Have you ever entered a store and been disappointed by the behavior of the staff? Maybe they were not as attentive as you would have liked, were unfriendly and did not present what you expected from the brand before you entered the store. You’ll probably never enter the store again.
The same goes for customer service. I’m sure you’ve contacted a brand’s service department with a problem and were unhappy after the conversation because you weren’t shown much helpfulness and told others about your experience.
That’s exactly where the problem is for brands!
Brands are created in our minds. We tell others about our experiences, whether good or bad.
Your employees:inside are the most important brand messengers. It’s no use if you have a well-developed brand strategy, but no one who works for your brand knows, understands or believes in it. Because your own employees contribute to how your brand is experienced and remembered by your customer target group.
Strong brands are developed in teams, not by managers!
Consumers buy brands because they feel connected to them and their identity is aligned with it. It’s no different for employees.
They want to work for a brand that also aligns with their vision and want to be a part of the whole to achieve the set vision of the brand. That is why it is important today to involve your own employees in the development of the brand.
Brand Workshops
Brands today are never finished. They are alive and must constantly evolve and adapt to the environment. Marty Neumeier describes in his book THE BRAND GAP that brands today have to be developed in collaboration.
He takes the example of a cathedral. No matter if it is the windows, doors or the roof, everyone had a task or contributed a part to it.
The same can be applied to your own brand. Set milestones in the year how often for example a brand workshop should take place. Choose a small team of up to 7 people from different areas. This could be designers, marketing, sales, POS, suppliers or whatever applies to you.
Each of these people has different experiences and insights that management doesn’t see or experience. Include yourselves, allow for new ideas, have fun and be a team. Present your workshop results at employee events afterward so everyone can understand how you came to this decision.
After the event, you can also offer other employees the opportunity to participate in future workshops. This way, no one feels excluded, but rather valued and feels like an important part of the brand.
The result is that your brand is innovative and alive, and that it is lived from the inside out, credibly and with conviction at every point of contact.
Your customer target group will feel this and tell others about their positive experience.
