Roy Disney once said, “When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”
While most organizations have a working values statement, the extent those values are actually believed, practiced, taught, and modeled by the entirety of the company has an enormous impact on its overall success.
64% of decision-makers cite shared values as their most important qualification in making a purchase. Conversely, only 13% say that frequent interactions had an impact on their brand preferences.
For those who view values as a checklist exercise there is little or no tangible benefit realized.
But for those committed to values as a meaningful examination and communication of what the firm truly stands for there are short– and long–term strategic benefits that lead to client loyalty, team empowerment, and a highly differentiated brand identity that is impossible for competitors to copy. Research supports these assertions.
A Harvard Business Review study found that while most organizations operate under the false belief that interactions build relationships, shared values is the biggest motivator when it comes to brand relationships. The researchers’ conclusion is based on in-depth interviews with over 7,000 decision makers.
When asked what mattered most in developing a brand relationship 64% cited shared values as their most important qualification. Conversely, only 13% said that frequent interactions had an impact on their brand preferences. [HBR, May 2012]
Shared values build relationships. A shared value is a belief that both the organization and its client have about a brand’s higher purpose.
For example, Southwest Airlines’ shared value revolves around the democratization of air travel. Hence, everything they do is aimed at being the low cost carrier that enables everyone to travel, not just the more affluent. And they accomplish that goal by making it fun for people to travel as compensation for the lack of frills, special treatment, and conveniences offered by more expensive carriers.
The study underscores the value of carefully and meticulously developing your organization’s values statement. If it doesn’t ring with verisimilitude, neither your team members nor your clients (or prospective clients) will be engaged at levels that lead to long–term loyalty and the success it breeds.
Moreover, you will discover how authentic and genuine values facilitate critical decision-making relative to how you grow the business, destroy variation in process and product and service delivery, and continually improve on year over year profitability.
MindMeld utilizes a proprietary brand actualization model based on organizational values and the relationship of values to Mission, Purpose, and Processes/Methodologies, in helping you identify and commit to a meaningful business Strategy that differentiates you from competitive alternatives. To learn more contact Doug Knuth at doug.knuth@mindmeldmarketing.com.