[This is a follow-on to our recent enewsletter]
What? Political turmoil on the other side of the world and marketing? What am I talking about?
Watching the events in Egypt over the past couple of weeks is a fascinating story on many levels: human rights, the power of grass roots movements, the immediacy of news and information in today’s world, leadership by decree and, perhaps most interesting to me, how communication (or the lack thereof) impacts an organization.
Luckily, people in companies tend not to revolt when faced with leadership that doesn’t care about the difference they are making – they just withdraw their best efforts.
Read the results from just about any employee survey at just about any company. If the company leadership had the guts to ask the employees “Do you have a clear understanding of the company’s vision?” (or something similar) the responses are typically mixed at best. And what do company leaders say when learning of those results? Often, they have a hard time understanding how employees simply don’t know it. It’s so clear, how could they not understand it? That reaction is one of the reasons that “communication” is almost always at the very top of problems cited by employees in these surveys.
It seems so obvious, and yet…
This connection to the people “on the front lines” is especially critical when developing an effective brand marketing program. Seems logical, right? If you want to get to the heart of a company and its DNA, talk to the people. Yet, so many companies don’t.
Three actions you can take to make a real difference
- If you’re a company leader or executive, form a group of front line managers or staff that you meet with on a regular schedule. Set an agenda that allows them to provide direct feedback on communications within the company, brand marketing activities, and maybe just observations on the brand and company culture.
- If you work in marketing and have brand development responsibilities, embrace the voice of your company’s talent. It is what will make your work real. And valid. And make sure that your brand marketing includes a strong internal communications plan.
- [Shameless plug] Get a better understanding of your company’s DNA. Here at Trebuchet Group, we’ve developed a simple ½ day process to quickly and painlessly help you and your staff understand what makes you unique. The results are actionable, and the return on investment is high. Check it out here and then give us a call.
