Does your brand align with your values?
By: The Bold Ones
Tags: Values, Purpose Driven Business, Branding, Brand Strategy

What do you value most in your life? Family? Career? Advocacies? Believe it or not, knowing this will be a huge help when thinking of how to align your brand with your values.

If you know the answer, consider yourself (and your brand) lucky! We’ve all gone through every teenager’s nightmare — an identity crisis, so it’s no surprise that your business could experience it too. If you love all things branding, social media, and content marketing like we do, but feel like you need to give your online presence a major makeover, read on. You’re in the right place, my friend!

If you’re having trouble figuring out your company values, just go back to the very first question I asked. What do you value most in your life? When you know what you want, it’s easier for your personal values to translate to your professional values.

What are Brand Values?

Brand values are uncompromising principles that you(r company) believes in. They serve as your moral compass from the moment of conception throughout your business journey.

What is the importance of aligning my values with my brand?

The wonders it can do for you (and your team) are endless, but let’s talk about 3 amazing benefits of letting your personal values and brand values intertwine.

1. It makes all processes more organized, systematic, and cohesive

As I’ve mentioned earlier, even businesses can experience an identity crisis. When this happens, you worry about every single thing — your content calendar, your social media assets, your tone, your business priorities, your systems, heck — even the very aesthetic of your brand is almost non-existent to you.

Your brand values, on the other hand, will shape every aspect of your business. When you align them with your mission, you get a crystal clear picture of your systems — from brainstorming, planning, gathering of resources, to finally implementing your game plan — all of which will dictate your company tone, personality, and direction.

2. It helps establish trust

“Consumers are no longer making decisions based solely on product selection or price; they’re assessing what a brand says, what it does, and what it stands for. They support companies whose brand purpose aligns with their beliefs. And they reject those that don’t.” — Accenture Strategy on Brand Values

According to a 2016 ROI study, 94% of consumers are likely to support a brand that offers complete transparency. Though this study only covered customer loyalty, your team will also work well when your actions convey what you feel strongly about. If your employees see you deviating from the company’s core values, then your values lose their integrity — thus making you lose credibility. So yes, it’s safe to say that your values matter to your audience and to your team.

Note, however, that a word is just a word until you do something about it. For example, if you say you believe in sustainability, you should live a sustainable lifestyle. If you say you’re an animal rights advocate, you should support brands that are cruelty-free and vegan. You can’t just post cute, values-oriented infographics on Instagram and then live a completely different life outside of social media. It defeats the purpose of having brand values. Walk your talk, hun!

Amen!

3. It promotes productivity and teamwork among your team.

We each have different opinions on what makes a team work so well together. For me, the secret ingredient to teamwork is *drum roll please* working towards one goal! It will be extremely difficult to reach those goals if you don’t even have a company “blueprint” to live by.

Now, I’m not, by any means, suggesting that running a business is a one-size-fits-all industry, because it’s not. Trial and error is what will make you thrive in your biz. What I’m saying is solely based on your values, not your methods. Imagine having to travel without a map (or Waze, for that matter), having to perform a classical piece without sheet music, or having to communicate with others without a common language (answering “google translate” doesn’t count!) All of these are doable, but extremely difficult and time consuming. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m all about that work-life balance, digital nomad life, and I want my team to have that too. From the very start, I told them about my vision, so that all of us are always working toward a specific goal. After all, teamwork makes the dream work, right?

Go team!

“But, wait. What if I don’t have a team?”

Now, you may be a solopreneur or a freelancer. Don’t worry, love! The same principle applies to you! When you are 100% authentic, your audience will be able to relate to you — not as this salesy, let’s-turn-each-interaction-into-a-business-partnership entrepreneur, but as a person — and maybe even as a friend. 99% of the products and services I avail are marketed by people who actually use them, and people who don’t just aim to sell, but also to spread awareness. It’s no surprise that many people share my sentiments. According to a study, 62% of customers support companies who take a stand on timely and relevant issues like transparency, sustainability, discrimination, politics, and fair employment practices.

Besides, standing by your principles makes life so much easier, doesn’t it? You don’t constantly need to think about that work-life barrier. When you are living authentically and by your beliefs, you become more empowered and motivated to do a kickass job without compromising your values.

I’ve probably babbled on more than I should have, but being true to myself and firm with my beliefs are two of my non-negotiables, be it in my career or in my personal life. I am proud of the work I have done because I know it streams from consciousness and inclusivity, and I want you to be proud of your brand too.

Don’t overthink how you can align your brand with your values.

Aligning your personal values with your work values shouldn’t be difficult. Don’t overthink it. If one day, you realize that the values you once chose no longer apply to you, sit down, rethink them, and maybe even change what doesn’t make sense anymore. Make a pros and cons list if you need to. If you’re worried that it’s too late in the game for you, think again. You can always spare some time to really dig deep and figure out your core values. Doing so might just give you (and your team) the productivity, career satisfaction, and genuine happiness you’ve always longed for.

Your values are your guide posts — the moral compass that will keep your company in check. With your brand values at the core of your company, you will always be reminded to yearn for meaningful experiences.