Whether you own a physical store, an eCommerce site, or both, brand values are a crucial aspect of your business. Customers who want to buy from you because they trust your brand are essential. To accomplish this, you must have strong core values that are effectively communicated to your employees, partners, and consumers. Here’s all you need to know about developing great brand values.
What Is a Brand Value?
Brand value is greatly desired: all brands and businesses want to be regarded as valuable. However, it can be a challenging concept to define, let alone quantify. Before we go into the importance of brand value and how to quantify it, we must first clarify one term: what precisely is brand value?
It essentially refers to the perceived worth of your brand. It is the frequency with which people choose your brand over the competition, the amount of extra money they are prepared to spend for your products and services, and how they remember, engage with, and relate to your brand. It’s their customer loyalty and expectations, a brand experience, an impression, a reputation, and a connection.
However, despite our lengthy list of intangible assets, there are tangible assets that people identify with the value of a brand, which may also be utilized as metrics for measuring value, and these are:
- Logos, taglines, fonts and trademarks.
- Visual and digital assets.
- Advertising and marketing strategies.
- Customer retention.
- Social media engagement levels.
The Advantages of Brand Values
Now that we know what core brand values are and how important they are in engaging with customers on a deeper level, let’s look at the benefits they provide brands in greater depth.
#1. Bring in new consumers
77% of people want to buy from companies that share their beliefs. Furthermore, fundamental values serve as the marketing narrative that fuels your brand’s storytelling, and studies show that content provided as stories is 22x more remembered than straight facts. In other words, failing to identify and express your personality and beliefs means passing up new business and losing money.
#2. Enhance brand experiences
According to the marketing rule of seven, the average consumer has seven interactions with your brand before making a purchase. Having well defined core principles allows you to keep to a single message, resulting in consistency across touch points. Companies with well-defined, consistent branding have a 91% higher year-over-year rise in client retention than those with inconsistent branding.
#3. Increase brand loyalty
Customer loyalty is critical to long-term corporate success. When compared to new consumers, they are 50% more inclined to explore new products and spend 31% more in your firm. In an era when consumer trust is at an all-time low, clearly establishing core brand concepts aids in the preservation of brand authenticity, which nurtures customer retention and boosts lifetime value.
#4. Keep elite talent
Employees, like customers, want firms to have core principles. Several studies have found that working for a firm that shares their values has a substantial impact on employee engagement and retention. Building a brand with strong values and beliefs motivates teams to collaborate in order to develop a company that they are proud of and passionate about.
#5. Increase operational efficiency.
Defining your fundamental brand values creates a brand strategy plan that enables leadership and staff to make better informed decisions. Adhering to brand rules can help to coordinate a complete team and accelerate product launches and promotions. When evaluated through the perspective of a brand’s basic principles, even difficult decisions become easier and more evident.
#6. Create a competitive advantage.
In today’s fast-changing corporate environment, the capacity to make quick judgments is a competitive advantage. Furthermore, articulating your values through marketing allows you to expose your business to the world in a way that resonates with your client base and establishes strong connections. When customers feel linked to a brand, 57% increase their expenditure and 76% choose it over a competition.
How to Calculate Brand Value
Because of today’s recognition of the power of brands, there is a wide range of ideas regarding what makes a brand successful. Without a defined strategy in place, quantifying a company’s worth can be hard and unclear. There are various techniques to measure brand value, and your brand should choose the one that works best for the size, scale, mission, and values of your company.
When it comes to determining the value of a brand, many major variables must be considered: brand recognition, usage, and loyalty. Setting goals and tracking your progress toward them are critical to the success of your brand. The only way to know if your brand investments are paying off is to measure your brand’s value and monitor your brand’s audience in order to better understand perceptions of your brand and make future decisions.
There are six fundamental approaches:
#1. Cost-based valuation
This entails determining how much money has been spent or how much money has been spent building the brand. It essentially encompasses the cost of everything spent on developing a brand, including the cost of licensing, registration, and trademarking, as well as promotional and advertising charges and a history of expenses.
#2. Market-based valuation
This method determines the value of your company based on the current market environment, recognizing how your brand stands out from the crowd. You may achieve this by examining the sale prices of other brands, stock performance, or just asking CEOs of other companies how much they would pay for your brand. Surveys are an excellent way to gauge perceptions of your brand in the context of the market.
#3. Income-based valuation
This model considers the quantity of revenue generated by your brand. Essentially, how much money does your brand generate? You must examine all of your company’s financial streams and determine which elements can be directly related to the reputation your brand has acquired.
#4. Revenue premium valuation
This is a type of income-based valuation that is more detailed. It assesses how much people are ready to pay for a recognized brand by comparing it to non-branded alternatives. This is an opportunity to learn how many people utilize your brand based on its identity and fundamental values.
#5. Customer-based valuation
This entails appraising your current customers and forecasting the number of future customers. Customers are an excellent indicator of a company’s worth since devoted customers stick with companies with which they identify and connect.
#6. Net promoter score (NPS)
NPS is a measurement of how successfully your brand inspires organic, word-of-mouth promotion. This can be calculated by surveying your customers and asking them how likely they are to suggest your brand and why they are inclined to do so.
How Do You Increase Your Brand Value?
There are numerous actions you can take to boost the value of your brand, so we’ve compiled a list of them for you:
#1. Market research
A solid grasp of your target customers is critical to your success – no brand can succeed unless they understand their customers’ needs, wants, desires, and pain points.
Begin by researching your customers, where they buy, what they buy, and who they aspire to be, and then consider the nature of your product and service, as well as how your target market will engage with it. What issues does it address? Who will be affected by these issues?
It is your responsibility as brand builders to deliver the appropriate answers to the right people. You may adapt your messaging to appeal precisely to their needs after you know who will be buying from you and why, as well as their strengths, weaknesses, loves, and dislikes.
Brands are founded on reputations, but reputations are malleable, always altering and shifting as the market shifts. So, once you’ve established your brand and released your product, continue to undertake market research to ensure that your brand is ready to adapt to market changes as they arise.
#2. Excellent design
High-quality brand design not only impacts perceptions of your brand, but it is also essential in developing brand value. From your logo to your website, your visual assets should catch the eye, explain your promise, stand out from the crowd, and emotionally appeal to your target audience.
Design is where your brand may visually interact with its customers. The way you use shapes, colors, typefaces, and layout components on your website, packaging, and emails will influence whether or not your brand is valued. Your design elements should always communicate your brand in an engaging, inviting, and reassuring manner. Create your brand image from the beginning, and employ high-quality designs that demonstrate your brand personality and develop meaningful consumer interactions.
Because high-quality design makes a difference, it may be worthwhile to hire a design agency to assist you in creating effective and unique designs that capture the soul of your business.
#3. Marketing and advertising
Advertising gives your brand the opportunity to shine. It’s where you can express yourself, promote your brand values, show customers what you’re all about, and build real relationships.
Don’t be afraid to use all available venues to promote your company, or you risk alienating potential buyers. Spread the word and make sure that everyone knows about your company and how to contact you.
Brands can continuously showcase what they stand for through advertising and marketing campaigns, establishing a reputation, increasing brand awareness, and prompting brand recognition. Establishing yourself as a trustworthy and reputable brand increases the likelihood of your business being promoted through word-of-mouth marketing – an organic form of marketing that builds trust, consolidates a brand community, and allows you to reach new customers without incurring the cost of increasing sales.
#4. Sponsorship
Strategic sponsorships are an excellent way to increase brand exposure and trust. Sponsorship marketing gives brands a one-of-a-kind opportunity to associate themselves with causes and events that their target audience cares about and supports. This linkage contributes to a good reaction to your brand and, as a result, impacts how your target audience perceives your brand.
Opportunities for sponsorship are also an excellent way to demonstrate your company’s ideals. Choose events or causes that are important to your organization, that your customers care about, and that strategically complement your brand’s beliefs. This not only raises brand awareness but also demonstrates your ethical and social principles.
#5. Customer satisfaction
Brands confront greater challenges than ever before in obtaining and sustaining market share, retaining customers, and reaching new audiences. Providing excellent customer service is critical to increasing brand value. Customers increasingly anticipate an excellent brand experience and are willing to pay more for brands that provide it, as more and more firms lean into lifestyle offers and provide 24/7 communication. Excellent customer service, smooth user experiences, and simple interactions between your business and customers are all excellent methods to create positive customer experiences that will keep customers returning for more.
Consumers are always looking for brands to connect with, therefore it’s beneficial for businesses to provide consumers something to which they can relate. This extends beyond a visually pleasing logo or a visually appealing website. Although external brand aspects such as these can help to influence brand recognition, it is your brand’s perceived value that will drive true engagement and help you develop powerful ties with your target audience.
#6. The tone of voice
Your brand’s tone of voice dictates how it communicates with its audience and influences how people interpret your message. It should be distinct and unmistakable, expressing your brand’s personality, aims, beliefs, and areas of specialization.
Specifically, your brand’s tone of voice allows you to stand out from the crowd and leave a lasting impression on potential buyers. You can’t have a distinct brand identity without a distinct tone of voice that appeals to your target audience and initiates that critical dialogue. Your brand’s linguistic identity is where you may showcase your brand’s distinct persona while also smoothly building relationships with your clients.
Building brand value is dependent on how you present yourself and communicate with your clients. Consistency is essential. It not only allows you to communicate your brand in a personable and relatable manner, but it also allows customers to readily associate messages with your brand. Your audience may learn to know and understand your brand by using a consistent brand voice and tone.
What Brand Values are Appropriate for Your Company?
Your brand’s core values are at its heart. They are blended into the appearance of your brand, marketing efforts, and customer service relationships.
#1. Structure
Most business owners understand the need of a consistent and distinct brand, but many people are unaware of how crucial brand value is to every part of your organization. Your brand’s value gives it shape. Your efforts to build consistent branding will fall short without it.
#2. Sales of Products
A brand is more than the price of the goods or services it offers. You can charge more for your products in your brick and mortar store or eCommerce website by creating a positive association in the minds of your clients. Consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand whose values they share.
Furthermore, repeat clients will continue to purchase from you. You may ensure that you will continue to earn their sales for years to come by establishing strong brand values and fostering customer retention.
Customers may be less reluctant to trust an online firm unless they have created a strong sense of a core brand and associated values. If you have an online store, you may profit even more from strong core values.
Brand Value Examples
Looking at what other organizations have done is one of the finest approaches to establish your brand strategy around values. Every brand experience is unique.
A huge firm like Coca-Cola cannot be expected to share the same values as a fledgling eCommerce company. Looking at how another organization developed its core principles, on the other hand, might help you build your own, often in surprising ways.
Here are some instances of brand values that have been summarized.
#1. BigCommerce
- Customers First. Make every decision based on serving customers.
- Team on a mission. Work together with ambition and humility.
- Think big. Never settle; challenge what’s possible.
- Act with integrity. Honest, transparent, and no tolerance for hidden agendas or politics.
- Make a difference every day. Inspired to make an impact.
#2. Cars.com
- Be bold. Take action and go.
- Build relationships/deliver results. Relationships deliver results, and we make a difference by working together.
- Challenge and collaborate. Have hard conversations, and don’t assume anything.
- Focus on the outcome. Embrace learning curves to accomplish the goal.
- Start with the consumer. Always put yourself in the consumer’s shoes.
- Stay open. Differences strengthen the team, and combining experiences and expertise makes for better problem solvers.
#3. Wayfair
- We hire the best people. We stack the most talented and solution-oriented people against the best opportunities
- We give you the runway. We are all managers with ownership to innovate, build, and fix
- We innovate together. We build collaborative relationships
- We hold the bar high. We’re ambitious and back decisions with data
#4. Adidas
- Performance. Sport is the foundation for what we do.
- Passion. We are always moving forward.
- Integrity. People trust us because we are honest and ethical.
- Diversity. It takes people with different backgrounds to make our company succeed
#5. Coca-Cola
- Leadership. Courage to shape a better future.
- Collaboration. Leverage collective genius.
- Integrity. Be real.
- Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me
- Passion: Committed in heart and mind
- Diversity: As inclusive as our brands
- Quality: What we do, we do well
#6. MeUndies
- Stay balanced.
- Go further.
- Build relationships.
- Champion differences.
- Be humble.
#7. Beeswax
- Be curious.
- Be open.
- Be customer-driven
- Be effective.
In Conclusion
The value of a corporation is more than its products or services; it is what they stand for. It’s what allows them to form long-term relationships with their customers. It is their perceived worth, reputation, and monetary value. Most importantly, it is the reason why people prefer your brand over all others.
In the past, people made purchasing decisions based on product quality and value. Even today, brand value is critical in gaining customers’ trust and driving brand loyalty. Building brand value is the foundation of long-term commercial success.
Your firm will not be able to maximize its worth until it has brand recognition among customers and customers who are willing to refer you. Investing effort in creating and measuring value is a certain method to boost sales and prestige, both of which are required to maintain an industry-leading position.
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