Your brand values are the core principles that guide your business decisions, actions, and communications. They reflect your purpose, vision, and culture, and they help you stand out from your competitors. But how do you share your brand values with your team, and why is it important?
Sharing your brand values with your team is essential for creating a strong and consistent brand identity. When your team understands and aligns with your values, they can deliver your brand promise to your customers, partners, and stakeholders. They can also communicate your brand story effectively and authentically, and foster a sense of trust and loyalty among your audience. Moreover, sharing your brand values can help you attract and retain talent that shares your vision and mission, and motivate and engage your team to perform at their best.
Sharing your brand values with your team can help them make better decisions, be more engaged and motivated, provide better customer service, and collaborate more effectively. They have a clear understanding of what is important to your company and what they are working towards. This can help them make decisions that are in the best interests of the company and its customers, even in difficult situations. When your team is engaged and motivated, they are more likely to be productive and innovative. And when teams collaborate effectively, they are better able to achieve their goals. Overall, sharing your brand values with your team is a great way to build a stronger and more successful organization.
Every decision a company makes should align with its brand values. That means everyone who makes decisions needs to be aware of the values. EVERY employee makes decisions - so they obviously need to know! Everyone who can support your brand should be aware of your values, as it's a first check-in if it's a cultural fit! Everyone that you want to reach with your brand story should be aware of your values, as they make up the groundwork of it! Get the hang of it? Shout them out loud and proud ;)
Sharing your brand values with your team is like igniting a bonfire at your organization's core. When your team embodies these values, they become keepers of the brand's lighthouse, ensuring it shines through the darkest storms. This authenticity creates a magnetic force that attracts like-minded individuals and loyal customers who resonate with your purpose. It fosters a culture where every team member contributes their unique brilliance to the collective cause. Authenticity isn't just talk; it's action. When your team lives your brand values, they become brand ambassadors, reinforcing the genuine connection between your brand and your audience. It's not just a strategy; it's your organization's heartbeat.
To share my brand values I have to do the following: - Define The Brand Values. - Develop a Brand Values Statement. - Use Real-World Examples. - Open Channels for Feedback. - Visual Reminders. - Adapt and Evolve.
Before sharing values, we need to understand what is a Brand, A Brand is not just the image on a card, or the logo but every person who makes and shares the identity of what is been communicated is part of the Brand. With that in mind now we can understand that sharing the values is sharing the heart of the Brand, what is behind the logo and what means everything that is represented there!
Before you can share your brand values with your team, you need to define them clearly and concisely. Your brand values should be based on your business goals, your target market, your competitive advantage, and your organizational culture. You can use different methods to identify your brand values, such as brainstorming, surveys, interviews, or workshops. You should aim to have three to five values that are specific, meaningful, and actionable. For example, instead of using generic words like "quality" or "innovation", you can use more descriptive terms like "excellence" or "creativity".
Get into a room with the C suit of your company. Block uninterrupted time. Get a facilitator. Do a workshop. Dive deep. Find your values. Don't just write them down because you need them. Actually, find values that are meaningful to your Brand! And values that don't just sound and look nice, you should be able to actually act on them, always!
Defining brand values is like shaping a distinct personality and compass for your business. Start by exploring your company's mission, vision, and culture. Work with your team to identify your UVP. It's not merely about your offerings but how you deliver them. Conduct an identity session, including market analysis and customer profiling, to gain valuable insights. From there, form three to five core values that authentically align with your brand's identity and purpose. Ensure these values are actionable, reflecting your unique strengths, and serving as guiding principles for internal and external decisions and interactions. Remember, it's not just about having values; it's about living them daily.
Defining brand values is a critical step in shaping a company's identity. I approach this by first conducting in-depth research on the company's history, culture, and market positioning. Then, I engage stakeholders, from employees to customers, to gather insights on what they believe the brand stands for. Next, I distill these insights into a concise set of core values that reflect the company's essence and resonate with its target audience. These values serve as guiding principles for decision-making, internal culture, and external messaging, ensuring alignment and authenticity throughout the organization.
In my opinion, a brand is an abstract production with its own life, which the founding entrepreneur creates. The values of the brand are the values that the entrepreneur pours into it. You can write: things the founder brings with him from home.' Experiences, inspirations, education and life stories are the components of the brand's values and are its cornerstones. The best way to explain to the employees what the brand values are would be to be a role model, a source of inspiration who behaves and fulfills himself what he demands from others.
Begin by reflecting on your brand's mission, vision, and long-term goals. What does your brand aim to achieve, and what principles align with these objectives? Gather input from key stakeholders, including employees, customers, and partners. Their perspectives can provide valuable insights into what values resonate with your audience. Research your competitors to identify what values they emphasize. Narrow down a list of potential values to a few core principles that truly represent your brand. Once you've defined your brand values, ensure they are integrated into your brand's messaging, culture, and actions. Regularly measure the impact of your brand values on your audience and your business. Be open to adapting them if needed.
Once you have defined your brand values, you need to communicate them to your team in a clear and engaging way. You can use different channels and formats to share your values, such as your website, social media, newsletters, presentations, or videos. You should also include your values in your internal documents, such as your employee handbook, code of conduct, or performance reviews. You should explain what each value means, why it matters, and how it relates to your brand vision and mission. You should also provide examples of how your values are demonstrated in your products, services, or projects.
Lead by example, live and breathe your values. Showcase them openly, don't just bury them in some document. Have them easily accessible! Refer back to them often. When discussing decisions, thinking about the future, new features, new hires, team summits or ANYTHING - always refer back to the values and let them be your guiding north star! Don't let your values just be words and sentences. They need to become alive and be there in your everyday discussions, decisions, and communication.
To communicate brand values to your team, lead by example by consistently demonstrating these values in your own actions and decisions. This sets the standard and encourages the rest of the team to follow.
I always find creating some metrics around your brand values helpful. Once you can measure progress, communicating the values becomes more accessible because they are more relatable to employees, partners, and customers. Having a set communication plan is also essential. Have an all-employee meeting at least once a quarter to revisit your brand values, gain feedback, and report on the previous quarter.
Rather than "telling" the team the values, bring them into a discussion by asking question, for example "why it matters?". Get your team to contribute in the process, as early as possible. It will make a lasting impression and improve the sense of belonging.
Constantly. Communicate. Values. Publish them. Celebrate them. Highlight real stories of real team members living them. Treat those employees like celebrities and link successes to their application of values. Take victory laps and other forms of positive reinforcement. Perform public ceremonies and rituals for those who have consistently performed. Promote people because of values demonstrated, not dollars generated. Consider values a line item in your internal communications content calendar. There should be hundreds of intranet articles for each of your values pillars. They should reach hashtag status. And remember... The moment you get sick of talking about values is when the first person is beginning to understand them.
Communicating your brand values is not enough. You also need to live them every day and show your team how they can do the same. You can do this by modeling your values in your behavior, decisions, and actions, and by recognizing and rewarding your team members who embody them. You can also create opportunities for your team to experience your values first-hand, such as by organizing events, activities, or trainings that reflect them. You should also encourage feedback and dialogue about your values, and be open to suggestions and improvements.
One of the most common mistakes I see with businesses in trying to develop their brand values is using single words that have absolutely no uniqueness to the brand and no direction for how somebody within the brand might behave.
Communicating your values is one thing, but living them makes them authentic, believable, and trusted. Living your brand values is akin to embracing a lifestyle. Infuse them into every interaction, decision, and action. Cultivate a team culture that embodies these values, and let them shine in your customer relationships. Consistency is key – let your values be the heartbeat of your brand.
It's not just a catchphrase to live your brand values; it's a way of life. Being a living example of these principles in all I do as a leader, including my decisions, actions, and relationships, is the key, I've learned. It involves praising and honoring team members who uphold these values, putting our values into practice through activities and interactions, and constantly keeping the door open for discussion and development. Our brand values become the lifeblood of our company when we actually live them. They direct our everyday actions and help to create a productive and impactful workplace culture.
Brand values should be modelled at all levels and should start at the very top. Its easy to define some brand values at a management team level to be used as a branding exercise to try and help improve employee and client perception, but if the values are not being demonstrated at the top, then it can quickly unravel and even make engagement worse due to expectations not being met.
We always treated our core values as sub brands of our company brand. They each represented aspects of our company “personality” that were highlighted when it mattered most.
To ensure that your brand values are effective and relevant, you need to measure their impact and alignment. You can do this by using different tools and metrics, such as surveys, polls, quizzes, or interviews, to assess how well your team understands and embraces your values. You can also use indicators such as employee satisfaction, retention, engagement, or productivity, to evaluate how your values influence your team's performance and well-being. You should also monitor how your values resonate with your customers, partners, and stakeholders, and how they affect your brand reputation and loyalty.
Check-in regularly. Do a workshop where you check your values, are they represented in different areas of your brand; Visual Branding, External Communication, Internal, Product etc. Do they still resonate with your brand and where its going?
Understanding the beating core of your company is key to measuring your brand values. Measuring your brand values is not only about numbers and analytics. In my opinion, it's crucial to establish a closer connection with your staff. We assess not only their understanding but also their emotional commitment to our values using tools like questionnaires, interviews, and open dialogues. We pay close attention to metrics like employee happiness since it serves as a yardstick for how well our values foster a healthy work environment. Beyond our team, we keep an eye on consumer and stakeholder sentiments since, in the end, our brand's strength and loyalty are genuinely defined by how well our values resonate with those that interact with it.
Evaluating brand values shouldn't solely hinge on quantifiable metrics. While tools can offer a snapshot of alignment, the real gold lies in the narratives behind the numbers. Do your employees feel genuinely connected, or is there just superficial alignment? Listen to the stories they tell, the language they use, and the unspoken energy in the room. Metrics give you a 'what', but it's the anecdotes and candid conversations that provide the 'why'. Dive beyond statistics into stories, for therein lies the heartbeat of your brand's values. Authenticity can't always be quantified, but it's invariably felt. #BeyondTheNumbers
Is that really necessary? Will measurement of values really work? You can easily measure outcomes, but values are hidden, sometimes more a feeling. So measuring the indicators might work much better.
Measuring brand values can be challenging. It is an area that needs to be monitored. Regular conversations, listening to brand ambassadors and keeping them up-to date and focussed is important. Your brand values are key to your success but need to align with your companies goals.
Your brand values are not static. They may change over time as your business grows, your market shifts, or your culture evolves. You need to be flexible and adaptable, and review your values periodically to ensure that they still reflect your brand identity and purpose. You can use feedback, research, or analysis, to identify any gaps, inconsistencies, or opportunities for improvement. You can also involve your team in the process of updating or revising your values, and communicate any changes clearly and transparently.
To evolve your brand values, encourage open dialogue within your organization. Promote discussions, listen to feedback from employees, customers, and stakeholders, and be willing to adapt and redefine your values based on these insights.
Change is unavoidable and necessary to keep up with the latest market trends. However, its important that this change is well-orchestrated and thought out, rather than rushed and forced. Be agile and flexible, but also be inclusive. Take your employees with you on this journey, let them shape it with you, let them know how this benefits them and how much you value them. Let them be the brand and change ambassadors and encourage them to take risks and think big.
The heartbeat of a brand is its capacity to evolve without losing its essence. While it's crucial to adapt, caution is in not to pivot just for the sake of trending winds. Periodic reviews? Essential. But more pivotal is retaining a brand's core DNA amidst change. A brand's evolutionary journey should be like a well-crafted song, where the chorus remains recognizable, even as verses change. Engage with your audience, but also introspect deeply: Are changes genuine growth or mere reactions? Because true evolution merges tradition with innovation, essence with progress. #BrandHarmony
I believe it's crucial to acknowledge that brand values are dynamic, evolving with growth, market shifts, and changing cultures. Flexibility and periodic review are essential to maintain alignment with your brand's identity. As Maya Angelou said, "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." Embrace change, involve your team, and communicate updates transparently to ensure your brand's enduring beauty and relevance.
Consider incorporating your brand values into the onboarding process for new employees. This first impression period is important for setting the tone and expectations for company culture. Interactive workshops or gamified experiences related to your brand values can make the introduction memorable and engaging.
It’s about the “why” that shapes the values. Surrounded by people who share common values, the best opportunities for growth arise: personally and professionally
I often see businesses that boast of certain values associated with their organization that do not match what actually happens. You can declare to the outside about all kinds of values that belong to the organization, but if you don't make sure that this actually happens inside the organization, it will leak out and it will become clear to everyone at one point or another.
Work your values into your job descriptions and job listings. Weave them in naturally instead of just listing them out. Brand them too. Give them the same level of identity that our actual brand identities get. Make them something people WANT to be.
While we've dived deep into the formulation, communication, and evolution of brand values, let's address the elephant in the room: The dichotomy between stated values and lived experiences. Many brands boast of 'innovation' yet stifle creative voices; some echo 'integrity' but falter when tested. Take the classic case of a famous tech giant claiming "Think Different" yet facing criticism for homogeneous work cultures at times. It's a reminder that values are not just words to be printed or chanted, but commitments to be honored. Real branding magic emerges when the gap between rhetoric and reality narrows. True brand values? They're felt, not just stated. #BrandAuthenticity