Business branding 101: What business owners forget but Kant reminds them

Would you be proud of the title if customers, employees, and partners wrote your brand story tomorrow?

You are not who you think you are in business; you are who customers say you are. While many companies invest in advertising, slogans, and polished images to “tell” people who they are, the authentic branding and long-term identification come from public perception about your business and the services you render.

In business, it is tempting to think your brand is the logo you designed, the slogan you crafted, or the narrative you have built about yourself. But in reality, your brand lives outside the four walls of your building. This underpins the primary reason why adopting ethical profit-making systems is not just an option but a necessity in your daily decisions.

Most business owners and managers forget that profits can attract attention, but ethics sustain reputation, thereby falling into the pit of poor brand reputation.

To escape this pit, here is the ultimate solution – the Kantian Test for Business.

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant argued that our actions should be guided by principles that can hold universally. His famous categorical imperative asks: What if everyone did what you are doing? Would that make the world better or worse?

Applying this to the business sector means that trust in markets would collapse if every business cut corners to maximise profit. If every employer treated staff unfairly, loyalty and innovation would dry up across industries. Also, if every company made false sustainability claims, customers would stop believing even genuine ones.

Kant’s idea may sound abstract, but it offers a simple litmus test: Would I be comfortable if my business practice became the standard for all companies everywhere? If the answer is “no”, it’s not just unethical, it’s also unsustainable for your brand and creates a bad reputation in the long run. This truth is evident in today’s globally connected world, where one customer review, employee tweet, or viral video can shape a business’s public perception overnight. A significant risk you wouldn’t want to take as a business owner, but a possibility you may fall into, as Warren Buffett quotes, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Now you understand that by flipping the idea of branding from being about self-definition (“who you say you are”) to social perception (“what others know and say about you”), you can help your business stay ethically conscious, accountable and sustainable.

Read also: The four questions every brand needs to answer

Here are five smart business tips to help you achieve this using the B.R.A.N.D. framework:

B – Build trust daily

In Stephen Covey’s words, trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. Trust is the currency of modern business. Customers may forgive a delayed delivery, but they rarely forgive dishonesty. Employees may accept tough times, but they resent broken promises. According to a finding from PWC in 2022, 1 in every three customers for an e-commerce brand ranked ‘trust in brand’ among their top three reasons for continuous patronage.

Building trust is not about grand gestures but consistency, delivering on your word daily. If your brand promises quality, then quality must be non-negotiable. If you say “people first”, employees must feel it in practice, not just on paper.

R – Reflect universal standards

Standardisation is not a “beauty-show” word that comes up in business operations; it is a non-negotiable tool that helps businesses serve their customers and scale up their business. Again, Kant’s categorical imperative is re-emphasised. Reflecting universal standards ensures your business practices can be a model for others, strengthening your reputation. As Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, said, “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”

A – Align profit with purpose

Making money is not the enemy of ethics but the outcome of ethical value creation. Brands that align profit with purpose don’t just sell products; they sell belief. Simon Sinek said it best: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.

N – Nurture stakeholder voices

Your brand is a story written by many authors: customers, employees, suppliers, and communities. If you don’t listen to them, you risk letting them write a version of your story you won’t like. In essence, build a strong communication and feedback channel within your business.

D – Demonstrate ethics in crisis

Every business will face challenges, sometimes defective products, service failures, or financial setbacks. What defines your brand is not the crisis itself, but your response. The world is watching quietly and intensely.

These nuggets offer a roadmap and a reminder that profit alone is not enough; profit earned ethically is what secures reputation because, in the end, your brand is not who you claim to be. It’s what people say you are.

Bolanle Adetula is an MSA Research Assistant at the Department of Research, Lagos Business School.