Brand values that build real businesses

Defining strong, authentic brand values is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.

They're not fluffy, feel-good statements to print on your office wall or stick on your website footer. Done right, they guide behaviour, support decision-making, shape culture, and build lasting connections with customers.

But how do you actually create effective brand values? What makes one brand value better than another? And how can you make sure your brand values don't just sound nice but make a real impact?

In this blog, we'll take you through a practical and proven approach to defining meaningful brand values that reflect who you are, resonate with your audience and help your business grow with integrity.

What are brand values?

Put simply, brand values are the principles and beliefs that guide how your business behaves, communicates and operates.

They sit at the heart of your company identity and shape how your brand is perceived – both inside and out.

Brand value meaning in practice

There's more to brand values than merely saying you care about "integrity" or "innovation".

You need to live those values in everything you do – from your hiring process to your marketing campaigns to how you respond to customer complaints.

Good brand values create consistency. They help you and your team make the right decisions, even when times get tough. They're the foundations that ensure your mission and vision are a lived reality.

Why brand values matter

Here's why strong brand values are crucial to your business:

• They define your company culture and set expectations for behaviour.

• They provide clarity when making difficult decisions.

• They help attract the right team members, partners and clients.

• They guide your marketing, tone of voice and customer communications.

• They can be the difference between a business people like and a business people trust.

Businesses that don't define their values often drift. Without a clear compass, decisions become inconsistent, teams lack direction and customers' trust erodes.

VIDEO: How to define the right brand values for your business

Marketer Sally Day guides you through defining the best brand values for your particular business:

The building blocks of a brand: Mission, vision, purpose and values

Before you define your values, make sure your other brand foundations are in place:

• Mission: What does your business do? What is its core function and reason for existing?

• Vision: Where are you heading? What is the long-term change you want to see in the world?

• Purpose: Why does it matter? What impact are you trying to make on your customers or community?

• Values: How will you act as you do it? What behaviours and principles guide you?

Your brand values should support your mission, vision and purpose – not contradict them.

How to define the right brand values: A step-by-step guide

Here's a simple, structured process to define meaningful brand values for your business.

Step 1: Start with a brain dump

Begin by writing down all the words or short phrases that describe what matters most to your business. Don't worry about getting it right. Just go for volume. Think about:

• how you work

• what you care about

• what drives your decisions

• how you want customers to feel

• what kind of team culture you want

You could do this alone or as part of a team workshop. Post-it notes on a wall or shared digital boards like Miro work brilliantly.

Step 2: Ask "Why?" for each word

Next, take each word and ask: Why is this important to us?

If you can't give a strong, specific reason, throw it out. This step makes sure every value is meaningful – not just a buzzword.

For example, if you wrote "collaboration", is that because you want open communication across teams? Or because you believe co-creating with clients gets better results? The why matters as much as the what.

Step 3: Group and condense

Now look at your words and begin grouping them into themes. For example:

• "Community", "connection", "teamwork", "empathy" – could group into togetherness

• "Boldness", "risk-taking", "pioneering" – could group into bravery

Choose one word to represent each theme – the strongest, most resonant one – and make sure you've covered the main aspects of how you want to operate.

Aim for four to five core brand values. This is a sweet spot that's memorable and manageable.

Step 4: Write a clear brand value statement for each

This is the most important step. Don't just write the word – write a brand value statement that explains what it means in your context.

Here's a great example from branding agency Brand Launchers:

• Value: No faffing

• Statement: We won't do anything that doesn't add value to your launch or business. We avoid distractions, waste, and unnecessary work – in our team and with our clients.

This kind of statement makes your values useful and accountable. It tells your team and clients exactly what to expect.

Another example from a workspace business:

• Value: Empathise

• Statement: We empathise with our communities' need to be seen, heard and valued.

Step 5: Sense check and stress test

Once you've got your draft values and statements, ask yourself these questions:

• Do they feel authentic?

• Can we actually live these every day?

• Would our team and customers agree these represent us?

• Are they distinct from our competitors'?

Don't be afraid to refine or simplify. The goal is clarity, not perfection.

Brand values examples from real businesses

Still not sure what good values look like? Here are some real brand values examples for inspiration.

Innocent Drinks

• Be natural

• Be entrepreneurial

• Be responsible

• Be commercial

• Be yourself

These values come with internal recognition tools – like staff awards for "smashing the values" – to encourage consistent behaviour.

Hue (a creative agency)

• Don't be a dick

This bold value is a great example of using your tone of voice to make values memorable. It might not suit every business, but for Hue, it works perfectly. It's clear, actionable and in line with their culture.

Saracens Rugby Club

• Discipline

• Honesty

• Work rate

• Humility

Every player and staff member can recite these – and they're embedded into daily decisions and team culture.

Making your brand values work

Here's how to ensure your brand values make a real impact.

1. Use them for decisions

If your brand value is "transparency", that should influence how you handle customer complaints, pricing, hiring and communication.

If it's "excellence", it should show up in product design, customer service and quality control.

Use your values as a filter for what to say yes or no to – clients, suppliers, marketing approaches and more.

2. Communicate them inside the business

Don't just pin them to a wall. Build them into onboarding, team meetings, appraisals and performance reviews. Celebrate them. Reward them. Ask employees how they've seen them in action.

3. Reflect them outside the business

You don't always need to shout your values from the rooftops, but they should drip through your tone of voice, design, messaging and actions.

Show – not just tell – your audience what you stand for.

4. Be accountable

Your values aren't real unless you live them. BrewDog, for example, listed "be a brilliant employer" as a core value. Allegations of poor workplace culture caused major brand damage – because behaviour didn't match the brand promise.

Say what you mean. Mean what you say.

Final thoughts

Your brand values are your compass for building a business you're proud of – one that grows with consistency, attracts the right people and earns trust.

You don't need a six-month brand project. In fact, many businesses define their values in a focused half-day workshop. What matters most is that they're authentic, actionable and embedded in everything you do.

So, take five minutes right now:

• Write down five values you think define your business.

• Ask why each one matters.

• Draft a simple statement for each.

Then revisit, refine, and share with your team or network. In two weeks, you could have a powerful set of brand values driving your business forward.

Relevant resources

• How to create a brand identity for your small business

• How to write a value proposition

• WEBINAR: Why brand positioning matters for growth