How to Build a Purpose-Driven Company Part 3: Share It

Welcome to Part 3 of our white paper series, “How to Build a Purpose-driven Company.” Though this marks the end of the series, for you it’s just the beginning.

In Part 1, “Create It,” we guided you through the hard work of laying the foundation for your purpose-driven brand. If you weren’t dissuaded and carried on to Part 2, “Prove It,” you learned that the next step is to verify your actions, either through your own metrics or via a third party. Now you’ve arrived at Part 3, and you’re ready to tell your story and to “Share It.”

This stage is arguably the most rewarding, as it’s now time to share your purpose and show the world what you’re all about. Part 3 provides some of the processes, tools, and distribution avenues to help get you there, and breaks down the return on investing in sharing.    

First, Meet Your Customers

You’ve figured out your brand and your message, now it’s time to build your network and identify your customers—all of them. It starts with the ones you’re closest to, the ones you interact with every single day: They’re called your employees.

In Part 3 we’ll discuss why you can’t ignore this crucial “customer” class and how you can leverage your employees—your frontline sales force—into potent ambassadors for your brand. This takes training; your salesforce needs to understand the features and benefits of your purpose, and have the tools with which to sell it. Part 3 provides a framework for this training as well as several starter ideas.

Identify Your External Customers

Now it’s time to identify the external customers that can help tell your story and position you as an industry thought leader. Again, it’s easy to overlook some nearby targets. These include your supply chain, civic organizations, and government agencies, among others.

And what about those social networks you’ve worked so hard to cultivate? You’ve worked for months—more likely years—to create a legion of social media fans and followers. Are you leveraging them? Are you communicating where and when they prefer? Are you communicating at all?

It Starts with Content

Think of all the channels you have at your disposal. Your website, social media, email, traditional PR and press releases—all these channels need constant attention. In short, they need to be fed. If you’re not constantly writing, you’re not telling your story. And if you’re not telling it, likely no one is. 

In Part 3 we’ll give you the “why” behind constant content, as well as the “how” and the “where.” What types of content work best and where? How often? Who can help spread your word? And what avenues might you be overlooking? (Hint: it’s not just about digital marketing.)

Jumping Off

If you’ve read the preceding white papers or if you’re aware of our company at all, you know we’re passionate about building brands for purpose-driven companies. 

This three-part series, while comprehensive, is only a starter kit. We’ve provided ideas and tactics to differentiate you from your competition, and we’ll share more in future blogs and white papers. We ask only that you do the same. Feel free to reach out and share your ideas and experiences as well.

We hope you enjoy Part 3 and the entire white paper series. If you’d like to stay up to date on future communications, please sign up for alerts via our monthly e-newsletter. You can do that here.