Prior to being able to communicate who you are and why you exist, you must first understand who it is you are and why you exist. Seems easy enough, but you’d be surprised how many people skip right over this important step.

Before our team does any tactical work for clients we first dive into some pretty comprehensive strategy to understand the brand. During the first phase of brand strategy we work to figure out the brand’s purpose, mission, and vision - because those things will tell us who a brand is and why they exist, important things to know to ensure the brand communicates effectively, and to the right people. Let’s dive into what these characteristics mean to us individually.

Purpose

Purpose is the motivation and drive behind the brand. Think of this as the “why.” Why does the brand exist, and why should anyone care? Consumers don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Vision

What does the brand want to accomplish? Think of this as the “what.” What is the desired future state of the brand? Knowing where you want to go will give you a north star to look for when you feel lost.

Mission

How will you accomplish this? Think of this as the ”how.” How are you going to live out the purpose and reach the vision?

Trying to figure out these things without direction is a stressful endeavor, which is why we bring in the golden circle to assist.

Think of the golden circle like a planet that has a crust with layers that eventually lead to the core. Figure out the who, what, how, and why - in that order.

Who

If you think of your brand as a person with its own personality, who is your brand?

What

What do you do? What service do you provide or what product do you make?

How

How do you do what you do?

Why

Why do you do what you do?

Once you answer these questions it will be much easier to understand your brand’s purpose, mission, and vision.

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As always, I hope this article brought a new perspective and gets you excited to build something great. To be notified when we post new articles just fill out the email newsletter form towards the bottom of this page.