Is your company overly focussed on profit-making rather than brand values and customer satisfaction?

Big bosses may be surprised to learn that if they spent time working on increasing the contentment levels of their own internal employees, then this would translate into better customer service and their profits would soar. Companies like Apple, Google and Coca Cola have nailed this approach and have successfully created brand ambassadors who live and breathe the values and vision of their respective companies as they carry out their work.

That’s great for companies with deep pockets, but how can smaller organisations on limited budgets take advantage of this method of doing business? The answer is in employee engagement.

Internal Marketing

Without exception, all employees must be treated as internal customers of a brand and feel convinced about the worth of the products or services that they promote. Begin by asking your employees about their current feelings towards brand values and what the organisation stands for. You may be surprised or even disappointed by what you find, but at least you’ll have a base from which to grow employee engagement with the brand.

Spreading The Word

Keep all employees in the loop about brand developments and news. Circulate regular newsletters, keep blogs updated and tailor internal messages to appeal to particular departments rather than sending out generic content which is neither targeted nor relevant and will end up in the ‘Deleted Items’ box. Once employees feel involved with what’s going on, they’ll spread the word for you!

Emotional Attachment

Employees need an emotional attachment to a brand in order to convey passion for it to customers. Companies like Pret A Manger are as passionate about their staff as they so famously are about their fresh produce and organic coffee. As a result, they enjoy a low turnover of chirpy team members. If your staff feel motivated and excited by your brand, then they’ll be excited to come to work each day and you’ll see productivity rates soar. It doesn’t hurt to massage a few egos and give employees the opportunity to co-create the brand vision which will also increase interest and motivation towards this goal. Choose top-performing driven employees from each level of your workforce as pioneers to work towards defining brand values together.

Performance-Driven Incentives

Motivate your employees towards the successful promotion of your brand by creating performance-based incentives such as bonuses or additional paid leave, which always go down well. Managers can call out the names of top performers at staff meetings to boost their morale even further.

Training

In order to make a difference to customers, employees must really believe in their brand and be extremely knowledgeable about it. Regular training for all staff on both products and services as well as marketing strategy will help achieve this goal. It’s also worth investing time in cross-departmental training to allow employees to experience the work of other teams and assist in collaboration between departments.

So how long is it going to take to overhaul a brand from the inside out? Well this isn’t a short-term project but one that will take a few years of nurturing into a successful ongoing program. Those who are willing to put in the effort, though, should see long-term benefits in both the morale of your team as well as the overall success of your brand.

If you need us to inspire your staff to be committed to your brand, then call INVOLVE today and watch your employees be transformed into brand ambassadors.