Consumer Behaviors and Company Values
There are an infinite number of variables that can determine whether a company’s values make an impact on its success.
Some of the world’s most revolutionary and successful brands include Amazon, Apple, Nike, and Microsoft. However, the brands that can make the largest impact on consumers are actually brands that are compared to their competitors.
Comparison turns brands that are competing with each other for consumers into competing for the first spot in the popularity ranking, such as Nike vs Adidas, or Apple vs Samsung.
Many people will happily support a specific brand and share their experiences with it in digital spaces, turning themselves into brand loyalists and advocates.
Consumers feel loyal to brands if they agree with what those brands stand for, their purpose, and how they translate those values into actions.
Company values
What truly draws consumers towards brands is the values of those brands that resonate with them. When a company is able to execute its values through actions, consumers appreciate what that company stands for, which creates a more organic relationship between an individual and the company’s products or services. This type of relationship is similar to relationships between people.
When companies share their values and support their business operations by turning those values into actions, they humanize their brand. This helps them develop a genuine connection with their customers, similar to the way Apple has achieved this.
Some of the values that Apple has shared with its customers include creativity, community, and adventure. With those values and outstanding marketing efforts, as well as the innovative development of the company, it’s practically inevitable that the brand has a cult following with its consumers.
Employees
To create a company that is humanized in the eyes of consumers, companies have to hire people whose personal values align with the company’s own.
This serves as another form of marketing and increases human capital. Employees who have similar values to the brand they work for can humanize the company and do more than work for that company, turning themselves into brand ambassadors.
By hiring based on a candidate’s values, businesses can create a positive corporate culture that can spread externally to customers. All of those like-minded people will have the same values, and similar goals, which lets brands develop a brand vision that retains more customers.
Decision making
When companies are trying to compete with other businesses in the market and to attract more customers, they should focus on the emotions behind a product or service, instead of the product or service itself. A great example of this is Nike vs Adidas, where both companies provide the same products with different designs.
Many consumers tend to choose Nike simply because of the company’s values, which include honor, greatness, and ambition.
Since the brand has successfully utilized visual marketing for several decades, many consumers prefer to wear their products to align with the successful professional athletes who have worked with the brand over the decades. Consumers see Nike as the only option for athletic footwear and apparel.
As Co-CEO at 5W Public Relations, Dara Busch oversees 5W’s Consumer Practice, which includes Travel & Entertainment, Apparel & Accessories, Non-Profits, Home & Housewares, Health & Wellness, Mom & Baby, Beauty & Grooming, and Consumer Packaged Goods.