Branding has 3 pillars, that if they don't match, if they don't reflect the same brand experience then the brand that you are trying to create, will not succeed.
- The leadership write, speak and decide on the brand values. At this stage the brand is a vision, the brand is a goal. The brand is not active.
- The employees experience the brand values through the actions, the words of the leadership and management team. The employees need to match the words written with the words spoken, they need to match the words spoken day to day, with the words aspired to on the brand statements. If they match then the employees will feel inspired and work on delivering those brand experiences to the customers. If they don't match, then confusion, unease and a lack of employee engagement occurs. The customers will experience this confused feeling.
- The customers read the adverts, hear the adverts, feel inspired to try your brand. They then talk and write about their experiences. If their experiences don't match then the frustration will come out and perceived brand values will take hold.
Strong brands work hard on making sure that the words on the marketing documents, match the experience inside the organization for the employee, and externally for the customer. Understanding the employees link from the internal to external brand.
Biggest mistake is often the resource, the effort, the funding goes into stage 1. Without the same brand investment in stages 2 and 3, that employee engagement and consumer engagement with the brand will not occur.
Hmm... not sure I agree with this one. I don't think employees need to be told what to say about a brand- they need to understand the process - understand that the product on their production line or in their sales portfolio came out of research which is presented to them in a way which is clear and defined. That this research will dictate the product image, a costume, a character and that the company will invest in that to ensure it sells well vs. a competitor thus ensuring the future security of jobs. To avoid cynicism I believe employees need to understand the process and not be treated like either cogs or consumers. If they have opinions these need to be addressed through the facts of the Brand Planning process. To my mind this would generate more ownership of the brand and with ownership comes pride. That's what you're after!
Saying all this - oh and what a lot I had to say today! - in my current low pressure, small time existence, branding is only about presentation. What I make, how I talk about it, how I present and package that. Oh so simple. Oh such fun!
As for consumers - they're a tricksy lot - a whole other discussion! t.x
Posted by: kitschen pink | Aug 26, 2008 at 06:18 PM
Good to see you again Kitschen! Maybe I did't explain as well as I should of...I mean that people don't learn believe the brand values because of the written word, they believe it if the leaders express those words through their actions and voices. I don't mean they learn what to say. It is not what you write down it is what you do around the place. You may say you care on a piece of paper but if your actions don't back that up....and if the employee doesn't feel cared about their self then they will not care as much for the customer? Does that help to explain it?
Posted by: Anna | Aug 27, 2008 at 07:59 AM
I don't think employees need to be told about the brand either. Instead they need to understand the organisation's purpose. This can be shared by stories about customer experiences. Stories about how employees have lived the values.
Most organizations centre around ‘what’ eg. We produce the best technology solutions blah blah blah rather than the ‘why’. The ‘why’ needs to be the single driving motivation to do things – the purpose, cause or belief. ‘Why’ gives clarity.For example my company (RedBalloon) is changing gifting in Australia forever – so people don’t get given crap anymore)
“If you define yourself by what you do – that is all you will ever do” Simon Sinek
To breed true loyalty to any organization or brand people have to understand ‘why’ we do what we do.
My business specialises in employee engagement, reward and recognition over in Australia. We've put together 'The Little Red Book of Answers' it's FREE and it's all about different ways of aligning your people with your business purpose. check it out at:
http://corporate.redballoondays.com.au/go/knowledge-bank/book-of-answers
Posted by: Kate | Aug 28, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Hi,
I understand what you are trying to say. Yes it is important that employees of a given business understand and resonate with the brand personality. It guarantees their motivation and makes them natural ambassadors.
It is challenging to find a business that manages to involve employees at such level though. In practical terms I have seen several businesses who don't.
Good luck, and keep posting.
JPh @ http://concept2creation.blogspot.com
Posted by: Jean-Philippe DIEL | Oct 07, 2008 at 10:44 AM