It’s easy to underestimate the power of values when it comes to building a powerful brand.

But if you’ve taken the time to articulate your brand values, then you’re already ahead of the game.

You know how important they are and you’ve written them down, and possibly even communicated them with your team (if you have one).

But what are you supposed to do with them now?

It’s one thing to craft your brand values and tell people what they are, and a whole other thing to know what to do with them after that.

How do you take action on them? What does doing that actually look like? How will your customer genuinely know what you value, without you just listing your values on your website? How do you prove it?

Here’s how you can work that out for your business.

Sharing What You Value Through What You SAY, SHOW & DO

If Brand Story is not just what we day but what we do, how do we demonstrate our brand values through more than just our words?

Creating values for your brand means being able to commit to your tribe (the people you’re bringing on the journey with you) that you can live up to these values and translate them into actions in the day-to-day experience you create.

When you’re clear on your values and proactive in how they show up for your ideal customer, you’re helping your customer to choose you.

Taking action on our brand values is about what we SAY, SHOW and DO.

Let’s take a look at each of these areas and how they help you to live your brand values.

1. How your Brand Values appear in what you SAY (AKA Brand Communication)

The SAY part of the equation is your Brand Communication.

What you say. How you say it. When you say it. Where you say it. And not just in your marketing, but everywhere.

It’s the words we choose and the tone of voice we’re using in all our communication – the way we answer the phone, our emails, sales tools and documentation.

How are you showing your values based on the words you choose to use, and where you choose to show up in your marketing?

How do your values show up in your customer service process or the way your team answers the phone?

Are your choices helping to show what you value?

Or are they creating a disjointed feeling for your customers, where what they believe about our values and what they hear in our communication are sending different messages?

2. How your Brand Values appear in what you SHOW (AKA Visual Identity)

The way we SHOW our values is through the visual elements we use in our brand and marketing.

This includes branding elements like your logo, colours and photography.

It also includes how these visual elements come together in your marketing – does the layout, style and approach you’re taking to your visual elements work to support your brand values, or contradict them?

We often fall into the trap of starting with visual identity when we’re starting a business. But the visual identity of your brand should support all the other brand story elements.

Is your visual identity really “on brand”? Or is it creating confusion?

2. How your Brand Values appear in what you DO (AKA Your Actions)

Your actions include things like behaviour, processes, products and procedures.

It’s the choices you make in our approach to customer service. It’s the actions you take – or don’t take – each and every day.

Are you setting yourself and your team up for success? Or are your systems and processes letting you down in the way you deliver?

How are your values showing up in the way you show up? In the way your team shows up?

How do you respond to complaints? How are you embedding your values in each and every business process?

It’s what you do day-to-day in your business that helps you to live your brand story.

Because what you do gives your clients stories to tell about you to others (who will likely also be your ideal client).

Why you should do a Brand Values Audit

Once you start aligning your brand values with what you SHOW, SAY and DO you’ll be on your way to building a brand story that will help you attract and retain your ideal client.

But it’s also important to regularly check-in on your business to make sure that your brand values are staying in alignment with what you SAY, SHOW and DO.

A great way to do this is to regularly do a Brand Values Audit.

I take you through the Brand Values Audit Process step-by-step here.

I recommend you make a Brand Values Audit part of your annual planning and business review process. And if you have a team, make sure you get their input too.

Brand Values are about BELIEF

While brand vision is the change we want to see in the world and brand mission is how we seek to create that change, brand values are the driver that light the path.

They help your brand to mean something. To stand for something.

They help your customers to see that they’re in the right place, making the right buying decision because you believe what they believe.

And when you focus your attention on how your Brand Values appear in what you SAY, SHOW and DO across your business, you’ll be supporting your brand story, and your ideal customer, by really demonstrating what you believe.