drinking the kool aid: how and why for internal brands

DRINKING THE KOOL-AIDwhy and how to build your internal brand

Martha Bartlett Piland

president + ceo@[email protected]

© MB Piland Advertising + Marketing. All rights reserved.

OBJECTIVESUnderstand the importance of branding.

See how breaking down silos boosts your efforts.

Learn strategies for making your brand a powerhouse—inside and out.


IMPORTANCEOF A BRAND


A brand is “you” in a promotional package. It’s a way to stand out from the competition. It makes you noteworthy. It offers a promise.


LOYALTRUST

ASSOCIATE

PAY MORETALK

ABOUT


Brands don’t just happen. They are created, sustained and become legendary only with a long-term investment in a consistent look, feel and messaging.




breaks through the clutter

helps fight competition

increases credibility

becomes “shorthand”


evaluate your outwardly focused efforts:

fundraising appeals

PR efforts

logo and slogan usage

website

sound effects or music

newsletter

what else?

TAKE ALOOK


what about the inwardly focused efforts?

employee and board meetingsintranetsocial mediauniforms or name badgesinternal newslettercreating/sharing the strategic planrecruitment materialswhat else?

STOP &LISTEN


You want to ATTRACT great talent.

You want to KEEP great talent.

You want your talent to LOVE your organization.

They will be like MAGNETS for other talent, donors and volunteers.

This all leads to more REVENUE and SUSTAINABILITY.

why care about the inside?


When every single touchpoint of your brand is filled with the same purpose and passion, it’s palpable.

Employees notice. Clients notice. Donors notice.

WHY

BUILD IT!fleet graphics

facebook

online

web

phone brochure

uniforms

PR

events

name tags

parking lotemail sigs

ads

mugs

signage

correspondence

handouts

intranet

newsletter

google+

invitations

employment adseNewsphotos

banners



THE MATHthis isn’t just about feeling nice or looking good: it goes straight to the bottom line


THE MATH

“Within a year, employers lose nearly one-quarter of new hires, whileanother one-third don’t satisfy productivity targets.”

Allied Van Lines 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Study as reported by BenefitsPro.

new hires lostmissed productivity targetsnew hires retained and performing






The Cheesecake Factory spends about $2,000 per employee for training each year and reaps sales of $1,000 per square foot—more than twice the industry average.American Society for Training and Development, 2000

why inside?Cheesecake Factory Sales Competitors

THE MATH



why inside?

“Conscious Capitalism” companies returned 1025% over the past 10 years, compared to only 122% for the S&P 500 and 316% for the companies profiled in the bestselling book Good to Great.

Conscious1025%

S&P 500122%

Good to Great 316%

Firms of Endearment: http://www.firmsofendearment.com

THE MATH

If the big organizations can do it, you can, too.

If the small organizations can do it, you can too.

NO EXCUSES

YES YOU CAN


… hmmmmm

PURPOSE


What are you here to do? For both internal AND external “customers”?

What makes you excited to get out of bed and come to work?

What do you “sell”?•Health and well-being?•Independence?•Fun?•Empowerment?•Opportunity?

BRAND


How is the organization Packaged, Promoted, Priced, Distributed?

high value? expensive? affordable?quality?variety?how does it smell?feel?sound?If your brand were a vehicle, what would it be?If you had a soundtrack, what would it be like?


how you do things

rituals

leadership styles

work environment

onboarding process

what you celebrate

your values

how you interact with colleagues, partners and clients

CULTURE

Put it all together. Purpose and culture

build your brand. Plan from the inside

out.

You’ll have ever widening circles that

overlap, change and grow.

BRAND-ALIGNEDTACTICS



AUDIENCESINTERNAL (THE LIST COULD BE LONGER)

staffvolunteers

funders

strategic partners

board

suppliers

???

EXAMINE &LISTEN


employee survey

focus groups

social media

health check

interviews

http://mbpiland.com/home/health-check


Internal and external tactics must support each other

Where are the holes?

What will we do—and when?

3. ALIGN AND PLANALIGN &PLAN


Take action: work from a calendar

Measure: monitor and be aware

Report back: both up and down the chain

Adjust as needed

EXECUTE &MEASURE


NO SILOSInclude marketing, communications, operations, IT and others.

You have to work together to make this happen.

C-suite must endorse and support you.


CLOSERTO HOME

MB Piland client: some insights into the inside, from square 1


EXAMPLES

Rapidly growing company

300+ employees in numerous offices all across the U.S.

Big goals

Thought they just needed brand and presentation materials refresh


MB PILANDCLIENT

We shared our discovery and recommended strong internal brand tactics along with the external.

They were out of round.


The “curse of knowledge” meant they’d left employees in the dark about goals and achievements.

They were full of silos.

MB PILANDCLIENT


WHAT THEY REALLY NEEDED

help defining purpose and articulating it

brand differentiation for sales and recruiting

ways to cross-sell services

systems to bridge silos and improve sales efforts

brand and proposal refresh—and more

MB PILANDCLIENT


MB PILANDCLIENTWHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SILOS?Marketing said “no, that’s HR’s job.”

C-suite said “they really didn’t know?”

We said “trust us” and they listened. “?”


designated + empowered internal champions

kick off events with food and fun

branded swag

substantive employee newsletter

intranet

ongoing updates and feedback

MB PILANDCLIENTLAUNCH


MB PILANDCLIENTPHASE 2cross functional “expansion teams” organized and accountable for activating new strategies

training and systematic processes for cross-selling and promotion

internal mentoring and a rising star program


RESULTSoverwhelmingly positive

people enthusiastic about their role in moving the company forward

they’ve recently acquired a competitor and are positioned to integrate their new people

goals have increased—and they’re meeting them!

MB PILANDCLIENT X


YOUR TURN

1. Identify Audiences

2. Examine and Listen

3. Align and Plan

4. Execute and Measure


AUDIENCESemployees

board of directors?

strategic partners?

suppliers?

Who else is an internal audience needing branded engagement?


LISTENsecret shopping

focus groups

online surveys

town hall meetings

audit social media


ALIGN &PLAN

WITH MARKETING

help developing employee recruitment materials

intranet

help with brand “manifesto” for onboarding

“our culture” section for website

measurement


ALIGN &PLAN

WITH INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

help developing employee recruitment materials

reporting back (up and down) on results and feedback


ALIGN &PLAN

WITH IT

help analyzing activity on your web page employment section

help implementing and maintaining intranet


ALIGN &PLAN

WHO ELSE DO YOU NEED?

operations

finance

sales/development

hr

Involve them!


•increased referrals from within•satisfaction surveys (both inside and out)•increased applications•decreased turnover•increased fundraising--new donors--new gifts from current donors--increased market share•increased profit margin•increased funding for new programs

MEASUREMENTIDEAS


intranet or private Facebook or LinkedIn page

HootSuite “conversations” or Yammer

private pages on Pinterest

recognitions

contests

TACTICALIDEAS

http://hootsuite.com/features/conversations

Girl Scouts PR Stars


TACTICALIDEAS

Girl Scouts Honorary Legislative Troop


Themed birthday parties

SEE MORE OR FOR HELP: CONTACT

@MarthaPiland • 785.969.6203

[email protected]
