Before you advertise, before you even build your brand media and assets, there’s a very important question you need to ask yourself.

What is our purpose?

This question is not as simple as it may sound. Depending on your business, you might answer with plumbing, insurance, or dining. But these are just tasks, skills, services. They don’t tell people who you are. They don’t set you apart. In a dense and competitive business world, your brand has to stand out.

Building a brand is more than creating unique audio/visual signatures. That media needs to come from something. Brand needs to go beyond media. Your media can only be a reflection of who you are. Generic media is indicative of a generic business. A good business has focus, and a good brand is distinctive.

Amazon doesn’t sell stuff. They sell convenience.

Coke doesn’t sell cola. They sell happiness.

Disney doesn’t sell movies and theme parks. They sell magic.

SoundWise doesn’t sell audio products. We sell emotional connection.

It goes beyond what your business does and asks how does it make people feel? You need to know your unique purpose and emotional signature in order to build an authentic brand that truly resonates.

You may be thinking this is just for big corporations. Not true. In fact, finding purpose is arguably more important for smaller business. If you’re a larger business, you can influence your brand through marketing, policy, or workplace culture. In a smaller business, you might have just a few employees, and odds are good that they all interact with customers and clients at one time or another. If you asked your what the company’s purpose is, would they all have the same answer? Would they all grasp the brand’s unique emotional signature?

It doesn’t matter if you’re an international conglomerate, or an agency of one, you still have to do the work. You have to dig deeper. You have to go beyond the technical aspects of your product or service, and explore its emotional layers.

The deeper you can connect with yourself, the deeper you can connect with others. That’s true in personal relationships, and it’s true in business.

Before you start spending your hard-earned advertising dollars – before you start looking out – start looking in. Get your house in order. The best advertising in the world isn’t going to make up for a mediocre product, and all the best brand work isn’t going to make you anything more than what you already are.