All organisations have to market their products or services to the public, but getting their own employees to buy into the brand can pose a different set of problems.
1. Aim for staff buy in at all levels. A campaign is only truly effective if the whole company identifies with and lives with the company ethos.
2. Research employee attitudes and behaviour. If the objective of a campaign is to change these, you need to know your staff and what motivates them.
3. HR staff are not marketing staff! If companies employ marketing communications experts to market their brand and values to customers, why shouldn’t they do so with the staff? Many employee motivation and branding programmes fail because the message is not compelling or personal enough or because they are underfunded and under-resourced.
4. Form working parties to define the company ethos. Companies should do this across the business to define what they believe the brand should company for.
5. Apply internal marketing. Use the same principles and many of the same processes as brand marketing to customers, but focus instead on influencing the attitudes and behaviour of staff.
6. Set measurable goals. How can companies evaluate whether an internal staff branding campaign has worked? Which key performance indicators they hope to meet and the level of customer satisfaction or sales increase they expect. It’s also vital to set a realistic time-frame for meeting specific targets along the way so internal branding can filter through hand have a lasting effect.
7. Make it sustainable. Getting staff to live your brand is more than just a one-off campaign. Align key people and processes to sustain the brand values and culture of the company. An ongoing internal branding programme should be a key part of recruitment, learning development, staff training and communications.
8. Use events to create internal brand loyalty. Bowling, cinema, theatre, football, theme parks – there’s a lot that can be done with a little money and a bit of effort. The upside could be that your staff will feel that your company cares about them.
9. Customers need to see consistency, from marketing to sales to operations to delivery to finance – a complete experience. This requires communication understanding and engagement: understanding why things are important and what they mean to the business and the customer.
10. Incentivise and reward performance. Strategic incentive programmes can have an amazing effect on a company’s performance. This applies both to internal motivation, dealer or channel incentives and customer or consumer promotions. And don’t assume this is all expensive. Even a small corporate gift for each employee can make an impact on how people think.
Here are some great suggestions from The Corporate Gifts Company perfect for staff promotional products and incentives:
• Silver Plated Boomerang Letter Opener – Very practical, perfect for any sort of promotional desk.
• Deco Clock – very cost effective product.
• Sterling Silver Gifts Keyring – great engraving area for your corporate logo or promotional message.
• Sterling Silver Photoframe – great item – ideal to put it under desk employee.
• Floating Desk Pen – beautiful design to become more attractive desks.
You can incorporate your logo or a message on these gifts with a discreet and elegant engraving.
Call our sales team today on 0845 430 2902 to see how the Corporate Gifts Co can add value to your staff promotional products and incentives.
