How an online marketing agency can help shape and shift your brand into the future.
There are many different puzzle pieces that make up your brand, which help define its identity, make it meaningful and distinctive, and shape how others perceive it. While external elements can foster feelings of familiarity and loyalty in customers, remember the following :
In the end, it’s all about what’s on the inside.
It is the “inside” of your brand that distinguishes it from the competition and allows it to connect with customers deeper and more meaningfully. That’s where your brand values come in. And that is also where an online marketing agency can help you take the reins, and help you get to the core of your brand.
Brand Values: What are they?
The brand values are the everyday actions that your team takes to uphold the brand’s integrity. When internal employees are at their best, they are ambassadors for your brand and bring the heart of your brand to life. Over time, this internal culture builds brand loyalty and alignment with the audience.
Of course, your core values depend on lots of things, including the goals and expectations surrounding the future of your business, and everything you want it to achieve.
When defining your brand values, alongside an online marketing agency, you should aim to make them:
- Actionable – Your core values shouldn’t be a bunch of empty words that make you sound good on paper, but don’t reflect your true brand persona. You should want transparency, because that builds trust. Everything you do or say should be mirrored by the core of your brand. Prompt action when you are defining your brand and use phrases that include verbs (‘doing words’), over adjectives (‘describing words’).
- Memorable – You don’t need a never-ending list of brand attributes and descriptions. The easier it is to remember your brand’s beliefs and values, the more likely it is that your employees will remember, internalise, and most importantly, action them on a daily basis.
- Meaningful – Empty phrases won’t make the impact you want your brand to make. Fluffy statements won’t resonate through your employees to your customers, which is the goal at the end of the day. Words will only have power if they carry a deeper meaning that’s connected to the beating heart of your brand, and if they are coming from a place of authenticity and authority.
- Consistent – You’ve heard it before, and we’ll tell you again. The way in which you communicate your brand changes over the years, sure, but your brand’s values remain (mostly) the same. An online marketing agency is instrumental in ensuring consistency. This consistency will continue to instil a sense of trust in your customers.
- Unique – Your values should be a reflection of what truly makes your brand unique. It’s like the DNA that makes up your brand. Sometimes, being so involved with your brand shifts your focus onto other things, and you forget what identifies you as different. Your unique selling propositions should differentiate you from the competition, so don’t settle for values that are too similar to what’s already out there.
If you’re thinking too hard about what your business USP’s are, how to be consistent, memorable, meaningful and more, it’s time to set up a call with an online marketing agency that knows how to effectively pinpoint all of the above.
An online marketing agency can highlight your brand values.
Consumers are constantly seeking new ways to connect with brand, whether they’re aware of it or not. Fostering those connections goes beyond your products or services. You must remember that your core values affect how outsiders (clients), perceive your brand.
Up to 77% of consumers admit that they’re more likely to buy from brands that have similar values to their own. This is the reason why it’s so important to make it crystal clear what your values are, and do it from the beginning.
Ultimately, during a time when it is getting more difficult to gain consumer’s trust and brand loyalty is at a low, maintaining brand authenticity can really be a deciding factor for consumers, which in turn can make or break your business. Once you have established them, with the help of an online marketing agency, your brand values will only have an impact if they are truly lived out.
How To Find Your Brand’s Core Values
There is no need to “create” your brand values. That’s the wrong way to look at this. The truth is:
Even though you may not have realized it yet, your brand already has a set of values.
Pro tip from DMN Founder and Creative Director, Monique Liebisch: “You cannot create your brand values, they are already there; you just have to identify and define them”.