You can’t be all things to all people. This is especially the case when your organization is under siege. Defining what your firm stands for will conserve precious resources that not only allow you to survive and but ultimately win. It lays out what you and your team must do, and of equal importance, what you must not do. You need to prioritize ruthlessly in urgent circumstances.
There are many different names that define “what my company stands for.” Mission statement, value proposition, brand essence. Whatever it’s called, in nearly every case it’s written too generally, not sufficiently motivating and given appropriate prominence it deserves. I’ve seen many missions that can apply to any business, not a specific company. This is not the time for plain vanilla.
It’s worth the time to achieve a higher standard. Write a vivid, inspiring and empowering Reason for Being (RFB). Done right, a strong RFB can help a business across multiple dimensions – and not just in obvious areas like advertising, product development, merchandising, and your online and physical store experience. It can influence gnarly areas like hiring, performance management, and training. It can motive your team to better collaborate and drive to groundbreaking solutions. Doesn’t this sound powerful?
Let’s try an example in the home improvement category. Company A’s RFB is “Give every client a white glove experience.” Imagine the homeowner, their level of involvement and what matters to them. Think about the furniture and fixtures, the retail and sales support and where Company A would add the most value.
Now think about Company B, whose RFB is “Empower every customer to be a smarter homeowner.” What kind of business would you expect? What role does the customer play? What steps would you take differently to grow Company B versus Company A?
Note that neither Company A nor Company B has an intrinsically better approach. But imagine if Company B really nails its reason for being! It’s easy to imagine customers flocking there and even wanting to work for Company B themselves.
| Company A | Company B | |
| Role of customer-facing personnel | Consultative, concierge | Educator, advisor |
| Role of consumer | Hands off, visionary, decision-maker | Hands on, primary shopper, executor |
| Focus on retail experience | Planning, design, vision | Tools and fixtures, “how to” support |
| Nature of business | Higher markup, lower volume | High volume |
| Type of repeat business | Referral to other clients,
Next-generation improvement |
Empower customer to do more and capture this volume |
Think about how you want to define your RFB. I recommend that you write it as tightly as possible. Who are you serving? Keep a specific customer in mind. What is your business doing differently for that customer? If your organization has an extremely clear sense for these answers, many pieces of the business then fall into place.
Again, you can deploy your RFB help make every aspect of your business distinct. By weaving your RFB into the fabric of your company you will be able to ensure focus and capture a powerful edge with the customers you want to win with.
