Does your business exist to serve a meaningful purpose? A purpose that your customers (and employees) can genuinely connect with? If not, you’re ignoring a major trend in the business world.

1. WHY EVERY BUSINESS MUST
BECOME A PURPOSEFUL BUSINESS

2. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Does your business exist to serve a meaningful purpose? A purpose that your customers (and
employees) can genuinely connect with? If not, you’re ignoring a major trend in the business
world.
To be clear, purpose defines why the organization exists. (Not what the organization is or
what it does or for whom. Therefore, purpose is different to mission and vision.) A strong
purpose has the promise of transformation or striving for something better – be it a better
world, a better way to do something, or whatever is important to your organization. In other
words, purpose is about creating a positive impact, for individuals, for communities, for
society, or for our planet. Ultimately, then, this movement towards purposeful business is
about delivering more than profits.
WHY EVERY BUSINESS MUST BECOME A
PURPOSEFUL BUSINESS

3. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
It matters because it matters to your customers. The groundbreaking Strength of Purpose study
– which surveyed more than 8,000 consumers across eight markets – had people rate brands on
their strength of purpose. The results showed that having a clear, compelling purpose delivered
serious business benefits. For example, when brands had a strong purpose, consumers were:
 Four times more likely to buy from the brand
 Four times more likely to trust the brand
 Four-and-a-half times more likely to recommend the brand to others
 Six times more likely to protect the brand in a challenging moment
WHY DOES PURPOSE MATTER?

4. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Clearly, having a strong purpose is now a vital part of competing for
customers (and talent, for that matter). But purpose also delivers other
tangible business benefits. According to Deloitte, companies that
authentically lead with purpose enjoy higher market share gains, grow three
times faster than their competitors, and achieve higher customer and
employee satisfaction. Other analysis suggests that purposeful businesses
outperform the stock market by 42 percent, while those without a sense of
purpose underperform the market by 40 percent.

5. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
EXAMPLES OF PURPOSEFUL BRANDS
One of my favorite examples of a great purpose comes from Danish multinational
pharma company Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care. Novo Nordisk’s
purpose is a simple one: to defeat diabetes. The company says, “We are committed
to helping societies defeat diabetes, and our strategy is clear – accelerate
prevention of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and provide access to affordable care for
vulnerable patients in every country. Our success will be defined by the solutions we
bring and the health and well-being of the people and communities benefiting from
them.”

6. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What a fantastic purpose. It’s certainly a transformational goal that’s all about creating a positive
impact – both for individuals and for societies (especially given the huge costs associated with
treating diabetes-related illness). It’s also a devastatingly simple purpose. And it’s a brave choice
because, if you think about it, should Novo Nordisk help to defeat diabetes, its very reason for
existing – again, the company is a major provider of diabetes care – is gone. For me, this is a
great example of profit with purpose. I also like how the company sets out how it intends to
achieve its purpose (i.e., by accelerating diabetes prevention and providing affordable care).
Let’s look at another purposeful brand. While Novo Nordisk is probably not a household name,
you’ve no doubt heard of outdoor clothing and gear brand Patagonia. The company has long
been known as an ethical, purposeful business, but a few years ago they upgraded their
purpose-driven mission from “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business
to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis” to a much bolder “We’re in
business to save our home planet.”

7. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
This is a great purpose for Patagonia because the brand knows its customers love
the outdoors and care about the environment. Therefore, its purpose is both
transformational and neatly aligned with the beliefs of Patagonia customers. I also
like how this purpose recognizes that, if we don’t address the climate crisis, there
simply won’t be a future ... not just for Patagonia, but for all businesses.
If you take one thing away from this article, make it this: companies must be
recognized as a force for good if they want to succeed in the long term. This isn’t at
the expense of profit – profit is still important. Rather, the onus now is on “profit
with purpose.”

8. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Read more about this and other future trends in my new book, Business Trends in
Practice: The 25+ Trends That are Redefining Organizations, which just won the
Business Book of the Year 2022 award. It is packed with real-world examples, cuts
through the hype to present the key trends that will shape the businesses of the
future.

9. © 2021 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker,
futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and
companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data
more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is
a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for
Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers
and shares content that reaches millions of readers.

10. hello@bernardmarr.com
www.bernardmarr.com