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Selling the Brand Inside Marketing to your employees is just as important as marketing to your customers. Internal marketing helps employees become educated on and connected to the products or services they are trying to sell. The lack of a connection between the employee and the brand can cause employees to undermine expectations set by advertising. On the other hand, when employees care about the brand, they tend to be more motivated to work harder with more loyalty.
In “Selling the Brand Inside”, Colin Mitchell describes the three principles of marketing that aid leaders to instill a better understanding and passion of their brand to their employees. CHOOSE YOUR MOMENT. In order to achieve the most productive outcome, leaders must choose a moment when employees can be the most receptive to an internal marketing campaign. A turning point, when employees are looking for leadership and guidance, could be an ideal moment for such a change.
The coming of a new leader can also be an opportune time for change since employees tend to be open and ready for new ideas and concepts with new leadership. Leaders must also know when it may be time to scale back the internal marketing campaign. The author of the article describes how employees at Sears became overwhelmed with the internal marketing campaign after six years and employees began to get frustrated. Changing to a more low-key and customary internal marketing plan revitalized the employees. LINK INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MARKETING.
Employees should hear the same message that is sent to the consumers. This enables employees to deliver on customer expectations while helping to push the company to achieve goals that they may not have been able to do before. It is important that employees focus on the same values as advertising, so as not to confuse either the customer or the employee. This can be achieved only if the external advertising targets both the employees and consumers. BRING THE BRAND ALIVE FOR EMPLOYEES. The goal here is to create an emotional connection between the brand and the employee.
Internal marketing campaigns should explain the brand messages in compelling and innovative ways, then reinforce these messages by weaving the brand into the fabric of the company. The author describes a successful branding campaign as one with “a set of stages that starts with research and continues through the planning and execution of a communications strategy designed to convince your employees of the merits and credibility of your brand. ” It is imperative that employees believe in and trust a brand in order to be successful and effective in selling the brand to consumers.
Employees that do not care about their company tend to contribute to the company’s failure. In 2008, Dupaco Community Credit Union launched an internal marketing campaign with the goal of getting newer frontline staff up to the ability of its veteran workers. This could improve customer relations, engage current members and make potential new members feel welcome enough to join the company. Dupaco launched a 90-day training course for new employees. They also hold a one-day course required for all employees. This allows older, more experienced employees to share their knowledge with newer employees.
In the four years since the training program was established, assets nearly doubled and membership has grown by more than 21%. In talking of the internal marketing campaign, Amy Wickham, Assistant Vice President of Marketing for Dupaco stated, “It’s reenergized employees. It’s empowered employees. ” Although an internal marketing campaign can be very time consuming and a lot of work, companies that have implemented such campaigns have seen great success in employee morale, customer satisfaction and profit margins.