You might have heard that you should be ‘defining your brand values’ but what does this really mean and how does this tangibly benefit your brand?
There’s a lot of terms thrown around when you’re creating a new business or trying to improve an existing one, but brand values should be at the very core.
Think about what you want your brand to be known for.
Is it:
- Your commitment to helping the planet?
- Your passion for creating something new?
- Your friendly and down-to-earth customer service?
These are all examples of your brand values. You probably already have them in essence, but you just haven’t got them written down or made them a part of your brand strategy.
Every business stands for something; it’s about defining and refining what this is and communicating it through everything you do. From conversations internally with colleagues, to external communications with your customers, see your brand values as key pillars that guide your decision-making and keep you on the right course.
In this blog, we’re providing a useful 10 minute guide to creating your brand values, helping you clearly understand what your brand stands for and how to implement this across your business.
What Are Brand Values?
As we’ve covered in the intro, put very simply, your brand values are what your brand stands for. They’re the things your brand cares about aside from making money and acquiring customers,
Think about these two things for a second.
While they’re both things YOU care about as you want to be profitable, they’re not going to engage your customers. Why would they be drawn to a brand that’s only interested in making money?
You need to show them that your brand is deeper than that and cares about something more meaningful.
Remember: Buying is an emotional decision and increasingly customers are looking for brands they can relate to. They’re less interested in making a one-off transaction as customers want to feel like brands understand them and can genuinely add value.
This is where your brand values are essential.
Why Are Brand Values Important?
By defining what you care about beyond money, you can connect with your customers on a more human level. Instead of being seen as a corporate, faceless brand who only exists to sell, you’re engaging your audience as you’re showing there’s more depth to you.
Liken this to meeting someone for the first time. If all they spoke about was money and trying to make more of it, you’d immediately be switched off. It’s not an attractive trait, and it doesn’t make you want to invest your time in that person any more.
The same applies to your brand; you need to humanise it to connect with people beyond transactional value.
How to Use Brand Values to Your Advantage
Brand values help you build long-term relationships with your customers that keep them coming back time and time again.
To do this though, it means more than just putting your brand values on your website. Anyone can do that; create an ‘about us’ page and just list 3-5 lovely-sounding brand values.
But for them to be effective, and to retain customers over a long period of time, you need to live and breathe your brand values. This means using them as guiding principles in all of your communications and internally, making sure that staff are bought inn/
Below are some key things to keep in mind to make sure your brand values are a core part of your business:
- Run workshops with your team – Hold dedicated sessions where you talk through what your brand values mean and how they should shape the way your team communicates and makes decisions. This helps everyone understand and embrace them.
- Include them in training/ onboarding materials – Introduce new starters to your brand values from the very start, and show them how they influence day-to-day work. This helps them really buy into the values rather than them being something they read and forget.
- Use values to guide content and communications Before you post on social media or respond to a customer query, think does this reflect our brand values? This keeps your tone and messaging consistent and authentic.
- Celebrate people who embody your brand values – Reward staff who embody your values in their work. This reinforces the behaviours you want to see and shows your values are more than just words.
- Revisit and refresh – Check in on your values and make sure they still make sense. For instance, are they still aligned with who you are and where you’re heading? This keeps them alive and relevant, rather than statements that worked years ago.
10 Minute Guide to Creating Your Brand Values
Understand what drives your brand
You need to understand what drives your brand and what it cares about. This is the very basis of your brand values by looking at what makes your brand different,
As we said before, saying you care about making money isn’t going to cut it as you need to find things on a deeper level.
To get started, hold a brainstorming session with the senior team in your business, or if you’re a small business, whoever is involved at founder/ director level.
Discuss:
- What motivated you to start the business in the first place. For example, did you find a gap in the market, was it passed down from a family member, or anything other origin.
- Write down 3 to 5 words that describe how you want customers to feel about your brand when they interact with it?
- Think of brands you admire and aspire to be like. Consider what they stand for, and what resonates with you.
Define your core brand values
Once you have an idea of what you care about and what brands you admire, it’s time to start digging into your brand values.
There’s no need to worry about having them absolutely nailed down as you can come back and refine these at a later date. Getting them right is important, but it’s also about working out which values fit more naturally into your business.
The most important thing is not ‘forcing’ your brand values or trying to copy anyone else; be authentic about what your brand cares about and it will work to your advantage.
At this stage, you need to:
- Brainstorm a list of possible values based on what you want to stand for. For example this might be integrity, creativity, sustainability, or fantastic customer service. It’s fine to just write words at thai stage. Think of this as a brain dump which can be refined in the next step of the process.
- Once you have your list, circle 5 that truly represents your brand’s personality and mission. There’s no right or wrong here. Choose the ones that feel most natural to your brand as this will make them a lot more authentic.
- Narrow down this list to your top 3 to 5 that feel as though they encapsulate your brand the best. Try and keep them short and simple as this will make it easier for other people in the business to understand and get on board with.
Tip: If a new team member joined tomorrow, would these values help guide their behaviour and decisions?
Flesh out some brand value statements
Once you have the keywords that define your brand values, it’s time to turn them into clear, actionable statements.
Whilst having the individual words such as ‘innovation’ or ‘customer service’ is great, they resonate so much better with customers when they’re fleshed out a little.
If these words live in isolation on your about us page or careers page for instance, they don’t immediately tell people who are new to your business exactly what you mean.
Therefore:
- For each brand value, write a sentence that explains what it means in practice. This gives the word more meaning and proves that you understand what is meant by that value – it’s not just empty words on a page.
- Use plain language and avoid jargon as this immediately separates you from your audience. The whole point of brand values is to relate to your audience so you don’t want to add any barriers by trying to be overly fancy.
- Include examples where possible. For example if you claim to care about sustainability, are you implementing any green initiatives in the office or partnering with any charities?
Share them with your team
A key part of making sure your brand values work is getting buy-in from the whole team. Theyre also communicating with customers and representing your brand so they need to understand and embody the brand values too.
In lots of companies, brand values are created, maybe printed out and posted on the wall, then forgotten about. That’s why they don’t work as well as they can. By adding them into your brand strategy and sharing them with your time you make them a part of your culture.
With this in mind:
- Share your brand values and brand value statements with your team so they can use them to guide their interactions with customers, ensuring everyone is delivering the same experience.
- Use them to guide design choices, social media content, customer service, and hiring as they should be used to steer everything you do.
- Revisit and refine them as your brand grows as things are always changing. What was once important perhaps isn;t anymore, so updating your brand values keeps them relevant to what your brand stands for today.
Brand Value Examples
Below are two examples of well-known brands and their brand values. This gives you an idea of how companies define what they stand for, and how their values shape the way they communicate.
Ben & Jerry’s
Customers are increasingly drawn to brands that give back which is what makes Ben & Jerry’s so popular.
Through their transparent communication, they not only uphold strong ethical standards but also build trust with their audience.
Their brand values reflect this as they champion Human Rights & Dignity, while supporting opportunities for everyone to contribute equally. They advocate for Social and Economic Justice, striving to create equity, opportunity, and fairness for marginalised communities.
They also stand for Environmental Protection, Restoration and Regeneration, committing to positive environmental changes that restore damaged the planet.
Innocent Smoothies
Innocent Drink has built a reputation as a purpose-led company that champions sustainability and community.
They value being Commercial, focusing on what drives success and celebrating results along the way. They are Responsible, keeping promises, owning their actions, and doing business the right way for people and the planet. They are Natural, encouraging authenticity, self-awareness, and growth. They stay open-minded, embracing change, learning quickly, and seeking diverse perspectives. And they are Unified, working as one team with kindness, honesty, and respect.
Your 10 Minute Guide to Defining Your Brand Values
After reading this guide, you should feel more confident about creating your brand values and embedding them into your team. Don’t overestimate the importance of defining what your brand stands for and using these to your advantage in a competitive marketplace.
Customers want to buy from brands that care about more than surface-level things such as money. By defining what these things are and using them to communicate with your customers, you can connect with them in a more meaningful way.
If you need help defining your brand values, creating your brand strategy, or you need help with anything else related to your brand, get in touch with our team. We’ve worked with lots of businesses across a range of different sectors helping them attract and sustain their customers.
