So you may have heard the quote from Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, that “Your brand is what other people say about you when you are NOT in the room.” Which is, to some extent accurate, but only if they have knowledge of, or have experienced your brand, otherwise it’s just opinion. But seriously, branding is not solely what you say you are; it is, and always will be about what you actually do! Your behaviour as a brand and how you treat your customers is how people will form their opinion of you. Not just from how great your website is, or how swanky your offices are.

I was inspired to write this blog post when I noticed that the @brandr (with over 51k of followers) on Instagram asked his followers to share five adjectives or words that best described their company. With 45 comments and 1,156 views, the thing that struck me the most about the responses was just how little proof the commenters offered to back up their claims. If you are going to claim that you are creative, would you not prove your creativity in some way with an original response. Um, yes, this is EXACTLY what you should be doing. Without the evidence to back up your claim, then your words have little impact and no validation.

Let me explain why you need to PROVE it, not just SAY it. If you are going to send a message out to your clients or the world describing who you are and what someone might expect from either you or your company, then one way is to use words! But the smartest approach is to demonstrate it. As an example, think of how your friends might describe you to others. You might tell other people that you are kind and considerate, but do your actions and behaviour qualify you for this description? It’s the same with business. It’s no good telling your customers that you are creative, reliable, sociable, colourful and you customise your offers if your solutions are lacking creativity, you fail to deliver on time, you are not on social media or an active networker, lack diversity, or your solutions are off-the-shelf.

If you say you provide custom solutions, then CUSTOMISE your offers for your clients. Do not provide off-the-shelf solutions or off-the-shelf advice if you are offering to tailor a solution to your customer’s requirements.

If you say you are reliable, then BE RELIABLE. Make sure your customers know what they can expect from you. If you promise to deliver a project or respond to customer enquiries within a particular time frame, then make sure you do!

If you say you are colourful, then BE COLOURFUL. It’s not use pretending to be diverse and then falling short of your core brand values by having a workforce that does not encourage equality or celebrate differences.

If you say you are sociable, then BE SOCIABLE. If you claim to be sociable and then customers notice you are not on social media or lack an interest in networking, then you are simply going to come across as being a fraud. If you are not sociable as a brand, then find another more suitable adjective to describe your core values.

So here are my top tips for reinforcing your brand values;

1. Know what your brand values are! Sounds obvious right? But when was the last time you looked at or revisited your brand values to see if they were still harmonious with you, your business or your marketing strategy?
2. When you’ve decided on your core brand values, then stick to them. Do not look to copy the competition on a whim. Stay true to your core values and beliefs and make sure everyone in the company knows exactly what they mean, and how they can act on them.
3. Reinforce them with everything you do. At every touch point, make sure that your core brand values are evident. Make sure that every activity is reinforcing these core brand values. If they aren’t, then find a way in which the activity can be changed to further reinforce them.
4. Don’t just say it – Live it, breathe it, and do it. You want to your customers to tell the world what your brand is all about, without the need to write it down. Think of Apple. Without knowing what their core brand values are, think of what they stand for, write down five core brand values and see how close you are to their stated brand values.

The only way to build your brand is to back up all your claims with proof. Social proof is quite possibly the most influential marketing tool you can use. So, if you are not behaving like your brand adjectives, then find some new ones, or change your behaviour so that you are continually demonstrating your brand values.

So, if you are not behaving like your brand adjectives, then find some new ones, or change your behaviour so that you are continually demonstrating your brand values.

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