Build an Inclusive Culture with Internal Marketing
While change and strategic pivots are enviable, connecting with your internal audience first is the way to stay true to your larger purpose.
Why is internal marketing so important for building an inclusive culture?
First, it’s the best way to help employees make a powerful emotional connection to the products and services they sell. Without that connection, employees are likely to have indifferent feelings toward the business goals of the company.
Company Brand Promise
In some cases, simply because they don’t understand what the company has promised the public, they work at cross-purposes. In other cases, it may be they don’t honestly believe in the brand and feel disengaged.
Build Your Culture
Internal marketing is the most powerful culture-building tool. When employees care about and believe in the brand, they’re motivated to work harder, and their loyalty to the company increases, and more importantly, teammates are unified and inspired by a shared sense of purpose and identity.
Convince your internal audience, Don't just inform.
Unfortunately, in most companies, internal marketing is done poorly, if at all. While executives recognize the need to keep people informed about the company’s strategy and direction, few understand the need to convince employees of the brand’s power; they take it as a given. What’s more, the people charged with internal communications—HR professionals, typically—don’t have the time or marketing skills/software to communicate successfully. Information is sent out to employees in emails, memos, and newsletters, but it’s not designed to convince them of the uniqueness of the company’s brand. Once in a while, the marketing department might get involved to tell employees about a new ad campaign or branding effort. However, the intent usually is to inform people what the company is doing, not to sell them on the ideas.
Internal branding campaigns in time of change
Most people have limited tolerance for change initiatives, and branding and visioning exercises are no exception. But at specific turning points, when the company is experiencing some fundamental change, employees seek direction and are relatively receptive to these initiatives. Turning points are thus ideal opportunities for an internal branding campaign; communication managers can direct people’s energy in a positive direction by clearly and vividly articulating what makes the company special —thus creating positive momentum, solidifying long-term brand value, and significantly enhancing the company culture.
With so many changes taking place this year, now is an excellent time for your communications team to use internal marketing as a powerful tool to create an inclusive culture that will benefit employees, customers, and company investors.
