These days, companies are feeling the heat to step up their game and communicate better with their peeps. People are now expecting businesses to not just make banks, but also to be responsible for the environment and the community. This applies to not only bigwigs and investors but also to the regular Joe and Jane. Plus, on top of that, businesses are dealing with a changing marketplace and communication landscape. Nowadays, it's all about getting stakeholders involved in the story and creating something together, rather than just spewing out information. It's a whole new ballgame for companies and brands out there.
The WHY
The economy has shifted, and businesses and brands need to change their story if they want to earn people's trust and loyalty. People nowadays expect more than just understanding what a company does and want to be part of the conversation. That's where a brand's "WHY" or purpose comes in. If businesses can communicate their WHY effectively, they have a better chance of winning people over. It's not just about being functional and obvious; brands need to have a purpose, cause, or belief that answers the WHY.
Having a purpose-driven narrative is vital, especially when it comes to sustainability and being accountable to the planet and people. This is something that investors and the financial community are now evaluating too. So, brands need to build a narrative that is anchored on their WHY, enabling people to be part of their storytelling journey. By doing this, businesses can share their vision and business goals and bring their stakeholders along on the journey.
The WHAT and HOW
The world is changing and people are more concerned about sustainability and the environment. To keep up with this trend, businesses need to create a narrative that's centered around Sustainability. Climate change, diversity and inclusion, and other ESG factors affect everyone involved in the company. A purpose-driven narrative can help us engage with stakeholders on topics that are important to them, like how our company impacts people, the planet, and even profits. Sustainability is becoming just as important as profitability, and it's a great way to show off our brand and corporate narrative.
Lots of companies have started prioritizing ESG within their reform and growth plans. ESG criteria provide a framework for measuring sustainability efforts and help make it easier for stakeholders to relate to our goals.
To put it simply, our PURPOSE is like a compass that guides us to our goals (the WHY), while ESG gives us a roadmap for achieving them (the WHAT and HOW). By using ESG metrics, we can measure our progress and communicate our achievements to our stakeholders. ESG isn't just a checklist for compliance; it's a tool that helps us tell our story of purpose and progress.
Sustainability and ESG frameworks are crucial for communicating our journey from good to great. By sharing our tangible actions and milestones, we can involve our audience in our story and inspire them to be part of our journey. This is important because stakeholders, including customers, want to be part of the conversation and decision-making process.