Branding and identity are just as relevant when you’re striving to get your product or service to market and grow your customer base as it is when you’re successfully running a large organisation.
By considering branding not just as the way you present yourself externally, but also as the principles and values you rely on to guide employees, customers and service partners to a better understanding of who you are and what you want to achieve in the future, you’ll be able to achieve much greater alignment and integration as your business continues to scale.
When you’re able to address the way your brand manifests itself internally through policies and internal communications, your employees will be better prepared to uphold the principles of your company. Customers, in turn, will be much more likely to interact with and experience your company in a way that’s consistent with your brand.
Below are a few key lessons you can learn about implementing branding successfully into large and growing organisations.
- Make Purposeful, Lasting Change
If you’re going to make big changes, make sure they’re well thought through and built to last for many years to come. Most people have limited tolerance for change initiatives and multiple shifts in your branding and identity as a business can undermine the integrity of your company’s values, with the risk that employees can disengage.
The best times to instigate large brand changes are at key turning points in your company’s journey. This could be as you go through a major growth period, take on new employees, win a major client, absorb another business, or even when consumer behaviour noticeably shifts in a particular direction.
For instance, consumer attitudes and behaviours will be greatly impacted by the events of 2020 and the results of the global pandemic. As people refocus on what they care about and what they want from brands and businesses, this could be a chance to launch a new approach.
When executed well, these moments can create positive energy and enthusiasm creating an ideal opportunity for a lasting brand strategy to be rolled out.
The arrival of new leadership or the allocation of new individuals to senior positions is another good opportunity for your rebrand to take place. At these times, employees will already be prepared to take on board the ideas and approaches of new management.
Having said this, if there’s no natural time to address your organisation’s branding and identity, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go ahead. Just make sure you’re active in communicating to your employees that your business is going through a significant period of change.
2. Consider Internal and External Branding Activities
Most people have some idea about the external activities involved in a rebrand. These include things like refreshing your website’s design and content, launching an email marketing campaign to inform partners and subscribers, or, launching videos and other engaging content marketing activities to let your customers know you’ve rebranded.
However, it’s just as important to focus on how you spread awareness of your rebrand internally, to get people involved and excited about what’s happening. Unfortunately, there are many situations where in-house employees are left in the dark about the apparent “big changes” happening at their own company.
Branding and all its implications aren’t just something your marketing team needs to be aware of. Everyone from your finance team to your customer service departments should be aware of your major goals, vision for the future and core values.
If this doesn’t happen, it can be very hard to ensure that the entire customer experience you offer will actually change for people when they do business with you or buy your products.
If company leaders are not successful in selling the change internally through internal marketing and communication activities, you can’t really blame employees for sticking to their old methods and not embodying your new brand spirit.
3. Internal Branding Campaigns for your Employees
Consider what you actually know about your employees and question whether they are in the best position to showcase your brand to customers, clients and anyone who walks through the door.
Market research for your own company workforce is something that companies very rarely invest in, but it’s actually one of the most effective activities to help you understand who you are as a business.
It will also help to identify any gaps in people’s understanding or knowledge of your values and lead to more productive activities where you can spread your brand values internally through programs, discussions, social activities and more.
A holistic branding strategy that focuses on all stakeholderswill help to strengthenyour organization and support alignment across multiple departments. Everything from general attitudes and behaviour of your employees to the quality of your marketing content and customer service can be improved when a company’s brand values are rooted more deeply in the company’s fabric.
Start the Journey
If you want to learn more about how you can address the branding process in your business, at various stages of your journey, SERVICEBRAND GLOBAL can help you integrate the methods and practices that will help you build genuine and lasting brand values that will add strength to your business and company culture.