Train Your Employees To Help Build Your Brand

One key to creating a strong brand in your business is to understand that your employees are your brand. More than anything else, it is your employees who build trust or break it, create terrific experiences or terrible ones, and forge emotional connections with customers or create chasms. But creating a corporate culture where employees represent your brand with consistency requires that owners communicate with and inspire workers.

According to a field study by The Tom Peters! Company on 500 employees at one company, 51% of employees didn’t understand the concept of what a brand was and only 16% understood what their company’s brand implicitly promised customers. Just 9% “lived” the brand, or knew it well enough to communicate messages to customers in a compelling way and make sure customers had positive experiences with the brand. If employees don’t clearly understand the brand, they will deliver confusing messages.

Share your mission, vision, values and strategy with your workers. Employees who understand and connect with your corporate vision will advance that vision daily on the front lines.

Craft a compelling brand story to unite your team with a deeper purpose. What were your beginnings? How do you engage customers? What’s unique about your product or service? Is there a worthy cause or philosophy you support? Brand stories are modern myths, which help people identify with you. Add your brand story to your print communications and web site. Weave it into your presentations, meetings and discussing. If employees hear you tell it often, they will too.

It’s important that each employee, from receptionist to chief executive officer, understands the value of your products and services thoroughly so they can convey that value to customers.

Employees who are committed to your company’s long-range vision and core values will create strong bonds to your brand. Your employees provide three essential keys to your brand: They are ambassadors to the public, they create emotional bonds with your brand and they provide a great customer experience. Help your staff forge these important connections and watch your brand buzz grow.