Building brand legitimacy and “stickiness” is an ongoing battle for companies in the digital age. As part of our three-part series on creating a reputable, marketable brand we first shared how to resonate with your customers by creating a more human brand. While this is a critical first step, it is not enough on its own to ensure brand loyalty.

The good news is, you have at your fingertips a host of brand ambassadors who stand ready to engage potential customers and deliver high value experiences on behalf of your company. Every individual who works with you serves as a powerful voice for your brand—whether that voice is positive or negative depends entirely on how each employee internalizes brand attributes and externalizes the brand experience.

Short of forcing everyone to speak from the same script or wear the company logo, how do you instill a cohesive, internal brand mindset?

 

Listen.

It may seem patently obvious but, believe it or not, listening to employees is one of the most underutilized tools in building an effective brand. Taking the time to assess and evaluate your employees’ perceptions of the company offers direct value not only into the internal mindset but also into outside feedback, as it’s your employees who are often on the front lines working directly with the customer.

Listening to employees can take many forms, but one of the most effective is to create a survey that asks targeted questions about an employee’s experience with the company and their perception of the brand. Don’t be afraid of open-ended questions, which can often yield surprising results, and encourage honest feedback. It may make sense to bring in a neutral third party to conduct a proper employee evaluation, to ensure you are getting uncensored and unfiltered responses that will help clearly define where your brand sits internally and how you can make improvements.

 

Engage.

You can draw a direct line between the effectiveness of your employee engagement and the impact of employees on your brand. When your team feels engaged, appreciated and well-informed it equates to stronger internal brand loyalty. A study by Deloitte found the numbers can be a bit dismal—only 13% of employees worldwide consider themselves “highly engaged,” and only 54% would recommend their company to a friend.

There is some good news in all those statistics however. Companies with a “soul” (ie: those who effectively captured the human elements of their brand) saw returns as high as 1,026%! Just like your customers, employees want to work for brands they believe in, and when they do, they’re willing to shout it from the rooftops. Engagement has to be on the minds of every department—from c-suite leadership to HR to marketing. Aligning external efforts to internal adoption can be the catalyst for seeing greater ROI on your branding efforts.

 

Motivate.

Employees want to feel motivated in their work and this doesn’t always mean more money. One of the greatest tools for making the brand come alive internally is to recognize brand attributes within your employees. Does your brand strive to encourage health and wellness? Highlight someone who has just achieved a fitness milestone or took a proper vacation and set work aside. By so doing you demonstrate that your brand isn’t just projected outward, but that you consider those traits intrinsic to who you are as a company.

Just as you spend time and careful thought choosing a logo, colors and tagline to ensure your brand stands out in the market, turn that activity inward and create an internal brand experience. Find ways to incorporate your brand on items or experiences only available to employees, and by so doing build an exclusivity that reminds employees they are part of a special group which affords unique opportunities and privileges not available to everyone.

 

Strive for consistency.

Inconsistency breeds cynicism, and if employees believe the brand message projected externally doesn’t match with the internal experience, it will be impossible for them to be authentic ambassadors.

A brand guide is critical, one that clearly details how your brand should be represented. More importantly however, is to consider employees much the way you would your customers. Is your brand clearly communicated in simple, easy to understand ways? Are you bombarding your team with memos, FAQs and reports rather than helping them feel connected to the essence of the brand? Do you live the principles of your brand across every level of the company and are your employees empowered to provide critique and feedback? Honestly evaluating these areas will help drive the consistency required to build a team of motivated ambassadors.

Influencer marketing is one of the strongest tools in the digital age and the good news is, you already have a team of influencers who stand at the ready to evangelize your brand. Following a few simple steps to ensure you create a solid internal brand will yield powerful results for your company and customers alike.