What are brand values?
or in other words… what does your brand stand for?
When we understand what our beliefs, principles and reasons are for creating our brand, we can align those values with our audience and help reach the right people with our messages.
This stage of the brand process can be undeniably tricky to do but it’s a vital part of creating solid foundations. It’s something you can refer back to before putting any marketing out into the world, making sure it aligns with your values.
Ultimately taking the time to define your brand values helps your audience recognise what your brand stands for!
Ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. What do you believe in?
Think about what your beliefs are, how this is reflected in your brand and what you can do to support them:
How do you want to show up for your customer? By analysing who your ideal customer is and what their values are, will help to develop a relationship built on trust and understanding.
Think about how your brand beliefs can help serve your ideal customer - does your customer have any problems or issues that you can help them with?
What will make them choose your brand over a competitor?
2. What do you stand for?
Defining your principles will help to develop levels of expectations that you hold yourself and your brand accountable to:
If your beliefs are the theory, think of this part as the practical. By putting your beliefs into action, you can align and measure these against how your brand is showing up in the world.
Sharing a list of brand values helps your team to understand what is important to you and the brand, and gives guidance about how to stay aligned.
Write out your brand values and share them with your team - these can be single words or simple phrases that are memorable and easily understood.
3. What are the reasons for creating your brand?
Reflect on why you are building your brand, and what inspires you to keep going:
Think about why you are building your business. This is personal to you and can be tricky to answer - don’t worry, just thinking about what your motives are is a positive exercise!
Think about what your customers values would be, and do they match up with yours?
Here’s an example of a brand value; if your business produces a sustainable product because you want to help the environment, one of your values could be ‘We want to protect our planet.’
