How Core Values are Core to Your Value Proposition
Every business has core values, whether they’re physically stated on their website, internally communicated via a brand book or unspoken yet foundational to a business. It’s essentially your business’ DNA, helping you to stand apart as a company and not be confused with your competitors.
Core values set a precedent for what behavior is expected or discouraged from your employees. It also sets the stage for customers, clients and future employees to get to know your business and what it stands for as a whole. But how do these core values play a piece in how you communicate within your brand?
Defining Core Values
Values are fundamental, nonnegotiable characteristics and beliefs that are used to guide an organization and team as a whole. These are the traits or qualities that represent the organization’s highest priorities, deeply held beliefs and core, fundamental driving forces. They define organizational behavior characteristics and are a great tool to use when considering whether to hire or fire team members or customers.
Here are a few questions to help you define your core values:
What personal values do you stand firm on?
What would you fire someone for doing inside your organization?
What behaviors exist in your organization that you admire?
What behaviors exist in your organization that you DO NOT want?
What are the common themes or words you mentioned in the questions above?
These prompts will help you to boil down the essence of what your company stands for, what it looks for in its employees, and in the work that it puts out into the world. It helps your employees make the right decisions, always aiming to move towards a shared goal and vision.
And, when done correctly, your core values can properly be relayed to the outside world, allowing customers and clients a real look at what it means to work with you.
How Core Values Communicate Your Brand to the Outside World
Your company values reflect what your business stands for, but beyond stating them on your website or sales brochure, how do you and your team exemplify your core values in everyday life?
If your core values act as cultural cornerstones in your business, then they’re what will guide all of your company actions and decisions.
Take, for example, our core values here at HAVEN Creative®:
We Get it Right – We go above and beyond when needed to meet a deadline, meet a customer’s needs, and make mavens of our peers and partners.
We Are Brave – Tackling a new challenge, owning up to a mistake, sharing ideas, and asking someone to help sometimes takes bravery.
We Have Your Back – At the end of the day, we trust each other and know that our HAVEN Mavens™ will always have each others’ backs when things get tough.
HAVEN Creative’s team uses these to influence both our brand narrative and our voice — but we also use them in the way we treat our clients and the world as a whole.
If a client has a tight deadline and needs us to step up to the plate, we take on this challenge in stride with a smile in place. We’re brave in our marketing, and like to have fun while trying something different. When we’ve reached a point in our work that we need a hand, we reach out and ask for extra support. We have our clients’ backs when it matters.
Our actions and reactions every day inform our clients and team members what we’re about and what we’re here to do.
Is it time for you to take another look at your core values and make sure they’re aligned with what your business is presenting to the world? Download HAVEN Creative’s free guide and workbook and start Outlining Your Values. You can also contact a HAVEN Maven™ today to learn more about our workshops and pivot sessions.