Jack Smith, Founder and CEO, Fortuna Business Management Consulting.
People and businesses are rediscovering a sense of community around the world. Organizations want to work together toward a common goal. With so many people wanting to connect, companies whose primary goal is to bring communities together online and offline are finding success and growth.
Because more people have begun to work from home, many have started to wonder if their jobs are worth it and have questioned whether their jobs give them purpose. Isolation has made us want to belong even more. Having a purpose and being a part of something goes hand in hand. A purpose-driven organization should show its employees that what they do matters to the company and each other. The goal should be for employees to feel like they have a shared mission.
To run a successful business that puts its customers first and makes them feel special, you need integrity and a genuine desire to improve your customers’ lives. When you treat your customers like they are part of a community, you build loyal networks that are more valuable than any paid ad. Setting up a sense of community might be easier if helping others and making them happy are the foundations of your customer relationship. People are more likely to interact with companies that are actively highlighting their purpose. Sharing your purpose may be helpful for your business in the long run, but make sure it doesn’t look like a way to sell something. You want your customers to smile as they write you a check because they know the money spent with your business is doing some good in the world.
When you link your company’s mission to purposes important to your stakeholders, you strengthen the relationships with your stakeholders and make the company more impactful in their lives. Businesses everywhere are becoming more aware of how powerful it can be to combine their goals for the good of society. For example, when a brand recognizes the value of diversity and inclusion and includes everyone in the decision-making process, it increases its credibility. It’s also helpful to give your employees a chance to put themselves in the shoes of customers, partners, stakeholders and colleagues to guide their work as a group.
Whether you share your message online, in person or both, it is essential to be consistent. To make sure others understand your point of view, you must say it repeatedly. As customers gather around the values and way of life your brand stands for, the payoff can be significant. When you give someone a sense of purpose, everything else falls into place. You can only build a great organization by getting people to work together toward a goal that is important to them and to society, especially one that goes beyond the company’s daily operations. Employees shine when they have goals and values beyond their daily tasks.
For this to last, it has to become part of your company’s culture, which you can’t do with just a Word document or PowerPoint presentation. Doing good is often the best way to show that you want success. The goal is for your employees to feel like they are working together to reach both business and community goals and that the work is welcome and expected. Likewise, customers who wish to help society should follow the same rule by spending money with companies that are creating the change they want to see in the world. Having a common goal brings your people together and makes them more committed. It creates a sense of community that helps your company achieve its mission.
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