Understanding your company’s brand and promoting your core values may seem like marketing fluff, but aside from helping attract top clients, it will help guide all of your promotional efforts. This is especially important if your organization has multiple people responsible for marketing and advertising – and even more so when you’re working with national or international offices.

But whether you’re a global enterprise or an entrepreneur growing a business on your own, knowing your brand can keep you from getting caught up in trends that don’t align with your business or goals.

I don’t know about you, but personally, I’ve seen so many pictures of sunflowers or people in sunflower fields in my Instagram feed that I just keep scrolling on past them now – not even noticing who posted the image. The chase for the perfect Sunflower Selfie for so-called Instagram Influencers caused so much trouble for an Ontario farm recently they chose to stop allowing visitors and photographers in their fields. Herds of people looking for that perfect shot for the ‘gram began flocking to the farm after a couple images went viral, ruining the fragile flowers and not listening to instructions from workers. People who, on any other day, would have likely driven right on by the bright fields with nothing more than an acknowledgement that yes, the flowers are pretty.

It’s a dramatic example, but it shows how regardless if you’re growing an Instagram following or building a nation-wide business, not understanding your brand (or understanding it but not sticking to it) can quickly lead to impulsive actions that lump your organization in with ‘the rest of the crowd’. And when you’re trying to build your business on a value proposition or differentiator, getting lumped in with the rest of the crowd is the last thing you want to happen.

Yes, it may be tempting to go out and grab that photo of the sunflowers, like everyone else. Or add the latest beer craze to your taps, or start offering that service your competitor specializes in. But if it doesn’t add value for your target audience, or doesn’t make sense when looked at through your brands’ lens – then it only confuses clients and makes you harder to find for prospective ones.

Understanding what your brand is, and what values your business wants to stand by, is key to standing out. Ensuring all of your employees – whether you’re a start-up with 5 employees or a global enterprise with 500 – are on board is key to building brand loyalty.

Interested in delivering a brand or company values training session to your employees or marketing team? We can help. Let’s chat and get you started on the right foot today, so you attract the right clients tomorrow.