you will need an outside perspective.
Someone who will know when you are
on the right track and when you have
wandered into the woods. You know,
someone like me.What your business does
vs why it matters
What matters to your customers should become the heart of what matters
to your business...
Mark Varder
What does your business do? That's an
easy question to answer. It invests money
on behalf of clients. It manufactures
kitchen cupboards. It is a bakery. But why
does it matter? That's a more difficult
question to answer. For two reasons, as
far as I can tell. Firstly, it means putting
yourself in your customer's shoes and
experiencing the world from his or her
point of view. For the first time, you must
look at what you do from a different
perspective. You must imagine being the
receiver and user of what you do. Why is
your product important? What difference
does it make in a person's life?Secondly, it is surprisingly difficult for
human beings to put their finger on why a
product matters to them. What role does it
play in their life? Why does it matter? Any
reason beyond the most superficial is hard
to bring to the surface. Take an example.
Old Mutual. We know what Old Mutual
does. It invests people's money. It provides
a comprehensive list of financial services.
But why does Old Mutual matter to my
nephew? Is it because of its 173 years of
experience? Is it because the company is
solid and reputable – and when it comes
to handing over his money those qualities
matter a great deal? Or is it because
investing with Old Mutual makes him feel
that he is being responsible? Or does it
make him feel proud that he's stepped up
to the mark and he's associated with one
of the most respectable institutions in the
history of South Africa?Quality, pricing, efficiencies, innovation,
distribution – the intrinsic properties of
what a business like Old Mutual does –
are of course essential. But with those
factors in place and constantly improved,
why the business matters to millennials
like my nephew will determine its
fortunes. The more it matters, the more
they will value the business.But mattering to people runs deeper.
Why you matter – and why you could
matter a whole lot more – is a crucial
understanding.The answer will form the core of your
strategy. The answer will explain –
to anyone who cares to ask, from
employees to investors to managers –
how and why your business is valuable.
And the answer will animate and guide
everything you do.Write it down.
You know what your business does –
that's the easy part. But it's not enough
to have a vague idea of why your
business matters. You need a thorough
understanding.The more you matter to your
customers, the more they
will value your business.
Why does
your business matter?The answer will:
▪ Form the core of your
strategy▪ Explain to anyone who cares
to ask – from employees to
investors to management –
how and why your business is
valuable▪ Animate and guide
everything you do.You need to write down the answer.
Writing down that seven or eight-
word sentence, in simple English, on
a whiteboard, will not be easy. It will
require re-visiting far more often than
you thought possible. The exercise
will take you on a journey – often a
frustrating one – that could well open
your eyes, make you reassess your
strategy and re-focus that simple thing:
what you do. At the very least, it will
create the foundation from which you
market yourselves. Quite possibly,Mark Varder is a brand strategy
consultant and has worked with
companies of all shapes and sizes
from Miller's Company to SABMiller.
He is the co-founder of the consultancy
Varder Hulsbosch.MANAGEMENT