From Issue N°01: The Power of Vision + Values in Business.
Socially responsible visions and impactful values are becoming more and more important to modern day consumers. Inherently, sustainable and ethical business is driven by a collective vision: to make a positive difference, to help the environment recover, to do what they can (small or big) for a better future. This is a powerful thing, and understanding the potential of your vision + values for your business strategy gives you a significant advantage in a traditionally profit-driven market, as well as a tool to achieve that collective vision.
Vision, put simply, is your big picture. Perhaps something like this: a circular textile industry that pays workers fair wages.
Values are the principles that help achieve your vision. This may include: transparency, collaboration, compassion, etc.
Connecting, not Competing
Carving out your own unique position in the market decreases the need to compete, and enables you to better connect with people on an emotional basis. By integrating values into your business, you are no longer competing at the baseline of product. There’s always someone cheaper priced, more well known, or better skilled; if you’re merely competing product against product, or service against service, the reason for people to choose you may become imperceptible in the thousands of similar businesses. Sculpting your brand to exist as something more than selling & consuming automatically narrows down the scope and creates a deeper reason for people to fall in love with what you do.
Empathy & Relatability to Audience
Infusing your values into business gives it a beating heart that people with similar values will naturally gravitate to. This will enable you to really understand, emphasise, and adapt with your audience. As a sustainable business, one that genuinely cares about making a good impact for the environment (no greenwashing here), it also has a built-in degree of trustworthiness. When you clearly communicate this through branding, justify with high quality work or services, and build credibility through customer appreciation, your business can form a wonderfully positive, emotional, long-lasting connection with your people.
Resilience to Instability
Starting up a business is easy. Keeping that business alive past the first year is a lot damn harder. When businesses first launch, it’s difficult to gain visibility in the market regardless of your product quality, especially if you’re a small business starting from scratch. And there’s going to be mistakes, steep learning curves, and inconsistent revenue that can be incredibly discouraging. Where the power of vision + values truly shines is in these lows. When there’s something you truly care about beyond the numbers, there’s a much stronger motivation to keep moving forward, ride the wave, and most importantly, enjoy your business despite the struggles.
Clarity in Decision-Making
In relation to resilience, your vision + values act as a instinctual compass that, if consciously identified and strategically acted upon, can help you make the right decisions for your business. There’s countless business tips and marketing hacks out there. Realistically, many contradict each other and won’t be the right fit for your business journey. How do you figure out which of these strategies is best? Having vision + values that is true to who you are will naturally guide you to 1) identifying the target market your business will benefit the most and 2) making cohesive decisions that work together to shift your business forward.
Building a Viable Long-Term Strategy
Finally—it is also a powerful guiding tool in setting up a strong strategy and navigating the highs and lows of the years ahead. A unique brand identity and effective marketing strategy are both founded on visualising your business in the short-to-long term. Supported by market awareness, business knowledge, and financial literacy—your vision + values will help build a realistic, actionable, and crystal clear strategy that reaches your goals (revenue or impact) without burning you out.
Our vision is a world taking the right actions to step back from the edge of climate breakdown. Our values are innovation, pragmatism, agility, and empathy. Every Cultigraphy brand is grown from the roots—we maximise the power of your purpose through deep-dive strategy and outstanding brand experience. Let me know your thoughts on vision + values (by replying to the newsletter) or check out how we can work together to strengthen your impact.
