If You Have No Purpose, You Have No (Sustained) Profit

The business landscape has changed drastically.

Gone are the days when all corporations had to do was hit their stakeholder and fiduciary responsibilities in order to stay profitable.

In recent times, consumers now have heightened expectations from the companies they patronize with their hard earned money.

Nowadays, businesses need to have a purpose or a cause higher than themselves (which is beyond making money) in order to maintain and entice prospective clientele. There is now a slow realisation that having a purpose driven business is a prerequisite rather than a luxury in the ever-cluttered corporate environment.
If you haven’t considered the pivotal role that purpose plays towards creating and sustaining a lucrative business, here are some justifications to reflect on:

Purpose Means People First
By placing an importance on a mission outside of just money, you are inadvertently assigning a premium on your consumers.

This helps companies see their consumers from a different perspective. They are no longer just numbers on a balance sheet, or abstract entities gleaned from research – they become humans: who bleed, breathe and are living beings. Such redefinition enables companies to become much more considerate and thoughtful as they go about their business endeavors. They start to formulate humane policies that matter.

Purpose Offers Transparency and Credibility
The Internet has radically altered the dynamics of power between consumers and corporations.  Due to the democratisation of information, consumers are now endowed and privy to a vast amount of knowledge, and as such, they can call out companies that aren’t being forthcoming with their business dealings.
By establishing and declaring a purpose, businesses invite the scrutiny of consumers – we live in a “trust and verify” climate where businesses can no longer make lofty claims without authentication – and if they check out, make themselves credible in the eyes of their audiences – which is a soft equity that cannot be overemphasized.

Purpose is a Competitive Differentiator for Millennials
Millennials, according to this 2013 research study, are projected to be fastest growing segment of the workforce composing around 25% of the current working staff and are expected to reach 75% of the workforce by 2025.

That is a lot of young workers!

One chief characteristic of this young labour force is that they’re more purpose-oriented than previous generations of workers. They have no qualms leaving supposedly well-paying jobs in search for other jobs that offer a greater meaning and satisfaction beyond money.
Smart companies have started using clear purpose-driven mantras as a distinguishable tactic to attract and retain the millennial workers. In addition, having such an ethos also helps to get the best out of their top talent.
Purpose is Profitable
If none of the aforementioned points have convinced you about the benefits of a purpose driven business – here’s one you won’t be able to ignore:

Purpose is lucrative!

In her book, “Green Giants: How Smart Companies Turn Sustainability Into Billion-Dollar Businesses”, author, E. Freya Williams, outlines nine different companies (some which include Unilever, Tesla, Whole Foods Market, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Natura) that have…

“…succeeded in building wildly successful businesses while selling products and services designed to help us live happier, healthier, more environmentally conscious lives. Together (these Green Giants) represent over $100 billion in annual revenue and outperform their competitor in the stock market by 11%.”

In the long run, once consumers feel that your business genuinely cares about their well-being and needs, they tend to redouble their interest and financially reinvest towards the success of your company.

Purpose should be championed as the new bottom line for companies that are looking to remain viable in today’s climate.

In addition, here’s a great TEDxTalk video that further fortifies the premise of this article.

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Neil Parker

MANAGING DIRECTOR

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