In this podcast I am going to talk about how to avoid a common mistake some companies make when going through the process of defining their corporate values.

Prior to 2010, the topic of defining corporate values wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is today. Of course, this is a trend in a very positive direction as strong brands need to not only stand for something valuable, meaningful and relevant, they must also adopt almost human-like qualities. 

And if you think about it, it makes sense. Brands are made up of people, and people relate to people – not to machines or technology, no matter how charismatic and artificially intelligent Siri or Alexa becomes. 

As you’ve likely heard so many times, people’s decisions to buy are driven mostly by emotion. We do business with people and brands that feel right, and we tend to follow our guts and our instincts more than we may consciously think about. 

Therefore, we can reasonably and confidently conclude that brands are almost synonymous with emotion. After all, when you see a logo or hear a brand name that you’re familiar with, or at least heard of, you experience some sort of emotion, even if it’s one that barely registers. 

So, the question is, how can you infuse emotional elements into your brand, so that it becomes more emotionally appealing to prospective customers?

The answer lies in the process of defining values.  

In fact, the process of defining one’s values has undoubtedly become one of the hottest trends in both corporate and employer branding. 

And, when integrated into a well-functioning, healthy culture, the results can be extraordinary in five unique ways:

1. Values guide employees toward the desired behaviors, beliefs and attitudes required to deliver on the brand promise.
2. Values establish guardrails and provide guidance for making company-wide decisions throughout all levels, no matter how large, or small.
3. Greater onboarding success can be achieved as hiring managers will know what traits and qualities to look for in potential hires.
4. When work teams share a common set of values, not only does productivity increase, conflict diminishes as harmony becomes more mainstream in the workplace.
5. When competitive products and services appear equal, people will typically support brands with values they believe in.

So, let’s talk about that common mistake some companies make when going through the process of defining their corporate values.

Let’s assume, for the sake of example, that you’ve already defined your values. My question for you is this: Is it at all possible that any of one your values would be better defined, or classified as a basic, or minimum customer expectation? 

Let me give you some examples.

Let’s start with honesty. Unless your company is in an industry plagued with deception and manipulation, I would avoid characterizing honesty as a value. 

Think of it this way: Your mother may have told you not to trust anyone who says, “Trust me.” The same applies in business. However, if you feel strongly that honesty needs to be one of your values, a better option for you may be transparency.

In certain contexts, it has a similar meaning, and customers prefer doing business with companies that don’t hide anything.

The second example is respect. Not to diminish its meaning, but this isn’t anything special in the context of how a company conducts business. 

If respect for the customer and respect for each other internally isn’t a part of your company’s culture, you have much larger problems to contend with.

My third example is integrity. Because of such widespread and excessive use (like the term innovation), its meaning and relevance has been diluted. Every customer has the right to expect that you at least operate with integrity.