In a world where 71% of consumers prefer buying from brands whose values align with their own, your company values are more important than ever. As a whole, consumers are becoming more socially and politically conscious.
What does this mean for your company? In short, you need to identify customer needs and make sure you clearly address these in your core brand message.
What are clear company values?
Clear company values are the core brand message and belief system that permeates your company. In order for your values to translate, they must be:
- something you truly believe in, otherwise you won’t appear sincere
- relevant to your company and products
- clear and concise so that people outside the industry can understand them easily
They must be present in everything your company does, including your website, social media, advertising, branding and even your products. This is the only way to ensure that they are consistently associated with your company.
Your company values should also relate to your customer needs so that your buyers can be passionate about your brand. They need to be simply expressed for ease of communication. If you can’t summarise your company values in a couple of sentences, it’s unlikely that your customers will understand what they are or be interested in them.
A great example of a company with clear company values is The Body Shop, which built its brand on anti-cruelty cosmetics. Even if you’re a new customer, you can easily tell who the company is and what it’s about by looking at the website or going into one of their branches.
The importance of brand values
Historically, brands have chosen to stay silent on major political and social issues. But market trends are showing that consumers are faced with so much choice for similar products that they’re starting to care much more about where their products come from and how they’re made. Millennials and Gen Z are even more concerned about shopping ethically than older generations, with 81% of them preferring to buy from brands that have company values they believe in themselves.
Furthermore, the rising popularity of the internet over the last few decades has led to people being able to access a lot more information about the companies they buy from. It’s easier for them to unearth facts about their favourite brands’ supply chain and ethics. This means that they sometimes discover information that makes them uneasy.
The importance of brand values applies not only to your company, but also to your customers. If a consumer recognises similar values to their own in a company’s core brand message, they’re more likely to buy from them than from a company that stays silent on ethical matters.
Nike did it right
In 2018 Nike released their new ‘Just Do It’ advert featuring activist and quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The advert almost didn’t happen because Nike executives didn’t want to anger the NFL by using Kaepernick, a controversial brand ambassador. But they went ahead with it and by doing so showed clearly where they stood on the issues Kaepernick was vocal about. This led to them experiencing record brand engagement from their customers and high sales as a result. It was proof of the importance of brand values and that customers want to see organisations be clear about their company values.
A strong core brand message
To keep your customers, you need to create a core brand message that resonates with them. This message should reflect your company values and be present throughout the whole range of your branding.
Do you know what your company values are? Do you need help aligning these with your brand and messaging?
Find out how we can support your branding goals by getting in touch.
