Your Brand Values: What Does Your Business Stand For?
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If you were asked to describe yourself in 4 words or phrases, what would those 4 terms be? Would you focus on your intelligence, your kindness, being a good listener and creativity, or would you choose words such as ‘brave’, ‘respectful’, ‘responsible’ and ‘understanding’? It’s tough right – choosing just 4 words to encompass your undoubtedly lovely personality, and everything you’ve done and achieved. The thing is, all the great things about you are the reasons people stay in touch, want to hang out and keep you in their lives. The same goes for the businesses, companies and brands which we choose to utilise and purchase from. The values in which they uphold, and work towards, are what keeps us coming back for more. But what exactly are brand values, and how do they impact the communication we put out there, and the success of businesses? In this blog, I answer these questions, and offer help in helping you determine your own.
What Are Brand Values?
Brand values are a collection of guiding principles that help to shape every facet of your business. They’re found at the heart of your company, dictating brand messaging, ethos, identity and personality. They influence the business decisions you make and the subsequent actions you take, and tend to be one of the most important factors in customers choosing you over your competitors. Put simply, brand values help you to stand out in an overcrowded market, and is the pull that communicates your worth, reasoning and what your business stands for.
But more than this, your brand values are the beliefs that your business invests in, and your team members live by. They serve as the moral compass that guides your brand story, how it develops and what individuals should associate with your company. They matter because they influence how customers perceive your brand, which is important when it’s likely they will choose a brand whose values align with their own. The same is true for staff members, too. In fact, multiple studies show that shared core values have a significant impact on employee engagement, and retention. And with research finding that employee engagement boosts productivity in the workplace, with an average of 21% more profitability for said businesses, the knock on effect of having defined brand values is clearly imperative to success.
In a nutshell, brand values are important because:
- They help you to make company decisions that align with your brand’s mission. What do you hope to achieve? What goals does your business have? How can the values that guide your company help to reach them?
- Enhances employee engagement. This is so much more than appreciation, recognition and rewards. It’s the belief that staff members have that they are working for a business with their and their clients’ best interests at heart, as shown by the values the company trades by.
- Makes your brand memorable. For example, Adidas’s brand values are: Performance; Passion; Integrity; Diversity. With sport at the very foundation of what they do, and choosing ethical business practices that help to move the business forward, as well as catering to the needs of all budgets, their values simplify their offering in 4 key words.
- Builds a deeper connection with your audience. This is especially important for charities. Take WWF’s values for example: Courage; Integrity; Respect; Collaboration. They demonstrate courage through the actions they take, and as stated on their website, ‘’work for change where it’s needed, and we inspire people and institutions to tackle the greatest threats to nature and the future of the planet, which is our home.’’ For animal lovers and activists alike, this can really hit home and inspire them to donate, volunteer and do their part.
- Keeps your brand authentic. Provides truths that keep your business in tow, and boosts brand consistency as the messaging and communication aligns with your brand, boosting loyalty to it too.
How To Define Your Brand Values?
When it comes to your business’s brand values, it’s important that they:
- Are clear and genuine. You should wholeheartedly care about the values your company invests in, and instinctively know what those values are and where they apply.
- Establish and build connections with customers, team members and stakeholders alike.
- Set you apart from your competition, because otherwise, you’re just like everyone else, and provide no emotional pull.
What follows are 4 ways to discover your brand’s values:
- Conduct a brainstorming session with your team, asking them to write down the top 5-10 words they feel best describe the brand. Then ask them what words they feel should be describing the brand, that possibly currently doesn’t. By asking questions such as “What do we value most as a company?” and “What does our company stand for?”, you can get a real feel for how your team feels toward the company, and where improvements may lie.
- Think about poor experiences you’ve had with other companies and competitors, and how you can provide a service that is the complete opposite. If for example, your business deals with deliveries, yet you have found that some competitors have a record of delays, stolen packages or rude customer service staff, values you may want to express include: Care; Attention To Detail; Pride; Professionalism.
- Reflect on all the great things your business already does, and think about why you’re doing them. Do you ensure that your products are sent to your customers in under 24 hours? Are you using only natural ingredients in your products? What do these great things tell you about your business, and how can they be further implemented within your messaging?
- Research into the brands that inspire you. What is it about them that truly resonates with your being, and what qualities make them special? Look for consistent themes and use them as a guidepost for developing your brand values too.
What follows are a list of 200 brand values, that can be a good jumping off point for defining yours.
The Brand Values List & Real World Examples
Liza Furze – an expert on brand values – has created a fantastic guide on words you may want as your brand values. These words are:
- Abundance
- Acceptance
- Accessibility
- Accountability
- Accuracy
- Activeness
- Adaptability
- Adventure
- Affection
- Ambition
- Appreciation
- Approachability
- Attention to detail
- Balance
- Beauty
- Belonging
- Bravery
- Capability
- Care
- Change
- Charity
- Clarity
- Cleanliness
- Collaboration
- Comfort
- Commitment
- Communication
- Compassion
- Confidence
- Connection
- Consistency
- Control
- Cooperation
- Courage
- Craftiness
- Craftsmanship
- Creativity
- Credibility
- Curiosity
- Customer satisfaction
- Customer-centric
- Daring
- Dedication
- Dependability
- Determination
- Devotion
- Dignity
- Diligence
- Directness
- Discipline
- Discovery
- Discretion
- Diversity
- Dreams
- Drive
- Duty
- Eagerness
- Ease of use
- Economy
- Education
- Effectiveness
- Elegance
- Empathy
- Empowering
- Energy
- Engagement
- Enjoyment
- Entertainment
- Enthusiasm
- Entrepreneurship
- Environment
- Equality
- Evolution
- Excellence
- Excitement
- Exhilaration
- Expertise
- Exploration
- Fairness
- Faith
- Family
- Fame
- Fascination
- Fearlessness
- Firmness
- Fitness
- Flexibility
- Focus
- Freedom
- Freshness
- Friendship
- Fun
- Generosity
- Genius
- Genuineness
- Goodwill
- Gratitude
- Growth
- Guidance
- Happiness
- Hard work
- Harmony
- Health
- Heart
- Heroism
- History
- Honesty
- Honour
- Hope
- Humility
- Humor
- Imagination
- Impact
- Individuality
- Innovation
- Insight
- Inspiration
- Integrity
- Intelligence
- Intimacy
- Intuition
- Joy
- Justice
- Kindness
- Knowledge
- Leadership
- Learning
- Liveliness
- Logic
- Longevity
- Love
- Loyalty
- Mastery
- Mindfulness
- Motivation
- Neatness
- Optimism
- Organisation
- Originality
- Partnership
- Passion
- Patience
- Peace
- Perception
- Performance
- Persistence
- Personal development
- Playfulness
- Poise
- Polish
- Popularity
- Positivity
- Potential
- Power
- Precision
- Pride
- Privacy
- Productivity
- Professionalism
- Progress
- Purity
- Quality
- Recognition
- Reflection
- Relationships
- Reliability
- Resilience
- Resourcefulness
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Safety
- Satisfaction
- Security
- Sharing
- Simplicity
- Sincerity
- Skill
- Speed
- Spontaneity
- Stability
- Strength
- Success
- Support
- Sustainability
- Talent
- Teamwork
- Thoughtfulness
- Tolerance
- Trust
- Truth
- Understanding
- Uniqueness
- Unity
- Value
- Variety
- Virtue
- Vision
- Warmth
- Welcoming
- Wonder
A thorough consideration of these words, and how 4-5 of them may express your company is definitely worth the time and effort. What follows are some of my favourite brand values, with the explanations of what these words mean to the businesses that chose them.
KPMG
Dealing with tax, auditing and advisory services to the financial services, retail and industrial manufacturing industries – among others – they are committed to instilling trust in their customers and communities in which they operate.
- We Lead By Example – ‘’At all levels we act in a way that exemplifies what we expect of each other and our member firms’ clients.’’
- We Respect The Individual – ‘’We respect people for who they are and for their knowledge, skills and experience as individuals and team members.’’
- We Are Committed To Our Communities – ‘’We act as responsible corporate citizens by broadening our skills, experience and perspectives through work in our communities and protecting the environment.’’
- We Are Open And Honest In Our Communication– ‘’We share information, insight and advice frequently and constructively and manage tough situations with courage and candor.’’
Netflix
Offering every genre of film and television show under the sun, Netflix strives for service provision that meets the needs of its diverse audiences.
- Judgment – ‘’You identify root causes, and get beyond treating symptoms. You think strategically, and can articulate what you are, and are not, trying to do. You are good at using data to inform your intuition.’’
- Courage – ‘’You say what you think, when it’s in the best interest of Netflix, even if it is uncomfortable. You are willing to be critical of the status quo. You question actions inconsistent with our values.’’
- Selflessness – ‘’You seek what is best for Netflix, rather than what is best for yourself or your group. You are open-minded in search of the best ideas. You make time to help colleagues.’’
- Inclusion – ‘’You collaborate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures. You nurture and embrace differing perspectives to make better decisions. You intervene if someone else is being marginalised.’’
Airbnb
Allowing everyone to become a holiday host, they encourage a great experience and make visitors feel as if they are staying in a home away from home.
- Be A Host – ‘’Care for others and make them feel like they belong. Encourage others to participate to their fullest/ Listen, communicate openly and set clear expectations.’’
- Champion The Mission – ‘’Prioritise work that advances the mission and positively impacts the community. Build with the long-term in mind. Actively participate in the community and culture.’’
- Be A Cereal Entrepreneur – ‘’Be bold and apply original thinking. Imagine the ideal outcome. Be resourceful to make the outcome a reality.’’
- Embrace The Adventure – ‘’Be curious, ask for help, and demonstrate an ability to grow. Own and learn from mistakes. Bring joy and optimism to work.’’
And of course, Embryo…
- Together – ‘’Our environment fosters the growth of our business and our people. Collaboration is what drives our creativity. We value inclusivity and we are all in this together.’’
- Curious – ‘’Our curiosity is what allows us to understand the problems brands face. It drives us to delve deeper, widen our view and find the insights that others can’t see.’’
- Innovative – ‘’Innovation is at the heart of our business. It’s what drives us and our clients forward. The key to innovation is the balance of creativity and delivery.’’
- Focused – ‘’We are focused on service, on delivery, on optimisation, on results and on changing the way our industry is perceived.’’
Curious about your brand values? Looking for an innovative and focused approach to your digital marketing strategy? Together, we can find the words that best define your brand, and help express them through your messaging – whether that’s content, PR, PPC or social media. For more information on our range of services, please contact us today on 0161 327 2635.
