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

By sonia@soniaethompson.com (Sonia Thompson)

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As an inclusive marketing strategist and consultant, one of the things I talk about consistently with my clients is brand values.

Many of them want to win over a bigger and more diverse customer base, but I have to make it clear that those efforts won’t be successful or sustainable if they don’t practice what they preach since brand values are now an important part of consumers’ purchase decision strategy.

In fact, HubSpot’s Consumer Trends Report found that 82% of consumers want to engage with and buy from brands that share their values. I’ve even found that I use my credit card as a form of activism and intentionally buy from brands whose values are ones I believe in and want to reward.

My hot take is that, despite its importance, most brands don’t do a very good job of showcasing their values, but those that do it well do it well. Read on to find some high-quality examples from brands that stand out.

How Smart Brands Demonstrate Their Values to Consumers

Brand values are usually developed when leaders are building a brand and determining a mission, vision, and or purpose. When I work with clients on this, we often do it in the context of revisiting and revising their mission, vision, and brand values, to make them more inclusive.

In this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I do a deep dive of why values are so important to building an inclusive brand, but the gist is that consumers care deeply about brand values because it signals whether or not a brand cares about the same things they do.

A recent study even found that ¾ of shoppers stopped buying from a brand based upon a conflict of values.

So, given its importance, how can brands make their values clear and speak to customers that share their same beliefs?

My top tip is to show, not just tell. Consumers can read your mission, but those words are just lip service if you don’t show how those values are lived. I recommend focusing the majority of your efforts on highlighting how your brand practices its values

The brands that do this well do it with content on their websites and social media channels. Below I’ll go through some examples of brands that I think do a stellar job of making their values clear to consumers.

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

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s makes it clear from first look on its website that it cares about a whole lot more than just selling ice cream. The brand leans hard into activism, and considers it core to achieving its mission of linked prosperity.

From its hero image, to the ‘Activism’ highlight on its Instagram profile and playlist on TikTok, the brand makes it clear to anyone engaging with …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog