CHAT BACK: Internal understanding

No matter how good your product is, no matter how sharp your logo or how groovy your marketing and advertising, your external brand will only ever be as good as your internal brand.

In other words, if your employees don’t “walk the talk” you are wasting your time.

In today’s transparent world, brands that fake it are found out quickly.

We can see this every day in the newspapers -- the airlines, banks or retailers that pledge and promise you the best service, only to hit you with a hidden fee when you want to make a minor change.

One of the secrets to real brand success today is the ability to get all your employees to understand your brand values and promise, and to become advocates for what you are trying to achieve – living and breathing the brand.

Unfortunately, many marketers neglect to invest in this key element that can make or break their brand. Many see it as a function of the training budget. Most do nothing.

There is a clear correlation between business success and the brands that focus on aligning their external brand communications and values to customers with their employees who serve those customers.

The evidence suggests successful companies know the most important audience they will engage with are their employees.

It is no accident most of the names on Fortune magazine’s annual 100 Best Companies to Work For also appear in the annual 100 Best Brands survey by Interbrand.

Debra Birks, HR leader and executive coach says: "Training, coaching and development is as critical for employee growth as is the employer ability to harness and embrace innovation and ideas. If people feel connected to the brand and employers make it attractive to stay, fear disappears and creativity and productivity prevails."

If you can’t engage and inspire your fellow employees to understand, articulate and act out your brand values, how do you expect your customers to believe your promise?

You can win short term performance with money only for a limited time. It won’t buy long-term loyalty, or authentic engagement between customers and staff.

Only a sincere and consistent effort to bring all employees with you on your brand evolution will result in authentic engagement between staff and customers and a powerfully consistent brand experience across every point of the business.

Every cent you spend on advertising and marketing is wasted if you fail to recognise this fact.