One of the most damaging myths in the corporate world is the belief that branding is solely a marketing function. Even if your title is Brand Manager, all of your colleagues—from the assembly line to the C-suite—should be participating in communicating the organization’s brand. But your brand community doesn’t stop there. Your business partners and shareholders, and ultimately your customers, are part of the equation too. Marketing executives are the stewards of the brand and when they include all stakeholders in their mission, they can have a powerful and pervasive impact on the company’s brand value.
Jeff Bezos is widely quoted as saying, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room,” but the truth is, effective branding means there are no “other people” in the process of brand communication. If your branding is rooted in authenticity, and everyone (yes everyone: aim high!) who interacts with the product or service your company offers has an experience that reinforces the positive brand message, the rewards of effective branding can be reaped.
How can you make this happen? By engaging and transforming all team members into brand ambassadors. Start by acknowledging that they all have a stake in delivering on the brand promise. The payoff is significant because customers will pay a premium for brands they love.
There are two ingredients in this recipe for success: corporate brand awareness throughout the entire organization, and personal brand awareness within each employee. Unless both factors are in play, your people are probably not any more engaged than a robot.
Corporate Brand Awareness.
The process may start with the marketing department, but if they’re only communicating with your customers, you’ve got a serious problem. Going over the mission statement during onboarding is hardly enough.
• Internal communications—from daily briefings to the annual conference—need to constantly reinforce what the company stands for and what makes it different from competitors.
• Leaders need to walk the talk. If your company stands for innovation, but you stifle suggestions from the frontline, your brand is based on a lie.
Personal Brand Awareness.
Way back in the 20th century, most corporations tried to snuff out any sense of individuality. Conformity, from men in gray flannel suits to female flight attendants in go-go boots, was the expectation. Today, we know the true costs of setting a limit on personal expression. Yes, consistency is crucial. But that’s not the same as conformity.
• Employees who have been through personal branding exercises will unearth a trove of unique traits that make them human, which liberates them to want to give their personal best, whether they’re building the product or answering questions about it in a call center.
• Whether they work as custodians or CEOs, every member of the organization interacts with people on the home front and in their communities (online and off). Every employee should be perceived as a brand ambassador with unlimited opportunities to extol the company, and they are more inclined to do so if they have made an emotional connection with the company.
The Intersection of Personal and Corporate Branding.
What do you get when you lead a group of employees who:
• Know what their unique talents and personality traits are
• Know what makes their company special
• Have the freedom to fully apply those talents and traits in support of the company’s brand—a brand that resonates with their personal values
What you get is a force to be reckoned with: a team of ardent, authentic ambassadors. They see no boundary between maximizing their individual potential and eagerly contributing to the organization’s success.
(sourced from William Arruda via Forbes.com)