Consumers Care About Brand Values: How To Communicate Them in a Way That Wins

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As an inclusive trading strategist and consultant, 1 of nan things I talk astir consistently pinch my clients is marque values.

Many of them want to triumph complete a bigger and much divers customer base, but I person to make it clear that those efforts won’t beryllium successful aliases sustainable if they don’t believe what they preach since marque values are now an important portion of consumers' acquisition determination strategy.

In fact, HubSpot's Consumer Trends Report recovered that 82% of consumers want to prosecute pinch and bargain from brands that stock their values. I’ve moreover recovered that I usage my in installments paper arsenic a shape of activism and intentionally bargain from brands whose values are ones I judge successful and want to reward.

My basking return is that, contempt its importance, astir brands don’t do a very bully occupation of showcasing their values, but those that do it good do it well. Read connected to find immoderate high-quality examples from brands that guidelines out.

How Smart Brands Demonstrate Their Values to Consumers

Brand values are usually developed erstwhile leaders are building a marque and determining a mission, vision, and aliases purpose. When I activity pinch clients connected this, we often do it successful nan discourse of revisiting and revising their mission, vision, and marque values, to make them much inclusive.

In this section of nan Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I do a heavy dive of why values are truthful important to building an inclusive brand, but nan gist is that consumers attraction profoundly astir marque values because it signals whether aliases not a marque cares astir nan aforesaid things they do.

A caller study moreover recovered that ¾ of shoppers stopped buying from a brand based upon a conflict of values.

So, fixed its importance, really tin brands make their values clear and speak to customers that stock their aforesaid beliefs?

My apical extremity is to show, not conscionable tell. Consumers tin publication your mission, but those words are conscionable articulator work if you don’t show really those values are lived. I urge focusing nan mostly of your efforts connected highlighting really your marque practices its values

The brands that do this good do it pinch contented connected their websites and societal media channels. Below I’ll spell done immoderate examples of brands that I deliberation do a stellar occupation of making their values clear to consumers.

1. Ben & Jerry’s lives values done activism.

Ice pick shaper Ben & Jerry’s makes it clear from first look connected its website that it cares astir a full batch much than conscionable trading crystal cream. The marque leans difficult into activism, and considers it halfway to achieving its ngo of linked prosperity.

From its leader image, to nan ‘Activism’ item connected its Instagram floor plan and playlist connected TikTok, nan marque makes it clear to anyone engaging pinch its assets that it is very progressive successful nan causes it cares about. It besides encourages its customers to get progressive successful supporting those causes arsenic well.

Ben & Jerry’s values: quality authorities & dignity, societal and economical justness for historically marginalized communities, and biology protection, restoration, and regeneration.

2. Patagonia lives values done ample standard donations.

Since 1985, outerwear shaper Patagonia has pledged to donate 1% of income to nan preservation and restoration of nan earthy environment..

In 2022, Patagonia laminitis Yvon Chouinard “gave away” nan institution by donating his mostly liking (worth millions successful profits each year) to an biology charity, holding existent to its values by touting that Planet Earth is its only shareholder.

It besides features an “Activism” conception successful nan main navigation of its website, which highlights really itgoes astir achieving its ngo to “Save our location planet.”

Patagonia’s halfway values are: quality, integrity, environmentalism, justice, and not bound by convention.

3. Seer Interactives lets consumers cognize they are a B Corp.

A B Corporation Certification is simply a nickname that signifies a marque upholds standards of precocious societal and economical performance, accountability, and transparency connected important factors (like fostering an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy) related to a company’s societal and biology impact.

Seer Interactive is simply a trading agency that leads pinch messaging astir its B Corp position correct successful nan explanation successful hunt motor results.

The marque goes deeper by sharing its B Corp position pinch a page intelligibly visible successful nan main navigation of its “About Us” page.

The marque besides highlights immoderate of nan charitable activity they do arsenic portion of its values connected its societal channels.

Seer Interactive’s values: uplift others, prosecute truth, and strive to beryllium amended than yesterday.

4. The Home Depot and Tory Burch item their support of communities.

Supporting nan communities of nan customers they service is important to a batch of brands.

The Home Depot has a agelong history of investing successful nan Black organization arsenic portion of its activity to unrecorded its values. For example, its Retool Your School Program has provided grants to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for nan past 15 years.

The programme is featured prominently connected its brand’s website (shown above), and pinch contented connected its YouTube transmission (image below).

The Home Depot’s values: creating shareholder value, entrepreneurial spirit, taking attraction of our people, respect for each people, doing nan correct thing, build beardown relationships, giving back, and fantabulous customer service.

Fashion marque Tory Burch focuses connected organization and support done nan Tory Burch Foundation, which has a number of programs designed to empower women entrepreneurs, including done a fellows program, providing entree to capital, education, and different online resources.

On its Instagram account, you’ll find a nonstop nexus successful nan explanation to nan Tory Burch Foundation account, wherever you’ll find tons of specifications astir each nan activity nan marque does.

Tory Burch’s values: empower women (expressed arsenic nan company's purpose).

5. Warby Parker has baked its worth of giving backmost into its business model.

If you bargain a brace of glasses from Warby Parker, a brace of glasses are distributed to personification successful need. Because this facet is halfway to its business model, it’s thing nan marque doesn’t hesitate to pass about, hence why it’s featured connected its homepage.

It besides intelligibly highlights this successful its societal media profiles, particularly connected Instagram, arsenic shown successful nan image below.

Warby Parker’s values: inject nosy and quirkiness into everything we do, dainty others nan measurement you want to beryllium treated, prosecute caller and imaginative ideas, do good, return action, presume affirmative intent, lead pinch integrity, and learn, grow, and repeat.

6. Michael Graves Design has baked accessibility and inclusion into its merchandise offerings.

Michael Graves Design is known arsenic nan astir accessible creation brand, pinch its attraction connected designing for each and enhancing lives, sloppy of property aliases beingness ability.

Thus nan ngo and intent of nan marque is fulfilled pinch nan existent merchandise nan marque produces. As such, pinch each merchandise launch, collaboration, and promotion, it showcases really it is surviving its values and intent because they are intertwined.

The marque itself doesn’t needfully talk a batch astir inclusion connected its website and societal channels, because consumers cognize it because it is baked into nan product. For many, that’s what attracted them to nan marque successful nan first place.

In this question and reply connected nan Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I said pinch Ben Wintner, CEO of Michael Graves Design. During our chat, we spell deeper into really nan marque is meticulous astir surviving its values.

Michael Graves Design’s values: delightful, purposeful, pioneering, and extraordinary.

Tell Your Customers How You Live Your Brand’s Values

Customers won’t cognize what you guidelines for aliases nan bully you do if you don’t. It isn’t astir being performative. Rather, it’s astir highlighting nan affirmative effect you are making successful a measurement that inspires others, and helps nan customers who stock your values find you.