By now, you’re convinced of the impact of a strong internal brand. Companies who are internal brand powerhouses – think Apple and GE – have employees who make every single customer touchpoint an expression of their brand promise. And it makes a difference. Those companies have developed communities of devoted people eager to use their products.
Believe it or not, your company doesn’t have to be at the mercy of word-of-mouth and reputation. You can shape from within. Active internal branding is accessible for companies of every size. This month, we’re sharing five key steps to building a strong internal brand, starting today.
A successful brand begins at the C-level. Employees must see leadership as driver of the brand. That makes it powerful and lets employees know internal branding is being taken seriously. C-level executives should pave the way for a strong brand by doing the following:
Employees can’t adopt brand promise without clear communication of what it means and why it’s important. This message should start at the C-level and be directly communicated to every department, eventually trickling down to each corner of the company. As employees gain greater understanding of the mission, they’ll begin to accept it, get excited by it and implement it themselves.
We’ll discuss “living the brand” later in the month, but company leaders should make their brand advocacy known. When employees see their leader is excited by something, they often follow suit. Understanding the “why” behind the brand makes expressions of it authentic, and seeing a company’s leadership truly fired up by their mission makes a huge impact.
Even if the brand promise is clearly communicated by leadership to employees, the message must be presented consistently over time. Regularity and dedication shows employees that their leaders mean what they say, and that the brand is indeed worth talking about and presenting to customers in an exciting, genuine way.
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