In the business world, we often spend too much time trying to reach our goals with whats. This is easy, because whats are tangible. It’s easy to explain what your product does, or what you will do to solve a problem. However, whats do not drive action. We’re so accustomed to creating an easy checklist of whats that we can tangibly accomplish, but when is the last time you created a checklist of whys?
At a fundamental level, certain core idea drives your action. There is a reason why you created a checklist this morning. Keep in mind that finding the right why will drive action to help you reach your business or personal goals. In essence, why should drive your marketing strategy.
At Alexander’s, the core idea that drives our action is that we succeed when you succeed. This idea is our why. All of our work hinges on helping anyone we interact with succeed. This influences our products, services, marketing and the way we interact with anyone as an organization. We believe that if we have not helped you succeed in reaching your own business goals, we have failed.
I’d like to walk through how you can find your why and how you can make it mean something.
How to find your why
Every business has different objectives, services and individuals that make it up. A strong why can unite these various elements in purpose. Identify what your main business objective is, assess your current business circumstances, and then start digging in to find the core idea that will drive you forward towards your goal as a business.
How to communicate your why
Whether it’s your job, department or business as a whole, you must communicate your why. If people understand why you do what you do, it will be easier for them to support what you do. So make it known, and let people know you’re committed. At Alexander’s, we can tell people all about what we do; we can print almost anything. But, how interested would you feel in doing business with us if all you knew about is our vast ability to print, market and communicate? On the other hand, if we confidently tell you that our sole purpose is to do everything we can to help you succeed, how much more convincing are we? Whatever why you choose, make it a part of all your communication. A strong why is powerful.
How stand by your why
Commit. Be consistent. Do what you say you’re going to do. The moment you start communicating your why, people will be paying attention. Get yourself, your department or your business on board. Consistency is always the greatest challenge with moving forward. If you’ve selected a why that you truly stand by, it’s worth the effort and sacrifice to stand by it.
At Alexander’s we take our why seriously, and we’re always looking for ways to communicate it to customers. I encourage you to look at your organizational and personal goals and make sure they’re in line with your core ideals. A strong why will make all the difference in what you produce.
