Want the secondhand scoop?
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form. Please try again.
Explore your brand values, mission and unique selling proposition using the specific-to-resale examples — plus, five exercises to help you build brand voice
We’ve discussed what brand voice is, and why it’s useful to your shop in part 1 of our branding series.
No matter where you sell, having a strong brand voice is what makes you stand out.
It’s important in a crowded online marketplace. You want to be noticed by users.
It’s important if you have a storefront. You want to bring people inside.
It’s important even if you only sell at markets, because in a market environment where there’s 40 vendors selling similar products, you want to stand out.
First we figure out our values, mission and unique selling proposition, then we add personality and tone.
We use all of this to communicate to customers (our “voice”).
Here, we’re going to cover the first element of brand voice: brand values.
If you’ve already done our branding challenge exercise inside the Vintage Sellers Community (find it here if you’re a Champion member, or upgrade your plan in your account dashboard), you have this information to work from and modify.
If you haven’t, try it out using some of the prompts below.
Imagine your shop is a person.
Just like a person, your shop has certain beliefs and principles that guide its actions and decisions. These beliefs and principles are known as "brand values."
Brand values are the core ideas that represent your shop, and they guide everything you do, from what products you sell to the way you treat your customers.
You likely already have values if you’ve been operating for any length of time. They might be part of your shop policies. But have you ever taken the time to think through your values and make a dedicated list of them?
That list will guide you every time you are faced with a decision about your business.
Defining — and then sticking to — your brand values is one of the things that creates a distinct personality for your shop. The values become a part of you. And when your values are a part of you, you’ll apply them consistently.
That consistency helps customers connect with and trust you and your business.
When customers share similar values to your shop, they are more likely to become loyal customers and recommend you to others.
Customers who identify with your values:
{overall value}: {belief} + {how it will help the customer}.
Let’s say Carlie is a reseller of vintage and thrifted decor.
When she thinks about what she stands for, she thinks of things like honesty, kindness, community over competition, quality over quantity and being open to learning, among other things.
When she thinks about what guides her in her day-to-day life, she thinks of things like integrity, purpose, patience, creativity and a desire to help.
How can Carlie turn these into values that guide her shop? By connecting what guides her to how it will impact her customers.
Her desire to help, her patience and her emphasis on kindness will come through in her commitment to excellent customer service. Her honesty and integrity will be important in developing her communication style.
Quality and excellence: Carlie believes in sourcing the highest-quality secondhand decor. She wants her shop to be known for its fabulous selection and curation.
She also believes that quality and excellence extends beyond inventory to her customer interactions. She always strives to respond quickly and ship items within the window or sooner, so customers will have a frictionless, pleasant experience.
Honest and transparent communication: Carlie stands for open and honest communication with her customers. She believes in giving them all of the information they need to make informed decisions.
If she can’t fulfill an order, she will promptly let a customer know. If she has a flaw on an item, she will disclose it. If she’s made a mistake, she will own it and do her best to rectify the situation. If she doesn’t stock an item, she’ll refer the customer to someone who does. Customers will always know she has their best interests at heart.
Memorable moments: Carlie believes people should be inspired when they shop with her. She creates beautiful vignettes to show how products might be grouped, creates content that helps people understand the value of shopping secondhand, adds customers to item preview lists, and ensures when they receive their item they also get a sticker, handwritten postcard or trinket.
She wants to surprise and delight every customer.
Continuous learning: Carlie wants to grow and learn as a shop owner and as an individual, so she is constantly seeking new ideas, talking to her fellow shop owners and customers, and updating her offering or evolving her marketing so that she can meet the changing needs and desires of her customers.
Customers can trust that she is always searching for ways to improve their experience.
Your brand mission is a little different than your values.
If running your shop is a journey, your brand mission is the guiding star that shows you the way. It’s also known as your brand vision.
Your mission is the reason why your shop is more than just a place that sells things; it's about the impact you want to have on your customers and your community.
Even if you do just want to sell things, you still want to frame that in a way that will resonate with people!
The mission statement is clear, specific and simple, and it describes the primary purpose of your shop.
It should be one sentence and answer the questions: "Why does your store exist? What difference do you want to make to customers?”
Your mission helps you stay focused on your shop's purpose.
Your mission should inform everything you do, from the type of products you source to how you interact with customers to even how you spend your time engaging on social media.
Anything that falls outside of the mission should be considered less important, because it doesn’t drive your business.
Continued below
Continued from above
Let’s say Taylor sells midcentury modern furniture. MCM is an era known for its quality and craftsmanship.
Taylor’s brand values centre around affordability, quality and accessibility. When Taylor thinks about the brand mission prompts, this is what they come up with:
They started their shop not just because they love MCM, but because they struggled themselves to find affordable furniture when they first started living on their own.
They hated having to buy IKEA that kept falling apart — until they discovered vintage furniture.
Now, they want to help other people realize that they’re not limited to big-box cheap stuff. They hope to solve their customer’s problem of finding stylish furniture at an affordable price by keeping their prices a little lower than market rate.
So, Taylor’s brand mission could be: "To provide affordable, stylish, high-quality secondhand furniture — because everyone deserves access to the best.”
This mission will help guide Taylor’s decision-making when they’re out sourcing.
Say Taylor has a bricks-and-mortar store geared toward young people who are just starting out decorating on their own.
Maybe Taylor sees an incredible Herman Miller piece and know they might be able to get a ton for it.
It might be cool to have in their inventory, but does it fit with Taylor’s brand mission or clientele? Who’s going to buy that piece if Taylor’s store is positioned to provide stylish secondhand furniture at affordable prices?
Imagine you're in a big venue — in-person or an e-marketplace — with many other vintage and secondhand shops selling similar things to you. How do you stand out?
If your brand values and mission are an antique rug, the unique selling proposition (USP) is the magic dust that makes it a flying carpet.
The USP is a standout feature that makes your store different and more appealing to customers than all the others.
You might think you don’t have one or can’t have one, because you’re just a small business. But you do and you can!
Sometimes, the USP is you. Sometimes, it’s something that you’re already doing a little differently. Sometimes, it’s not something that you are doing differently yet, but that you can add to make your business a little more unique.
Standing out against other shops does not take away from the idea of “community over competition.” If each shop has a reason they stand out, together they all win.
Let’s say Henry sells vintage and secondhand streetwear. He offers pickup and delivery within his local city of Winnipeg. From the outside, Henry’s shop doesn’t seem much different from the other streetwear vendors in the city, and he doesn’t think he has a USP.
But using the questions above and listing his skills, Henry writes down that he loves driving and is good at it. He actually has his own car and also happens to drive for Uber on the side. He notes that he’s also really good at coming up with styled outfits. He knows his clients place importance on looking trendy and tend to buy complete looks on a whim.
He thinks about all of this in the context of how he might be able to stand out from other shops in Winnipeg that sell streetwear. Style bundles, maybe.
Or, what if he became like an Amazon, but for vintage streetwear? No one else in Winnipeg is offering same-day delivery.
He can make it work, because he also drives for Uber and can easily pick up a fare when out making a delivery, making free delivery easy. This would make him stand out.
Like the brand mission, the USP should clearly articulate the value, ideally in one sentence.
Henry’s USP could be something like: "We offer free, same-day delivery within Winnipeg on all orders placed before 4 pm — so you get your fit on your doorstep in time for date night or the big game.”
Have questions? Let us know in the comments!
