How to Leverage Company Values to Build Customer Loyalty

Unfortunately, responding to tragedy, uncertainty, or sensitive moments in our community is something we need to prepare for as business owners and leaders.

There is a tension…or let’s be real, fear of speaking up when times are uncertain.

What if I say the wrong thing?

What if I don’t say anything and my customers think I don’t care?

What if I don’t know what to say at all?

Should I pause my marketing content?

When is it okay to reach out to my customers again?

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclaimer for more information.

The truth is, no one knows the answers to the questions above better than you do.

And you can’t delegate your response to another coach, influencer, or thought leader, no matter how difficult it is.

So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do?

My advice, lean on your company values.

What are your company values?

Think of your company values as the blueprint for how your business decisions are going to be made. Your values are the backbone of your business brand and how you want to differentiate yourself in your industry.

If your business currently consists of you (plus or minus one or two contract team members), you’ll find that your company values are an extension of your personal values.

Your company values will evolve and change as your business grows, just like they do as you get older and experience new things.

Writing your company values

If you have never written a company value statement for your business, this is the first thing you should do.

Take out a piece of paper and write out all the values that are important to you. Then cross off options until the three most important values are left. Write those three values on an index card or sticky note and put it somewhere you have access.

Donald Miller shares a 5-part process for developing a company mission statement in his book, Business Made Simple (see the Leadership Made Simple chapter).

1. Create a mission statement that actually excites you

2. Create a set of key characteristics that will guide your development

3. Create a list of critical actions that will ensure you accomplish the mission

4. Create a story pitch that attracts resources to your mission

5. Define a theme that will serve as the “why” of your mission

Here’s a quick formula for your mission statement:

We will accomplish ______________ by ____________because of __________.

When I used the framework, my company mission statement was:

We will activate 1,000 customer journeys by 2025 because every expert deserves to be recognized and compensated for their brilliance.

One of the key characteristics I selected was:

Kaizen-driven — We never stop gathering data and iterating. We improve on results to make things better for our clients and their raving fans.

One of my critical actions is:

We teach and coach — We constantly look for opportunities to share our best with more people. Whether it’s on our platform or in collaboration with others.

Don’t worry about having your company values perfected at first. For now, it’s important to have a value framework that helps you make decisions for your business. Better to have a working rough draft than nothing at all.

Sharing your company values with your community

Before you think about sharing your company values with your community, it’s important to be honest about your connection to them.

Your connection with your audience depends on two things:

1. Knowing and connecting with who you are

2. Finding common ground between you and your community

Value in the journey

Not to sound like a broken record here, but knowing your customer journey will allow you to gauge your connection with your community at every stage. Your Prospects (people who are seriously thinking about working with you), your Customers, and your Fans would be the most interested in what your company values are.

Knowing where you share common ground with your community will help you figure out what situations you can laugh at, cry about, and rally around.

And you don’t need another person’s email or social media post to help you determine that.

What does your community need from you?

Here’s the thing, not every emotional, social, political, or environmental issue requires a press release statement from you.

Knowing your common ground, where your company values overlap with those of your community will give you a clue as to when they would look to you for leadership in uncertain times.

If your common values are directly affected by the event, your community will want to know your thoughts on the matter.

For example: let’s say you work closely with people from a certain region in the United States and a natural disaster occurs in that area. Your community would look out for a message from you about the event.

Also, if an event affects one of your personal values and moves you to action, your existing connection with your community will allow space for you to share your thoughts with them.

If you have neither connection nor common ground, silence is an option. Your community is not looking for you to lead a conversation around a topic you are not equipped to speak on.

As John Maxwell says in 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, people need to buy into you as a person (or your business) first before they buy into your vision and values.

Focus on living out your company values and connecting with your audience. Build a foundation of trust so that your community sees you as a thought leader and you can move them to action in the future.

Silence: Listening, Learning, and Adding Value

Choosing silence does not mean inaction when it comes to navigating uncertain and sensitive circumstances.

It gives space for listening, learning, and understanding how you can add value to your community and your industry.

Being “quick to listen, slow to speak” as I’m reminded by a verse in the Bible, may look like this:

1. Reviewing your company values to see whether they need to be updated in light of your new experience

2. Sending an email to your community to get their feedback on their feelings (see the paragraph above on common ground and connection first)

3. Searching out trusted voices and experts on the topic for ideas on what to do and how to lead your team and community through

After you’ve listened and learned, your response may look like this:

1. Sharing your updated company value statement or highlighting one of your existing values to your community

2. Responding to what you’ve learned from your community and trusted voices and sharing actions you are taking and that your community can take to help support change.

3. No public response because this doesn’t overlap with a core value or because your business priority is building connection and trust within your community. Take action personally and privately to support change.

Whatever you choose to do, let your values guide your decision.

What if You Fail at Living Up to Your Values?

One of the saddest things I’ve witnessed in our society today is the slow erosion of grace.

Because grace is lacking, business owners have a constant fear of saying the wrong thing and making the wrong decision.

So it’s easier to just delegate that decision to someone they think may know better or have more influence.

But you and I both know that this question is not a matter of “what if” but “when”.

We will fail.

And when we fail, we will need grace.

Some of us need that grace at this very moment.

If you need grace right now, first give the grace to yourself. Own, learn from and remedy your mistakes to the best of your ability.

Protect your peace, and find the strength to show back up.

If you don’t need that much grace at the moment, be generous with it.

Fill your environment with the grace you hope to get when you need it.

Show up imperfectly so that others will see your example as permission to do the same.

Be the person you hope is there when you stumble, and when you fall flat on your face.

Don’t Be Afraid to Lead With Your Values

When uncertain and sensitive situations happen, your response to your audience should depend on your company and personal values as well as your connection to your community.

Your action should not be driven by shame or fear of being misunderstood. Showing grace for those who need it more at the moment is a great way to store some up for yourself when it’s your turn.

You can choose to speak when you have the platform to do so, or be silent and learn so you can show up even better in the future.