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With traditional businesses trying to run more like a startup
and startups trying to reach the growth of a traditional
business, brands are constantly looking to improve in an
effort to keep up.
easy, and it is usually difficult for the staff to really see the
business from an objective point of view. Often, the best
option is to look to an outside resource for insight into
your brand’s place in the market.
And whether growing the business, rolling out a new
product, or repositioning the brand, there are a few crucial
guidelines for implementing that vision—all of which
should consider the role of purpose-driven marketing.
A few years ago, I worked with the Imperial Sugar Company
after its bankruptcy. This was a 160-year old, billion-dollar
company that had third-generation employees, many of
whom had been born in company-owned housing. It was
a long-term company that needed some insight on the
organization and its market. We realized that the company
had been defining itself as purely a sugar company since
before Texas was a state, but when we looked at the
marketplace, we realized that many of its customers, such as
Wal-Mart and General Mills, didn’t care about any specific
company’s sugar. They cared about sugar being delivered
the way they wanted, at the right place, and the right
time: They cared about the supply chain. So the company
needed to redefine itself. Imperial Sugar Company could
no longer be just a sugar-making company; it needed to
be the best supply chain company in the industry.
Purpose-driven marketing is used to grow and sustain
a business, but the overall idea is to help a business
understand where it’s going and then act effectively.
Here are four questions that will help you understand your
company’s purpose and its ability to change.
1. What is your business’s niche?
This is the first part of purpose-driven marketing: Know your
competitors. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of
your business. Ask the question, Why would my customers
pay a premium for my services or product, and is there a
way to do it that differentiates me from others?
Unfortunately, answering those questions doesn’t come
How we successfully refocused the company will come later,
but for now the takeaway is that fully understanding this
sugar company’s place in the market from an objective,
market-based point of view saved the business.