How Multiplying Your Purpose Multiplies Your People & Profits

Purpose plus people produces profit. But how? Many companies are wondering if this process is true. Isn’t the first goal to profit, so they stay in business? If that is your main question, you’re on the right page. We’ll answer what it means to become a purpose-driven business and how it increases your bottom line. 

What is a Purpose-Driven Business?

There are 2 categories of purpose-driven businesses: Non-profits and For-profit. Many consumers believe that only non-profits are purpose-driven because, well…the name says it all! They donate their profits to make the world a better place, right? Hence the name? This isn’t the case. Comparably, for-profit companies do make a profit. Furthermore, they also can choose to donate a portion of their profits to their specific causes.  

Sackcloth & Ashes is a company that both donates to causes and is sustainable plus socially conscious. Another company– BLQK Coffee– donates 25% of its profits for various reasons. Toms is another company that donates ⅓ of its profits to grassroots organizations. Each of these companies is for-profit, yet they are pursuing their purpose. 

You don’t have to look to be “The Good Samaritan” when you pursue your purpose. Any company regardless of size can create change. You merely need to care about something and focus on ways to make a difference. 

How Does Focusing on Purpose Muliply Revenue?

If someone went up to one of your employees and asked what your company’s purpose was, could they answer? If their answer is to make a profit, the result is that your company is not doing as well as your competition. 

Over 80% of people believe that having a purpose such as helping others is essential for living a good life. 

In December of 2021, a considerable series of tornados went through Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. While twenty years ago people may have read about it in the newspapers; today that news was read worldwide because of the internet. Over 60% of the world’s population is online. More than 330 million people have started using the internet in the last year alone. How does this factor into focusing on purpose instead of revenue? Businesses and people got together to render aid. Money was raised. People mobilized. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. Now that the internet is bringing us together, we are no longer just community-driven but are aware of what’s happening worldwide. 

People want to help others. 89% of consumers believe that a company’s purpose is how the company helps others and the world, and they expect the brand to show it.  Additionally, 73% of consumers state that they will pay more for a product from a company that puts purpose over profits. Your brand must consistently strive to make a positive impact thereby maintaining consumer loyalty. If it is inconsistent, people perceive it as untrue and more gimmick than authentic. 

Proven purpose-driven companies create bonds with the public. People want to feel they are part of doing good for the world. They believe that when they buy from a company that supports something they’re passionate about, then they are also helping. 

Bombas donates socks to the homeless for every purchase made. They donated over five million pairs of socks in two and a half years. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of their company, but their socks cost more than typical brands. This proves that purpose matters. 

Purpose Creates an Emotional Response

77% of consumers say they have an emotional bond with purpose-driven companies and 73% of these consumers are willing to stick up for a purpose-driven brand when they’re mentioned in a negative light. 

A purpose-driven business knows why it exists & what problem it wants to solve then conveys this to the people. Companies involved in their communities show that they are actual people working to make a difference and not nameless figures sitting behind desks. People want to know who they are buying from because it gives them a sense of connection. 

Purpose-driven companies create an emotional response in people—unlike brands that focus on profits. If businesses focus too much on profits, employees tend not to work as hard or be excited about work. Roy M. Spence Jr. wrote in his book, “It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For” saying that you need to create a purpose and identity that clearly states what makes you different from other companies. Don’t simply parrot another companies’ values; instead, find and pursue your goal. 

There are a variety of emotional responses that come from purpose-driven companies such as: 

• Joy – they are partnering with a company that can help an unlimited amount of people with their resources. 
• Connection – They are connecting with other people in the world with a common shared goal by making a difference. 
• Pride – they have increased confidence and a feeling of strength by creating agency in the customers because they’re doing something good for others. 
• Bringing people together – causes give people a sense of unity. 

Companies with a Purpose Creates Brand Loyalty

76% of people say they’ll switch from a well-known brand to an unknown purpose-driven one. 

This statistic alone should tell you the importance of pursuing your purpose. Humans tend to form habits and purchase from the same companies repeatedly without giving it a second thought. When you see a statistic stating that people are willing to purchase from an unknown brand and will pay more, know this will increase profits. 

Large companies are learning that prices and buildings aren’t enough to create brand loyalty and are switching from pursuing profit to pursuing purpose. Studies have shown that businesses that focus mainly on growth and profit over inspiring others don’t do well. Companies need to develop a purpose-driven strategy (before starting up) to give them an advantage over other start-ups. 

How Does Purpose Plus People Produce Profit?

The mind is powerful, and people who believe they are making a difference have more fulfilling lives than those who think they’re not. It shifts people’s focus from themselves to others.

Someone who knows that your company is helping others will be more confident, thereby building trust and loyalty. They believe that when people give to others, they are trustworthy and worth investing their money in. It may take years to see the advantages in your profits as people learn and see your brand at work, but it will happen. The numbers don’t lie. 

The investors of Intarcia Therapeutics were pressuring Kurt Graves to sell the company, but he refused and believed that his product would help save people. The product he created had the ability to deliver medicine for diabetic patients. This allowed patients who couldn’t keep up with their medication or injections to keep their disease under control. The regulatory reviews took a long time, and investors were tired of waiting. But Graves stuck to his purpose and informed them he would save lives. 

Not long after that, he received a letter from BlackRock, one of the biggest investors saying that “Companies must benefit their stakeholders, shareholders, employees, customers, and communities in which they operate.” It went on to further state that “companies without a sense of purpose can’t reach their full potential.” 

In conclusion, there’s a changing company-consumer relationship that has developed that says, “What you do matters. But who you are matters more.” That’s purpose! Purpose drives the decisions, the people, and even the profits when there is an intentional focus on producing the promise of hope & a future for a better world. This current generation of entrepreneurs, business owners, and thought-leaders will prosper in both profits and people by producing a purpose-driven company & life.