Internal Branding: Are You and Your Staff On The Same Page?

When people think about marketing, they think of marketing to customers.  However, there is another ‘market segment’ that is just as important. They are the people you eat your lunch with, the people you share a desk with, they are your employees!

Why is marketing to your own employees important? It comes down to one simple fact: your employees are the face of your business. They are the people who interact most with your customers. Your employees embody your brand and make it come alive to clients. Not to mention, clients are more likely to connect with your brand if they have a good understanding of what you are about, reinforced by the experience your staff delivers.

With this in mind, are you and your staff on the same page? If you cannot say with complete confidence that your employees know what your brand promise is, your brand values and how to articulate your brand messages, then chances are you need to revisit your internal marketing strategy.

There may never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to internal branding, but here are four helpful tips to make sure you and your staff are on the same page.

 

1.   Define your values and mission.

Identify what makes your business unique, cultivate it and celebrate it. Once your employees understand what you are trying to achieve, your goals become their goals. No longer are your employees working to earn a wage, they are also contributing to something special, something exciting and they become your ambassadors in the community.

2.   Involve your people.

Don’t limit idea generation to management meetings, give your employees an opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas too. Allowing staff to participate is a great way to provide employees with a sense of ownership that will increase engagement and receptiveness to a new  concept.  Employees will then become advocates and spread the word about the new concept.

3.   Give your internal brand an identity.

Considering that your external brand has a logo, font, set colours, its own tag lines, look and feel, why shouldn’t your internal brand have the same? Incorporate your values and key words that resonate with your staff into staff documents, make a theme at your next company conference and incorporate into visuals around the office such a word cloud or internal posters.

4.   Spread the word.

It takes more than an internal memo and the odd poster in the lunchroom to create an emotional connection between employees and the brand. You need to host a launch party for your internal brand and ensure more detailed information is easily accessible via your employee intranet.

And finally….

Although it takes times and work to cultivate a strong internal brand, the payoff is worth the time and effort invested when you get it right.

If you have any further questions regarding an internal brand campaign for your business, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 07 3257 2027.

At Outsource to Us our we have our company values written on our wall for all to see!