Holistic Brand Building

Think about your office walkabout.

When you bounce from area to area and check in with various team leaders and employees. As you ask how they're doing and what they're up to... what do you hear?

Collect those conversations and look at them as a set. Do you hear an organizational single-mindedness? Do you hear a dozen people in different functions on the exact same page?

If you don't that's a problem.

We are what we communicate.

If you hear disparate goals and frustrations, it's a sign of organizational misalignment. And the cause for this is universally: lack of communication.

Why? Because leaders struggle to make the time, don't see the value, or don't know what to communicate. This is a dangerous failure and costly to your business. Your employees, even the ones who never see a customer, are the very people who bring life to your brand.

They are the walking, talking, living, breathing agents of your brand’s promise. Every day they have the ability to influence your brand’s image by the way the think and act.

Regardless of hierarchy, it’s crucial the thoughts and actions of your team align with your brand’s. Some call this internal branding, but the reality is that it’s brand building from the inside out.

Follow the money.

Let’s be frank: if your people don’t love your brand your customers won't either. It’s only through internal brand building you create the identity that shines outward.

Numerous studies point to beneficial outcomes for your organization. Team members are more motivated to support the brand. Rather than obsess about problems, people pivot to seek solutions. And deep cohesion builds as people align toward the future.

Brand building efforts focused inward create more engagement and more excitement. Employees learn their brand-aligned performance is rewarded and they become more motivated to support the brand promise. This all translates to a better customer experience.

Can you hear me? How about now?

Start by understanding the signature idea at the center of your organization. What is the promise you make to the world? How is it uniquely yours? And how is it internalized?

From there, plan strategically. How can reinforce your promise, in big moments and small?

Understand that over-communication is necessary to make an impact. Map out when and where you'll communicate the values that support your brand's promise.

Establish a small focus group of employees. Learn where to adjust when challenges are encountered.

Dedicate quality time and resources for major changes, new launches, acquisitions, and other big moments. Starbucks closed 7,100 stores for two hours to train their people. It was an unmistakable signal—inside and out—of their commitment to the brand's promise.

If you’re not the CEO, lead from the middle. Begin with your team and showcase what internally build building can look like. Humans crave clarity and understanding, so your team will be a shining beacon to others.

Fit to a tee.

Big ideas should have the ability to boil down to simple executions. Let's try one out. Say you have a big team-building moment and you’re printing t-shirts for everyone. What does the t-shirt say? Are you slapping your logo on it? Have you developed a “theme” so you can logo-ize that? Or is there a fresh, fun statement that reinforces what your brand promise means to your people? That’s a good indicator that you understand what you’re building.

Inside. Then out.

Building your brand from the inside out offers a significant reward. Ultimately, it’s an extension of what you communicate to the market. Either you have a cohesive, strategic plan or you’re all over the map. If it’s the latter, save part of your marketing budget and apply it internally. You’ll see better results that impact your customers and the bottom line.