Your company’s brand is your company’s reputation.

In other words, it’s everything.

It’s why your customer aligns with you, why they trust you, and why they want to buy from you.

It’s why they will stay loyal to you and why they feel confident in recommending you to others who would also be interested in your products and services.

The strongest brands have clear brand values.

Brand values are basically what define your brand’s personality.

How does your brand treat people? How does it make people feel? What promises does your brand make? What does your brand refuse to compromise on? What social causes does your brand align with?

Brand values need not be complicated, but they are important and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Here are 3 ways to ensure your company maintains strong brand values…

1.   Brand values are an everlasting commitment.

Having brand values is a lot like having personal values.

They are etched into you. They are unlikely to change or waver. They are who you are, all the way through.

Similarly, you don’t just adopt a brand value haphazardly – brand values define what your company is all about.

A brand value is a commitment.

It’s not the flavour of the month. It’s not jumping on a bandwagon. It’s not here today and gone tomorrow.

If you aren’t “all in” on a brand value, then it’s not a value – it’s just something you’re trying on for size.

And doing this can backfire in a major way.

For example, when the National Football League decided to jump on the Black Lives Matter movement immediately after the police killing of George Floyd, they were immediately called out.

Many felt that since the NFL had publicly opposed player Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest against police brutality against black Americans only 4 years earlier, their supporting the Black Lives Matter movement now proved hypocritical and perhaps even opportunistic.

The NFL of course issued an apology for Kaepernick, but the whole escapade tarnished the brand.

The NFL made the mistake of thinking that people would forget what values they supported in past years, so when they flip-flopped, it was understood that the NFL didn’t truly stand for any of the values they claimed to support.

Remember, changing your values isn’t as easy as changing your company logo or business website. Brand values go deeper!

2.   Back up your claims with consistency and action, not just words.

You can’t expect to build rapport with your audience if you say one thing and then do another thing.

Don’t claim to be a business that supports the environment and then turns around and produces a lot of wasteful packaging.

Don’t support women’s rights and not hire any women to work in your company.

When it comes to brand values, you have to put your money where your mouth is. You have to make an effort to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Show your support with action and consistency. Donate resources and money that support your brand values and demonstrate how you and your business are changing the world.

3.   Always be authentic.

In many ways, your business is an extension of who you are.

It follows then, that your brand values are an extension of your own personal values.

After all, there is likely some value-driven purpose behind the reason you even launched your own business in the first place.

The way to make sure that your brand values always align with what you really want to achieve and who you are at your core is to just always be true to yourself.

Maintain authenticity, at all costs.

If your business is doing something that is out of touch with your true beliefs, you will feel that dischord inside of you. You will feel alienated from the very business you created. You will lose your sense of purpose. And THAT is when running a business becomes really hard to do.

Don’t let this happen.

As an entrepreneur, you get to call the shots.

Run your business with your personal values in check, so you never lose sight of your purpose. With this in place, you can maintain strong brand values so your business is something you can build with pride.

Your brand values carry a lot of weight. To ensure strong brand values, make sure you define them clearly and commit to them hard. Back up your values with consistent action, not just words. Above all, stay authentic – to yourself and to your company – because, as an entrepreneur, those two things are very tightly intertwined.