You want your brand to be respected like Zappos, Starbucks + Southwest but your strategy for internal communications is to send out an email to the entire company letting them know what the “deal” is. Ugg. I’ll give you one guess what they’re going to do with that email.
The key to creating a successful brand is to make sure you’re investing in your brand culture. It’s so disheartening to see companies spend time, effort and money polishing their communications only to see the message tarnished by employees who just don’t know how to deliver it. Your brand shouldn’t promise one thing, and your employees deliver another.
Example: When I ask at&t, “Is it possible that every time I call customer service you don’t ask me for my phone number a hundred different times?” And they say, “We’re required to ask for that information to better serve you.” Which we both know is not serving me; instead it’s making me angry. Their brand sells me on the concept of “Rethink Possible,” yet the one-on-one conversation with their staff is never about exploring the possibilities. Hellooooo? That’s called a disconnection.
To be clear, I’m not just pointing the finger at employees. Everyone that sets the tone for the brand is responsible … the companies’ C-Suite, the marketing manager, the HR manager, etc. And they have to work as one unit, not separately. (That’s a whole other topic.)
I’ll leave you with a couple of definitions. Internal communications is one tool to the bigger picture called brand culture. It can take many forms depending on your strategy. Brand culture is a philosophy, and all levels of your company must support it in order to be successful. The simple syrup of this philosophy looks like this: if emotions drive decision-making, and emotions are triggered by your experience, then it’s critical to pay special attention to those creating the experience. The employees!
Bottom line is, your employees hold the ability to bring it or crush it. When you’re invested in your culture you’ll see motivated employees, performing better, creating memorable experiences that result in loyal customers to a respected brand. And the next time you send out an email to your team, this is what they’ll do with it.
