Prerequisite Ps to line up ahead of your Product, Profit and Process

We all know that, when it comes down to measuring success, your bottom line Profit is usually the key marker. We also know that to get to that profit we need great Products and efficient Processes to design, create, manage, promote, sell and deliver our business offerings.

Is that enough, or are there other key ingredients that are required to consistently succeed?

In todays competitive, fast-moving world of commerce, having a great product or being competent at delivering a service just isn’t enough to make us stand out from the crowd and be the one supplier that customers want to buy from.

Customers buy into a brand because they like your products or service AND because they are attracted to what I describe as the Essence of your brand – and you are a brand even if you are a one-person company.  Your Brand Essence is an intangible feeling that customers associate with your company’s logo or feel when they walk into your store or office.  Based on your Brand Essence customers decide whether they like you, whether they trust you and ultimately whether they want to buy from you.  This often unconscious perception that is sensed by your customers is based on their experience from previous interactions with you as well as their interpretation of the language you use in communications, promotions and sales material.

Your Brand Essence is less about your products, and more about you.

So what are the prerequisite Ps that you need to know and communicate so that customers understand you, like you, trust you and want to buy from you?

• Purpose
  What is your ‘Why’.
  Why do you do what you do?
  What do you believe that your company is doing to change peoples lives, change the way people work or make people happier?

• Passion
  What were you so passionate about that you had to create a company to offer it to the market?
  What is the driver that gets you out of bed, day after day, excited to go to work?
• Personality
  What characteristics do you or your board of directors bring to work that define how your purpose is achieved.
  What is your style of doing business? For example is it challenging, people-focused, supportive, or is it determined, goal oriented and focused.

  The ‘Who’ (the business owner. CEO or board) defines the personality that drives the ‘Why’ (the purpose and passion). The ‘Who’ determines the style of the business and how the purpose is achieved.

Of course it is no use to the business if you make an effort to discover your Brand Essence then keep them it yourself.  The final and very important P is People.

• People
  Your staff and colleagues will be more empowered to represent your company if they understand your ‘who’ and your ‘why’.  If they feel part of your bigger picture purpose and believe in your passion for the business they are more likely to give 100% and be loyal to your brand.

  If your Brand Essence is represented in your recruitment process you will attract employees who are in-line with your values and are therefore likely to stay with you for longer.

  Customers are also people!  If your Brand Essence is at the heart of all promotions, sales material and external communications you make it much easier for customers to understand you and see the difference between yourself and competitors.

Take some time to discover your Brand Essence and get all your Ps in line:
Purpose, Passion, Personality, People, Product, Process & Profit

If you need any help discovering the characteristics that make up your Brand Essence please get in touch