Document Brand Values that Drive Business Behaviour
- Rachel. M
- Sep 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 27
Your brand values aren’t just words on a website — they’re the behaviours, beliefs, and standards that shape every decision your business makes.
When clearly documented, they guide your team, build trust with customers, and help your brand grow with integrity.
But most startups skip this step — or worse, they choose generic values that sound good but mean nothing in practice.
This guide shows you how to document brand values that are real, relevant, and revenue-driving.
What Are Brand Values and Why They Matter
Brand values are the non-negotiable beliefs that drive your business behaviour. They define how you operate internally and how you show up for your customers externally.
They’re not the same as vision or mission. Values are how you do things — every day, with every touchpoint.
Examples of real brand values:
Transparency over polish
Move fast and fix it
Customers before code
Kindness is currency
In Australia, strong brand values are often tied to purpose-driven business models, sustainable practices, and inclusivity — and consumers actively choose brands that live by them.
Why It Matters for Founders
Documenting your brand values is one of the most important strategic moves you’ll make — even if you're early-stage.
Without values:
Your team makes inconsistent decisions
Your messaging feels disjointed
Culture drifts as you grow
Customers don’t know what you stand for
With clear values:
You attract aligned staff and customers
Decision-making becomes easier
Culture, hiring, and strategy stay on track
You build a brand with meaning — not just a product
Real-World Examples:
The Power of Documented Values
Example 1 (one of our clients): A growing eCommerce brand struggled with high staff turnover and conflicting messaging. After documenting brand values like “Radical Ownership” and “Kind Over Clever,” they aligned hiring, onboarding, and tone — reducing churn by 38% and boosting customer satisfaction scores by 21%.
Example 2: A tech startup listed “innovation” and “integrity” as values but never explained what they meant or lived by them. As the team scaled, projects clashed, and culture fractured. Internal feedback dropped to 2.3 stars. Customers noticed.
Our Strategy: We helped document 5 clear, actionable values tied to behaviours, embedded them into every part of the brand, and retrained teams. Within 6 months, trust scores rebounded, and staff retention improved 2x.
What You Need Before You Start
Clear brand mission and vision
An understanding of your target audience
Input from founders, team leads, or culture stakeholders
Honest reflection on how you already behave (not just how you want to)
Time to run a value discovery workshop or strategy session
Mentor Tip: Don’t invent values. Discover what’s already working when your team is at its best — then define and document it.
How to Document Brand Values:
Step-by-Step
Step 1: Brainstorm from Real Behaviours
Think about your best team moments. Ask:
What makes us proud of how we worked?
When were we most in sync?
What behaviours do we reward?
Result: You’ve surfaced real, felt values — not just buzzwords.
Step 2: Group and Name Your Values
Cluster similar behaviours or themes.
Label each group with a short, powerful phrase (1–3 words).
E.g. “Own the Outcome,” “Be the Human,” “Clear is Kind”
Result: Values feel unique, punchy, and easy to remember.
Step 3: Write Descriptions That Guide Action
Each value should include:
What it means in action
What it doesn’t mean
A sentence or two on why it matters
Result: Everyone knows how to live that value — no guesswork.
Step 4: Pressure-Test Your Values
Run them by your team:
Do they feel real?
Can we live them when things go wrong?
Would we hire/fire/promote based on these?
Result: Your values have integrity — and practical weight.
Step 5: Publish Your Values
Document them in your:
Website or “About” page
Internal culture or onboarding manual
Brand guidelines
Result: Everyone — inside and out — knows what your brand stands for.
Cost of Documenting Brand Values
Tool or Service | Cost Range |
DIY Strategy Session | Free – $250 |
Brand Strategy Consultant | $500 – $3,000 |
Values Workshop Template | $49 – $299 |
Team Alignment Workshop | $250 – $1,000 |
Pro Tip: If your team is small, run a half-day brand workshop internally using guided prompts. Larger teams? Bring in a facilitator.
Common Mistakes Founders Make
Using generic values like “trust” or “excellence”
Those words are wallpaper. If any brand could copy/paste your values, they’re not really yours.
Not explaining what values look like in action
If your team doesn’t know what “integrity” means on a Tuesday, it’s just noise. Clarity creates accountability.
Using values for marketing only
If your internal culture doesn't match your public values, customers and staff will smell the disconnect — and walk.
Skipping feedback from your team
Top-down values won’t stick. If your people didn’t help shape them, they won’t help live them either.
Publishing values once and forgetting them
Values aren't a poster on the wall. If they’re not in your hiring, ops, and decisions, they’re dead on arrival.
What to Do Right Now
✅ Book with Noize to get clear, cohesive values that grow with you [Noize.com.au]
✅ Are you a StartUp. Get the Startup Deck for a complete brand and business builder framework [theStartUpDeck.com]
COMING VERY SOON...
✅ Download the Brand Voice Guide online via [ProDesk.com]
FAQs
Why do brand values matter so much?
They drive trust, behaviour, decisions, and alignment — inside and out. Without them, your brand floats.
How many brand values should we have?
Between 3–6. Enough to guide behaviour but not so many they’re forgettable.
Can our values evolve as we grow?
Yes. Review and revise as your culture matures or strategy shifts — just don’t change them every month.
Should brand values be customer-facing?
Yes. It builds connection and trust when your values match your actions.
Can I use the same values as another business?
You can — but personalise the wording, context, and meaning. Make it your own.
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