BUSINESS
Defining Your Brand Vision, Mission and Values Think about the brands you purchase from over and over. Why do you choose to buy products and or services from them, even when cheaper options exist? Well, there's a good reason for it — because of their values. Darren Isaac explains why a company's values are vital to its success.
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f you run your own business, one of the first things you should do is define the fabric of your brand—what does it stand for? It’s actually quite common for many businesses not to have done this but it is hugely important and valuable in defining your direction and every decision you make. When working out ‘what should we do?’, you need a brand barometer to evaluate your decisions against so you are actually considering ‘what would our brand do?’. Why we do what we do The reason many business owners overlook this is that they simply aren’t aware it is something that should be done. Most of us are so focused on delivering what we do day to day, that we end up forgetting the importance of why we are doing it and who we are doing it for. Without our customers we have no business so we serve our customers’ needs and expectations and have to embody this in all that we do. The underpinnings of your brand decisionmaking are all about ‘finding your why’; why there is a need, why I am doing this and, ultimately, why should people buy from me? (or do they buy from my competitors?) When we look at what drives our business from the customer end we start to look more from the outside in than the inside out and this is the most important viewpoint we can have. Defining your Vision The first place you should begin is with the vision you have for your brand. The aim is to write a few succinct lines, maximum a short paragraph of around 50-100 words, that define what success looks like for your brand. You really want this to be ‘big thinking’ in the context of what you personally would like to achieve. This can be as big as you want it to be but it shouldn’t be any bigger. What I mean by this is there is no sense in having a vision for growth and expansion if you would simply like to be the most popular Italian restaurant in your area. On the flip side, you may have a dream of building a regional franchise network of Italian restaurants. Let’s imagine you run a dry cleaning business and your goal is to retire in ten years’ time with a group of dry cleaning stores that virtually run themselves. Your Vision may look like this and should follow this type of format:
“Vision Statement: Clean Genie’s vision is to be the most profitable independent chain of dry cleaning stores in Buckinghamshire. We aim to be the brand that the public knows better than any other and that customers choose first because we consistently meet and exceed their expectations and we do so with personality and style.” Your Vision Statement need be no more than this and you should have it on your wall and remind yourself every day what you are working towards. Defining your Mission The Mission Statement is as important as your Vision Statement. How can you achieve your vision without some kind of idea of how you’re going to get there? Well, this is your mission. You will see an immediate difference in that the vision is centred around you, and what you aim to do, whereas the mission is centred around your customers and how, by pleasing them, they will facilitate your vision. The Vision Statement belongs on the wall in your office and the Mission Statement on the wall in reception. Your mission is your summary roadmap for success and it looks like this: “Mission Statement: We will become the most recognised and loved dry cleaning brand in Buckinghamshire by creating positive and memorable visibility of our brand in all of the locations we serve. Our style will be bright, vibrant, warm and we dare to be different in ways that our customers will love. In delivering our service, our customers will find that they simply get more than expected with us, consistent excellence and value, and that this keeps them coming back and also telling their friends and family to do the same.” Though quite simple, you can hopefully see how valuable a statement like this in setting out, very specifically, the components of how you will do what you do. Moreover, it sets out the things that will have true value to your customers and enable your business to reach its goals through a growing customer base. Your mission defines what makes you different in your delivery and the things you will strive for, every day. Ultimately, you want your customers to love doing business with you and to tell others because you do it differently and you do it better.
Brand Values The final piece of the puzzle with your brand foundations is your set of brand Values. It helps to go through the process in the order I have set out above because having a Vision and a Mission are your roots and these help to shape your values that form the trunk of the tree. Your values are essentially a list of words, elaborated into broader sentences, that define the spirit and strengths of how you do what you do. Your brand values list should look something like this: • Care and Excellence - We care for our customers’ garments as though they are priceless, returning them without a crease or a mark, always on time. • Warmth - We take the time to get to know our customers, provide service with a smile and simply be enjoyable to do business with. • Giving Extra - The little things that matter and that make a difference will be prevalent in our service every time. Ideally, you want somewhere between five and ten core values that you run your business by. Now you have set in clear and simple terms, what your brand goal is, how you’re going to get there and the way you will do things to make it all happen. This should be part of your DNA and, going back to what I said at the very start, should underpin every decision you make and all that you do. Anyone can run a good business. Running a great business, one that really stands out, takes an unwavering commitment to being different in ways that really matter to customers and that are palpable in a superior customer experience. Darren.isaac@t-f-a.co.uk 01908 263650 www.t-f-a.co.uk
Darren Isaac is the owner of TFA, a multi-award-winning brand, marketing and creative agency. 56 The Triangle, The Coachworks, Wolverton Park Rd MK12 5FJ www.t-f-a.co.uk | 01908 263650 26
April 2022 | NN Pulse Magazine | 22,000 Copies delivered every month door to door across Northamptonshire
