Ever thought “what’s the point in having brand values?” Aren’t they just something you pop in your brand guidelines to tick a box and make you look good to your audience? Surely, they’re just another way of saying “mission or vision.”
Well, no, they’re quite different, and the point of brand values might be more important than you think – let me tell you why.
Brand values: what they are, and the difference between purpose, mission, vision and values.
Purpose = why do employees come to work? Money aside, what are they there for?
Mission = what the brand aims to achieve – whether that’s a financial ambition or the status of the brand.
Vision = long-term ambitions of the brand and its desired future impact.
Values = the core principles that guide the brand’s behaviour and decision-making.
When speaking to our clients to get to the heart of their values, we need to dig deep to uncover the core thread that runs through the business that makes it unique. Whilst your mission and vision are very business-oriented, your values are the soul of your brand – stuff you’re made of, what you believe in and what truly makes you different. Not just ‘your people’ or things you should simply be doing anyway. Yes, your customer service is great, but what are the authentic things about your brand that make it so great?
The real point of brand values.
These values aren’t there to simply sit and look pretty on your website and entice your customers (although that’s a handy benefit), they’re there to keep you on course, to make sure you achieve your mission and your vision. These values shape your identity and your culture, which ultimately help to build trust, to differentiate you in the market, and to encourage loyalty among both customers and employees by providing a clear sense of purpose and direction.
What do you do with brand values, then?
Don’t just say. Do. Your business should live and breathe your values.
Hire to them. Make decisions for your organisation and your customers based on them. Create content with your values running through the messaging. Then, prove you’re living by them.
Show your employees and your customers that you’re not all talk.
Passionate about the environment? Caring about the community? Great. But have integrity, take it seriously – if you don’t, you can’t expect anyone else to take you seriously.
By completely embedding your values in everything you do, you will create a truly distinctive brand that will resonate with your audience and employees.
At PMW, we know that our values are crucial to our success. We’ve just won a Third Sector Award for Communications Agency of the Year, which is a huge deal to each of us, and a testament to the fact that we have been so true to our values.
Creativity. Expertise. Tangible results.
We’re very aware that our people are one of the reasons our clients come to us. But it’s not as clichéd as that! It’s our originality, our knowledge and skills, how we always go the extra mile to deliver results that matter to our clients, as well as our no-nonsense approach and down-to-earth style.
Yes, we hire people for their talent, their skills, and their ability to do the job, but we also dig that little bit further for evidence of our values during the hiring process to make sure that we’re all aligned as a team. This means we’re very person-centric when it comes to recruitment. We look for someone who has that PMW spark, someone who shows extra ingenuity, someone who’s naturally proficient, someone who is always striving for the best, and who we know will contribute to the success of our clients. Someone who is driven by our values.
Don’t just hire to your values, work them into what you collectively do.
When PMW turned 30 this year, instead of putting on a big party, we grabbed the opportunity to look outward and do something different. Something creative. Where we imparted our expertise. Something that delivered tangible results.
That’s how we came up with DO30 – a project to support 30 charities and community groups and provide them with pro bono assistance. After inviting the public to nominate worthy causes, we helped over 30 organisations with marketing support, volunteering, participating in fundraising challenges and even completing a garden project.
Staying true to your values gets noticed.
We’re incredibly honoured that The Third Sector Awards have recognised us for our DO30 project as Creative Agency of the Year. What can be more affirming than that?
It’s made our team feel great about the company we work for, and we now have an award to validate that keeping your values at the centre of all that you do, really does get noticed.
