. People pay more for brands they see, understand, and connect with.
How to Define Your Brand Purpose
Defining your purpose takes time, a few drafts, feedback, and some tricky questions. It is not an easy process, often personal but very rewarding. You will feel when you are on the right track. Here is a simple process to get started:
1. Ask the Big Question: Why Else Do We Exist?
Every business makes money, or should, that is a given. But it is not always the only reason you do what you do. This is a tricky one to start because it is personal and asks you to put words to something you are passionate about. Think about the impact you want to have on your customers, community, or industry. For example:
Do you want to inspire people to feel something?
Do you want to change how something is done?
Do you want to bring back an old way of doing something?
Are you passionate about a specific cause, like sustainability or healthcare?
2. Identify Your Customers
Your purpose needs to resonate with the people you want to help. Spend time defining your audience. Who is your best customer? What do they do? How do they feel? What do they need? How does your business, product, or service improve their life? This is problem solving and it is why they will spend money with you. Get a good understanding of this and use it to inform your purpose.
3. Connect to Your Values
Values are hard to put into words but easy to recognise when something does not align with them. Honesty, for instance, is a strong value, and we instantly disconnect from relationships that do not inspire or reflect it. Your purpose should align with your values. If your values include transparency and sustainability, your purpose should reflect those ideals.
4. Keep It Simple and Resonant
A strong brand purpose is short, clear, and easy to connect with. The best ones speak universally to people. Avoid jargon and industry-specific terms. Use verbs to convey action, as if you have already started delivering on your purpose. Create a statement that feels motivated, easy to remember, and authentic.
Examples of Great Scottish Brand Purpose Statements
Social Bite: “To end homelessness in Scotland and beyond by using business as a force for good.”
Ooni: “To revolutionise outdoor cooking by making restaurant-quality pizza accessible to everyone.”
Vegware: “To eliminate single-use plastic by creating compostable food packaging from plants.”
What Next
Once you have defined your purpose, don’t worry if it is just a first draft. You should:
Get feedback internally and from trusted customers and partners.
Finalise it, document it, and share it with your team to make sure they understand and embrace it.
Reflect it in your marketing, messaging, and design, and use it as a foundation for your brand strategy.
