You may be an internal communications professional, a CEO, a marketing executive or even a brand manager. But whichever category you fall into, you’re likely to have met resistance to internal brand communication at some point.
This could be down to the sheer volume of employees you work with (there’s always going to be some people who can’t stomach the brand), problems with internal politics, or simply neglect over time.
Whatever your issues, promoting the brand is never an easy task, so we got to thinking about some of the simpler tricks you can use to improve brand perception and smooth the process of brand communication across the board.
It’s not about you
One of the more common misconceptions about branding is that the brand belongs to marketing. What this often means, for brand professionals and employees alike, is a divisive way of thinking i.e. if I don’t work with the brand then I don’t need to worry about it and vice versa.
For many ‘pro-brand’ people this can lead to transparent brand touting exercises, which try to convince people that the business’s brand must be accepted at all costs, regardless of people’s individual brand perceptions.
While people who are new to the business will need to gain an understanding of your brand values, your employees should also understand that they are instrumental in sustaining the brand. So rather than just telling people what the business stands for, ask people for their (honest) interpretations. This way you can make brand building an inclusive process.
Brand feedback can be gained in various ways and shouldn’t just be slotted into an induction programme. You may want to try annual employee surveys or workshops. The latter is a more positive, interactive medium for feedback and will also encourage people to see themselves as part of brand building, rather than simply brand recipients.
In groups, encourage people to think about all the different ways in which they represent and use the brand, so that they gain an understanding of how their actions, in particular how they communicate with clients, prospects etc. impact the brand. If people do express negative attitudes, explore these with them. Use their thoughts and feelings to discuss with others how to address poor brand image. If for example, your brand emphasises excellent customer service and your employees feel that this is contrary to the reality of the situation, look into the reasons and feed back to managers etc. as appropriate.
You aren’t responsible for how people behave within the business, but you can use your knowledge to positively influence others’ actions. Above all, remind yourself and others that the brand doesn’t exist in a vacuum and requires input from everyone to survive.
Brand champions
Identifying and utilising ‘brand champions’ i.e. those that like and endorse the brand, is an essential part of successfully communicating your brand.
As you might expect, many brand champions work in senior positions and/or commercial roles, such as sales, commercial development and of course marketing. However you will always find people in other departments who are equally pro-brand, they just don’t have the opportunity to show it in the same way that others do.
A good way to root out your brand champions is to ask for volunteers from each department to put forward a representative, who you can call upon for assistance in cascading brand messages. Make it clear that their involvement won’t be time-consuming (this is the most common reason people use not to get involved) and you should soon have a group of brand enthusiasts.
While a lot of brand communication will need to come directly from you, involving others in communication activities will gain you credibility. Employees are always more receptive to people they know and are therefore more likely to accept messages from your representatives at face value than they would from you.
Treat your employees as customers
One technique that brand professionals should always employ (and indeed any professional), is to deliver the same level of service to employees that you would to a customer. That is, not only in the level of courtesy that you display, but in your general responsiveness and the professionalism with which you communicate. This is how you create respect for your team and thereby positive associations with the brand.
Aside from impeccable one to one correspondence (well written, concise, not a typo in sight), your one to all communication will need to employ similar marketing techniques to those that are used for external marketing. For example, one to all emails need to be engaging, brief, easy to digest and in the tone of voice that reflects your brand. They must also display an appropriate use of brand graphics that don’t dominate the email’s message.
It’s also important to encourage senior executives and others who regularly send out correspondence to follow a set of guidelines that explain how to construct a brand-friendly email. Again, asking others to follow your example helps to make the brand applicable to everyone.
Creating an internal brand
It’s one of the lesser used tools, but developing an internal brand can go a long way to increasing employee engagement. By an internal brand we mean an employee-facing brand that is recognisable as belonging to your business, but offers a variation on colours, images and even tone of voice. For example, it may have a slightly friendlier tone, or use more fun images than those traditionally associated with the external brand.
To give you an example: an old colleague of mine, who is also an extremely experienced project manager, suggested to the internal communication team at her current employer that they use an internal brand for the roll-out of a new HR self-service system. Rather than welcoming the suggestion, the communication team was extremely scathing, sending her off with her tail between her legs and in the direction of its strict external brand guidelines. An attitude that was dismissive at best and foolish at worst.
The project manager I’m thinking of had worked with many brand teams in her time to ensure the successful implementation of HR self-service. Therefore she had first-hand experience in the value of internal branding for ensuring acceptance of new technology. And of course what works for technology can work for anything – give employees their own brand identity and you let them know that what you’re doing is about them and not just the business.
Accept the bah humbugs
It’s important to accept that you’ll always have moaners and back stabbers. Some people are anti-brand and will stay that way whatever you do. A good example of this came from a marketing ex-colleague of mine, who one particular employee had turned into his nemesis: challenging and complaining about any communication that related to the brand. Far from rising to his negative comments, my colleague just accepted that that was the way he was, responded politely and left him to it.
As she did, the best way to handle someone who dislikes your work on principle is to greet their objections with courtesy and sincerity. Welcome any suggestions, however provocative they may be and above all, assume the role of consummate professional. This way they have far less cause to challenge you.
Have a plan
You may not be an internal communication expert, but when rolling out large-scale brand exercises, such as a rebrand, always have a communication plan. Again, as you would with your customers and prospects, think of the best times and ways in which to reach employees, so that communication is as constructive and well-received as possible.
In summary
There’s no one single method that ensures positive brand perception. Brand building is a continuous and often challenging process that requires constant nurturing.
But with the right level and tone of correspondence, alongside good internal support, you can soon start to affect brand attitudes at every level of the business and make the brand of interest to everyone (well, almost).
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