Branding your business can be a challenge but having a clear vision of your brand will strengthen your business and ultimately attract your ideal customers and nurture long standing relationships.

Whether you are rebranding your existing business or starting a whole new venture, the best place to start is by setting out your brand values. These values will give an overview of what is important to your company. From this point, you can start to build a strong brand identity.

Key Aspects to Consider

Before defining your brand values, here are some key aspects to consider:

Who are your ideal customers? By researching who your ideal customer is, what they want and what they need, you will then be able to decide how your business will address these wants and needs, what problems will you solve for your audience and how will you resonate with them?

What will you offer? It is helpful to make a list of the things that your business offers and how it is different. What sets you apart? This could be your location, something your business is passionate about or the personal service you offer.

What are the personal traits of your business? View your business as a person, what is their personality like? Are they knowledgeable, fun, reliable or loyal? You can align personality traits to your brand as it stands today but also when considering and planning for future growth.

What do you believe? Having a brand ethos or brand belief system in place will really help when defining your values. What does your business stand for? Perhaps your business is about being sustainable, recycling or watching your carbon footprint. This then needs to be reflected in how you run your business, for example, using recycled paper or being plastic free. A well-defined belief system will help mould your business and its actions.

Defining Your Brand Values

After considering these key aspects, you can then define your brand values. Your brand values can either be short statements or single words that are unique to your vision and purpose. These can be accompanied by a short, descriptive sentence if needed. If you are an SME business, then look to have up to three of these.

Once you have your values in place, you can use them as a definitive checklist for future business decisions. It is also important to ensure all employees have a clear understanding of your new values, especially when liaising with customers and when representing your company.

Building Your Identity

The next step will be to start building your brand’s identity. This represents the visible elements of your brand, for example, your logo, font, colour and design. It identifies and distinguishes the brand in your customer’s minds. Do the colour choices you’ve selected for your brand align with the feeling you’re trying to give to your customers and prospects?

Your brand’s colours can reflect more than you can imagine about your business. It can help your business establish trust and familiarity by eliciting the right emotions. Did you know that studies have found that a product's colour influences 60-80% of a customer's decision when purchasing? The right choice of colour does not only strengthen the brand association, but it can also affect your total sales.

In conclusion, every business, no matter their size will benefit from taking the time to define its core values and identity. They will act as a guide for every decision you make about your business and its growth now, and into the future.