It is important to identify your vision, mission and values in order to attract clients who share the same values needs.
Understanding the client’s business in depth is something that all marketing professionals have to do.
As you can imagine this can be made a whole lot more efficient if the client understands their own business in depth first. This may seem obvious, but it is surprising how many businesses don’t know what their business stands for, what their ethos is or what their boundaries are.
Understanding your own business
For many business leaders, they start with a purpose, vision, mission in their head but don’t write them down and make them solid. This is less of a problem when there are a couple of people in the organisation. It is easy to lose track of what you are trying to achieve. You can find the message is diluted or changed. If you are trying to market your business to the right client it is important to be clear about your vision, mission and values. This is in order to attract clients who share the same values
First – what are the definitions of vision, mission and values?
- Company vision – This is the long term goal on what the organisation ultimately wants to be known for or have achieved. A helpful device is to think at least 10 years ahead.
- Company mission – This focusses on what the company objectives are. How do you intend to reach those objectives in the near future? Thinking 1-3 years ahead.
- Values – Or ‘ethos’ stem from the core set of beliefs which you believe when you are at your natural best and which guide your business activities. These values are actions or verbs. They do not change and form the touchstone for how you carry out your mission and vision. e.g. if core value is to ‘tell the truth’ this should be demonstrated in all dealings with clients, prospects and partners. This will guide decision-making when looking to engage staff, work with clients and partners. If a value is to ‘show respect’ it will guide the salesperson in their dealings with clients. It will also allow accounts to evaluate the client who bullies or regularly pays late.
Knowing these and documenting them, will guide your organisation. This includes your marketing team with the foundation tools on which to build and market your brand.
The importance of understanding ‘why’
Some refer to ‘vision’ as being ‘purpose-driven’ or knowing your ‘why’. We are all familiar with people working in healthcare in order to give back to society and create a healthier world, or the technologist creating solutions to make lives easier, more convenient and just better for all. How you differentiate your organisation from others is by being clear about your ‘why’ as explained by Simon Sinek:
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” (to learn more, check out https://youtu.be/u4ZoJKF_VuA )
Although people wouldn’t buy from you if they didn’t need your product or service. The reason they don’t go to a competitor is because of your values and mission. Have you heard the phrase ‘people buy with their emotion and justify with their logic’? We all do it.
Knowing the why of the business can be a very powerful tool.
Once you understand your ‘why’ and document your vision, mission and values you have a strong foundation on which to attract the right clients, partners and staff towards you.
If you want help to pin down your vision, mission and values give the team at Priddey Marketing a call today.