Who is it for?

This is a common question in strategic planning, marketing, and sales.?

Shareholder primacy companies (those that see their primary or only role in society as maximizing profits for their owners) approach this question like this:

• Who are the people that will buy our product?
• What are their demographics?
• What do they want?
• What do they need?
• How do we create marketing campaigns that entice them to buy from us?
• What’s the highest market price they will pay?
• How do we maximize our profits by paying as little money as possible to our workers and suppliers?

Sound familiar? Have you been in those meetings? Were you taught to think that way?

Impact-driven companies (those that see their role as adding value to people and the planet while earning profits to reinvest in greater positive impact) approach the "who is it for?" question like this:

• What social/environmental challenge are we trying to help solve by creating this product?
• How do we create it in a way that pays fair living wages to workers and is ethically and sustainably sourced?
• Who are the customers that align with our values?
• Will they buy it at a price that makes financial sense for us?
• How do we prove to them that we have integrity and aren't greenwashing or socialwashing?
• Can we earn reasonable profits to reinvest in greater impact on people and the planet?

See the difference??

Shareholder primacy companies see their “who” as a customer to extract value from.

Impact-driven companies see their “who” as Mother Nature and humanity to add value to.

Impact-driven companies are thinking much bigger than their own profits. Profit is not their definition of success. Profit is necessary to achieve positive impact, which is the definition of success.

In the 21st century, the impact-driven business mindset is leading to impact-driven companies building big companies and making a big positive impact!