The marketing perspective is going to have to shift. Whether you are living in the world of small businesses or global corporations recruiting talent, and then retaining that talent is becoming a priority. Effective internal marketing empowers employees to take on learning the ends and out of the company, the industry and how to work with their customers. Employees with a good understanding of the company vision will establish long term trusting relationships with customers and learned the ropes of the industry. When empowered employees speak with pride about the company, it’s value and have prepared elevator speeches about the brand.
The Marketing Shift
From newspapers, billboards to now social media corporations are pushing out content as fast as possible to get the attention of their markets. Tons of information and assumed interpretations of messaging is flown by internal staff without hesitation.
“Why is internal marketing important? Although external marketing remains the most important business development task, it is essential to sell inwardly toward a company’s people. When employees understand and commit to the value proposition of the company and its brands, external marketing becomes more effective, because the employees become product champions.” – Planning Internal Marketing by BNET Editorial
The spectrum of marketing needs to have a dedicated focus on marketing internally. The conversation and identity of the brand has never really belonged to one department. Those who live and breathe the day to day in customer service, sales those behind the scenes to the customers are the ones creating the reality of the brand.
Marketing professionals are starting to get the idea that there is a lot of conversations happening outside their meeting rooms. Conversations they are not directing, leading or even apart of. The issue is that there is a bit of a power struggle, from team Marketing to team Customer service the perspective that everyone is a customer should be taken seriously. The idea that everyone has a valuable voice with impact gives the perspective of thinking big picture. Marketing internally is going to reinforce the culture and brand you want the employees to communicate to your customers.
“It becomes more important that your brand reflects your culture, rather than your guidelines. The brands that have done it well are those that have a strong culture of their own,” – Five strategies for a successful global brand, Marketing Week.
Spending more time supporting over criticizing, investing time in educating and empowering over bureaucracy and Employees are part of the market you want to keep loyal, they understand and speak the language of the business to their friends, family and of course, don’t forget customers. Unfortunately marketing creates a vision for the brand, they create a voice, and to be blunt the create a whole persona that is taught to walk, talk and dress a certain way. This “person”
Internal Marketing Makes Employees Happier
Happier employees make and keep happy customers.
“Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” – The Pocket Guide to Defensive Branding
Education of employees is essential. Give them resources so that they clearly understand expectations and can perform their job with personal and professional satisfaction. Whether you are holding company meetings in person, or virtually, maintain a knowledge base or send out regular notifications — it isn’t enough. Market to to employees to keep their connection to the company strong, their understanding of the products, tools they use and their resources so that they perform at a level of excellence they are proud of. Communicate often, with consistency and consider offering on going training for all departments that focuses on increasing clarification of the company’s message.
Customer Service
No matter what media communication is happening customer service is all about building trust, connection and long term relationships. Empower both sides of the counter, phone or
Employee Recognition
Feature employees that are representing the brand well on and offline. Give examples of their work and support them professionally. Give employees strong examples of people that understand the brand, and how to communicate
Social Networks
There is an assumption that employees will communicate about their job, company and its brands in a professional manner. Make sure expectations are clear to what the company policy is.
Blogging
Believe it or not your employees are blogging. They are writing about their life experience. Spending 9+ hours a day at their job is a big part of their life. Expect that they will want to talk about their job and give tips and instruction on ways to communicate online.
Hold on to your towel, the marketing world is changing. The most important priority will not be just being competitive locally or globally but having a strong internal understanding of the company vision. Encourage and support employees to establish relationships and become knowledgeable in the industry. Empower employees with consistent resources that educate them about communication channels, representing the company and it’s culture. Be creative in your internal marketing strategies and make sure to offer plenty of channels for feedback.