What’s The SCOOP – Thought For The C-Suite #4 of 8 – Connected Cultures
By Philip Spagnoli Stoten Founder of SCOOP
Aligning culture was mentioned earlier in this series when I talked about the importance and development of a new kind of partnership between EMS companies and the brands they serve. In that blog, entitled “Partnerships Prevail”, I talked about the importance of the brand behind the brand, and how I expect consumers to become as concerned about who has made their products as they are about who designed them and put a logo on them.
What I really expect is two connected cultures that reflect each other’s principles and ideals as well as those of their mutual consumer. In a world where sustainability is important, I expect to see sustainable products designed by sustainable brands and manufactured by sustainable manufacturing companies. Ideals around diversity and inclusion are equally likely to form cornerstones of these product and supply chain partnerships.
So, what is the culture of a manufacturing company and how can it reflect and connect to the culture of the brands that it serves?
Many business leaders told me that their company, or team, culture was one of the key factors that saw them through the challenging times of the pandemic. The importance of focussing on culture before strategy and well ahead of the tactical detail came up time after time. A culture of caring for each other, of tenacity in the face of adversity, of innovation and creativity to solve seemingly unsolvable problems, all helped companies survive, and even thrive, through tough times.
I think as consumers we’ve long shared a cultural connection with the brands we’ve bought products and services from, feeling connected to those companies that reflect our own values. Many have admired and coveted brands that promote themselves as the kind of people you’d like to buy from, or the kind of people you’d trust to deliver an innovative or sustainable product, even the kind of people you’d like to work for, or with. But, truth be told, few consumers have shown anything like that cultural connection or loyalty to the company or the people making that product. You could even argue that the brands themselves have ignored cultural fit in favor of a focus on lower cost, choosing to ignore cultural differences, even when they are a little uncomfortable.
In the future I suspect this will change. As consumers we’ll want transparency to see that the brand we buy from is a good cultural fit, and the company behind the brand, manufacturing and fulfilling the product, is also culturally compatible and meets the standards and virtues we expect and even demand.
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