Why Your Brand Values Influence your Success
If you’re thinking that creating your brand value document is just a box-ticking exercise, think about it again. Brand values are the backbone of all your marketing activity and comms as a business. They also enable customers to build a rapport with you and a sense of familiarity.
Your brand values hold these things, and everything in between, together. So, you instantly see why they are so important and just how integral they are to your success.
What are examples of brand values?
We know, you probably already know all this. That’s why you’re here! The question is, how do you perfect your brand values and create clear principles to guide your business?
Like anything else in the marketing space, there are no cutting corners here. Anything you hang your hat on has to be specific and clear. It needs to relate to your business and the services you provide.
If you need a little inspiration, big, established brands like Coca-Cola show us how to do it. With their values outlined as:
- Leadership.
- Collaboration.
- Integrity.
- Accountability.
- Passion.
- Diversity.
- Quality.
Or Ben & Jerry’s, with their three-part mission headlines being (and we are paraphrasing here) to:
- Make fantastic ice cream.
- Make the world a better place.
- Manage sustainable financial growth.
Another example is Apple, a brand with values that are so embedded in our everyday lives; they’re hard to ignore. It’s all about making the complex simple and leading the market. And anyone, whos’ anyone knows that because it’s so integral to everything they do.
Why are brand values important?
The most significant point here is that brand values drive your marketing goals. They also hold marketing activities together and give you a cohesive framework to follow.
But they run deeper than this. They also influence how you interact with customers, collaborate as team members, and approach projects.
For all these reasons and more, your brand values must be bespoke to your business, as we’ve outlined. As well as that, they need to be easy to remember. The whole idea of them resonating with people, both within your company and outside it, comes down to these two things.
Memorable and relatable. This helps you to create meaningful brand values that get to the heart of what you do, what you offer, and how you work.
Making your brand values meaningful
To get to grips with your brand values, they need to mean something to you and your customers. On the face of it, this can feel like a rather unquantifiable thing. But with the right research and approach, you can start to uncover what this is.
But the crux is finding what matters to you. Perhaps you set up the business to readdress sustainable practices in your industry. Or your reason for being is to offer a simple choice in a confusing market. All this is already there, at the foundation of your brand, and it simply needs teasing out.
Not only will this make all your following brand values meaningful, but it’ll also make them authentic. Again, there’s nothing worse than simply trying to copy someone else, and with this as a starting point, you’ll be embarking down an individual path.
So to sum up, to make your brand values meaningful, they need to be:
- Unique.
- Specific.
- Relatable.
- Authentic.
Defining and establishing brand values
Once you’ve defined what your reason for being is, you can start delving into the other parts of the business and piecing together your understanding of your customers.
Here are just some things to consider when establishing your brand values:
- The marketplace – excellent brand values will take the marketplace into account too. What are your USPs? What makes you different, and what makes you stand out?
- Your customers – this is the time to connect with your customers to find out what they love about your business, what stands out to them, and what areas need improvement.
- Using insights to build your brand values – gathering this kind of feedback is a big first step, but you also need to put your findings into action. This exercise will quickly shine a light on what you’re known for as a brand, how you come across, and what you can develop into your brand values. Much like your brand personality, your brand values will help everyone to understand the look and feel of your brand.
Integrating your brand values in day-to-day business
True brand values are not just statements. They run through everything you do. Like Apple. And you don’t need to be a global leader to follow that example.
Your brand values will help you to remain accountable as you interact with clients and work together internally. They can also guide your decision-making process as a business. Most importantly, they help people to work to a unified vision, boosting morale and allowing you to maintain quality through everything you do.
There are some powerful ways to ensure these brand values stay front and centre too. They include:
- Training employees in your brand values.
- Keeping them visible throughout workspaces.
- Measuring tasks and projects against these values.
- Celebrating the achievements of people who champion your brand values.
In conclusion …
Uncovering your brand values, crafting them into something meaningful, and ensuring they run through everything you do as a business is a way to get the most from them.
And there are plenty of reasons for taking the time to do this work in the first place and continue to pay homage to your values on a business-wide level. The most successful brands have nailed their values, and this has enabled them to grow. It increases morale, runs through powerful marketing campaigns, and allows people, both inside and outside of the business, to know what you stand for.
Brand values are at the heart of every great brand, but that doesn’t mean newer or smaller brands shouldn’t bother. They are your heart, your personality, your reason for being. And you don’t need to be big and powerful to benefit from that.
If you’re thinking that creating your brand value document is just a box-ticking exercise, think about it again. Brand values are the backbone of all your marketing activity and comms as a business. They also enable customers to build a rapport with you and a sense of familiarity.
Your brand values hold these things, and everything in between, together. So, you instantly see why they are so important and just how integral they are to your success.
What are examples of brand values?
We know, you probably already know all this. That’s why you’re here! The question is, how do you perfect your brand values and create clear principles to guide your business?
Like anything else in the marketing space, there are no cutting corners here. Anything you hang your hat on has to be specific and clear. It needs to relate to your business and the services you provide.
If you need a little inspiration, big, established brands like Coca-Cola show us how to do it. With their values outlined as:
Leadership.
Collaboration.
Integrity.
Accountability.
Passion.
Diversity.
Quality.
Or Ben & Jerry’s, with their three-part mission headlines being (and we are paraphrasing here) to:
Make fantastic ice cream.
Make the world a better place.
Manage sustainable financial growth.
Another example is Apple, a brand with values that are so embedded in our everyday lives; they’re hard to ignore. It’s all about making the complex simple and leading the market. And anyone, whos’ anyone knows that because it’s so integral to everything they do.
Why are brand values important?
The most significant point here is that brand values drive your marketing goals. They also hold marketing activities together and give you a cohesive framework to follow.
But they run deeper than this. They also influence how you interact with customers, collaborate as team members, and approach projects.
For all these reasons and more, your brand values must be bespoke to your business, as we’ve outlined. As well as that, they need to be easy to remember. The whole idea of them resonating with people, both within your company and outside it, comes down to these two things.
Memorable and relatable. This helps you to create meaningful brand values that get to the heart of what you do, what you offer, and how you work.
Making your brand values meaningful
To get to grips with your brand values, they need to mean something to you and your customers. On the face of it, this can feel like a rather unquantifiable thing. But with the right research and approach, you can start to uncover what this is.
But the crux is finding what matters to you. Perhaps you set up the business to readdress sustainable practices in your industry. Or your reason for being is to offer a simple choice in a confusing market. All this is already there, at the foundation of your brand, and it simply needs teasing out.
Not only will this make all your following brand values meaningful, but it’ll also make them authentic. Again, there’s nothing worse than simply trying to copy someone else, and with this as a starting point, you’ll be embarking down an individual path.
So to sum up, to make your brand values meaningful, they need to be:
Unique.
Specific.
Relatable.
Authentic.
Defining and establishing brand values
Once you’ve defined what your reason for being is, you can start delving into the other parts of the business and piecing together your understanding of your customers.
Here are just some things to consider when establishing your brand values:
The marketplace – excellent brand values will take the marketplace into account too. What are your USPs? What makes you different, and what makes you stand out?
Your customers – this is the time to connect with your customers to find out what they love about your business, what stands out to them, and what areas need improvement.
Using insights to build your brand values – gathering this kind of feedback is a big first step, but you also need to put your findings into action. This exercise will quickly shine a light on what you’re known for as a brand, how you come across, and what you can develop into your brand values. Much like your brand personality, your brand values will help everyone to understand the look and feel of your brand.
Integrating your brand values in day-to-day business
True brand values are not just statements. They run through everything you do. Like Apple. And you don’t need to be a global leader to follow that example.
Your brand values will help you to remain accountable as you interact with clients and work together internally. They can also guide your decision-making process as a business. Most importantly, they help people to work to a unified vision, boosting morale and allowing you to maintain quality through everything you do.
There are some powerful ways to ensure these brand values stay front and centre too. They include:
Training employees in your brand values.
Keeping them visible throughout workspaces.
Measuring tasks and projects against these values.
Celebrating the achievements of people who champion your brand values.
In conclusion …
Uncovering your brand values, crafting them into something meaningful, and ensuring they run through everything you do as a business is a way to get the most from them.
And there are plenty of reasons for taking the time to do this work in the first place and continue to pay homage to your values on a business-wide level. The most successful brands have nailed their values, and this has enabled them to grow. It increases morale, runs through powerful marketing campaigns, and allows people, both inside and outside of the business, to know what you stand for.
Brand values are at the heart of every great brand, but that doesn’t mean newer or smaller brands shouldn’t bother. They are your heart, your personality, your reason for being. And you don’t need to be big and powerful to benefit from that.
Your brand values hold these things, and everything in between, together. So, you instantly see why they are so important and just how integral they are to your success.
What are examples of brand values?
We know, you probably already know all this. That’s why you’re here! The question is, how do you perfect your brand values and create clear principles to guide your business?
Like anything else in the marketing space, there are no cutting corners here. Anything you hang your hat on has to be specific and clear. It needs to relate to your business and the services you provide.
If you need a little inspiration, big, established brands like Coca-Cola show us how to do it. With their values outlined as:
Leadership.
Collaboration.
Integrity.
Accountability.
Passion.
Diversity.
Quality.
Or Ben & Jerry’s, with their three-part mission headlines being (and we are paraphrasing here) to:
Make fantastic ice cream.
Make the world a better place.
Manage sustainable financial growth.
Another example is Apple, a brand with values that are so embedded in our everyday lives; they’re hard to ignore. It’s all about making the complex simple and leading the market. And anyone, whos’ anyone knows that because it’s so integral to everything they do.
Why are brand values important?
The most significant point here is that brand values drive your marketing goals. They also hold marketing activities together and give you a cohesive framework to follow.
But they run deeper than this. They also influence how you interact with customers, collaborate as team members, and approach projects.
For all these reasons and more, your brand values must be bespoke to your business, as we’ve outlined. As well as that, they need to be easy to remember. The whole idea of them resonating with people, both within your company and outside it, comes down to these two things.
Memorable and relatable. This helps you to create meaningful brand values that get to the heart of what you do, what you offer, and how you work.
Making your brand values meaningful
To get to grips with your brand values, they need to mean something to you and your customers. On the face of it, this can feel like a rather unquantifiable thing. But with the right research and approach, you can start to uncover what this is.
But the crux is finding what matters to you. Perhaps you set up the business to readdress sustainable practices in your industry. Or your reason for being is to offer a simple choice in a confusing market. All this is already there, at the foundation of your brand, and it simply needs teasing out.
Not only will this make all your following brand values meaningful, but it’ll also make them authentic. Again, there’s nothing worse than simply trying to copy someone else, and with this as a starting point, you’ll be embarking down an individual path.
So to sum up, to make your brand values meaningful, they need to be:
Unique.
Specific.
Relatable.
Authentic.
Defining and establishing brand values
Once you’ve defined what your reason for being is, you can start delving into the other parts of the business and piecing together your understanding of your customers.
Here are just some things to consider when establishing your brand values:
The marketplace – excellent brand values will take the marketplace into account too. What are your USPs? What makes you different, and what makes you stand out?
Your customers – this is the time to connect with your customers to find out what they love about your business, what stands out to them, and what areas need improvement.
Using insights to build your brand values – gathering this kind of feedback is a big first step, but you also need to put your findings into action. This exercise will quickly shine a light on what you’re known for as a brand, how you come across, and what you can develop into your brand values. Much like your brand personality, your brand values will help everyone to understand the look and feel of your brand.
Integrating your brand values in day-to-day business
True brand values are not just statements. They run through everything you do. Like Apple. And you don’t need to be a global leader to follow that example.
Your brand values will help you to remain accountable as you interact with clients and work together internally. They can also guide your decision-making process as a business. Most importantly, they help people to work to a unified vision, boosting morale and allowing you to maintain quality through everything you do.
There are some powerful ways to ensure these brand values stay front and centre too. They include:
Training employees in your brand values.
Keeping them visible throughout workspaces.
Measuring tasks and projects against these values.
Celebrating the achievements of people who champion your brand values.
In conclusion …
Uncovering your brand values, crafting them into something meaningful, and ensuring they run through everything you do as a business is a way to get the most from them.
And there are plenty of reasons for taking the time to do this work in the first place and continue to pay homage to your values on a business-wide level. The most successful brands have nailed their values, and this has enabled them to grow. It increases morale, runs through powerful marketing campaigns, and allows people, both inside and outside of the business, to know what you stand for.
Brand values are at the heart of every great brand, but that doesn’t mean newer or smaller brands shouldn’t bother. They are your heart, your personality, your reason for being. And you don’t need to be big and powerful to benefit from that.
