Tag: internal communication

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Engagement Marketing

Internal Marketing vs. Internal Branding

I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about the difference between internal marketing and internal branding. Some folks use the terms interchangeably, but there are a number of differences beyond semantics … or so I thought until I began to clarify what these concepts mean, how they’re different, and where they overlap.

I asked my colleague Debra Semans, an Atlanta-based marketing & branding consultant, to help me with this. Debra has extensive experience with internal branding.

Exploring the Two Concepts

I define internal marketing as “the application of marketing inside an organization to instill customer-focused values.” It bridges marketing with HR (Human Resources) to attract, motivate, and retain employees, with an emphasis on getting employee commitment to marketing and organizational goals. Think of it as an umbrella concept encompassing any & all activities, events, internal public relations, etc., that reinforce the importance of customers AND the employees who take care of them.

According to Debra, internal branding is “the process of aligning day-to-day activities, business processes, job designs, and recognition & rewards with the brand identity to drive business results.” It is part of a focused brand strategy that helps employees understand and integrate brand value(s) in their respective roles to ensure they can effectively deliver on the brand promise.

Where Internal Marketing & Internal Branding Overlap

  • Both approaches recognize employees ARE the brand. As a result, both are focused on engaging employees.
  • Both are part of organizational and marketing strategy to strengthen competitive advantage.
  • Both involve leadership – i.e., neither can be effective without management commitment.

Where They Differ

  • Internal Marketing is based on the self-reinforcing relationship between employee- and customer satisfaction (“take care of the employees & they’ll take care of the customers”), whereas Internal Branding is based on making the brand part of the organization’s operations (“getting employees focused on delivering the brand promise”).
  • Unless Internal Marketing and Internal Branding are part of an organization’s culture from Day 1, their trigger points vary. The application of Internal Marketing may be in response to problems with employee- and/or customer satisfaction or turnover, whereas organizations may turn to Internal Branding when launching a new brand or revitalizing an existing one.
  • Internal Marketing focuses on organizational culture and values, whereas Internal Branding focuses primarily on brand values that are aligned and consistent with organizational values. [Hmmm … maybe this belongs with the “Overlap” list above?]

Regarding this last bullet point – as Debra describes Internal Branding’s scope: “From understanding the piece parts of the brand so that they can use it as a guide or standard for their day-to-day decision making, to communicating about the brand in ongoing internal communications vehicles, to building brand-based rewards into compensation models, Internal Branding is geared to making the Brand part of the organization’s operations – and yes, culture.”  [OK, the two concepts are similar in this context in that they both impact organizational culture.]

The Bottom Line

So the differences between Internal Marketing and Internal Branding aren’t as clear cut as I thought. Some of their tactical executions may vary, but the desired outcome is the same: engaging employees for marketing and organizational success.

As Debra says of her work and mine: “Internal branding and internal marketing aren’t all that different. Maybe the only difference is that I’ve been riding the brand wagon and you’ve been on the customer service train.”

What Do You Think?

And now, dear readers, tell me what you think of all this. Semantics aside, what do Internal Marketing and Internal Branding mean to you?  I’d love your input.

To Learn More …

For anyone who wants to learn more about either or both topics, come see Debra and me at the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Workshop this spring in Austin, TX.  On March 13, 2006, I’ll be presenting my session on Internal Marketing (“Marketing from the Inside Out: Engaging Employees for Strategic Advantage”), and Debra will be doing her session on Internal Branding (“Living the Brand – the Dimensions of Internal Branding”) on March 15, 2006.

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Engagement

Managing All-Employee E-mail Communication

As mentioned in a previous post on employee communications, most organizations have more than enough content and sufficient communications tools they can use.  Because it’s easy for departments to issue all-employee e-mails, it’s not unusual to hear folks complain about being bombarded with internal e-mails.

Even if controls are in place to manage the stream of “need to know” info, there is still a need to communicate the “nice to know” stuff so employees know what’s going on and feel connected … the challenge is finding a way to effectively & efficiently communicate both types of information without overloading people.

Meeting the challenge

Just about a year ago, Hudson Valley Community College, based in Troy, NY, launched the Hudson Valley Campus Chronicle as the school’s official employee newsletter “dedicated to providing information that helps the employees fulfill the college’s mission.”  Information is categorized under the headings of general news, upcoming events, “accolades” (faculty & staff achievements), and classifieds (the ever-popular “items for sale, swap, or wanted”).

The project was a joint collaboration between the school’s Internal Communications Committee and Computer Services Department.  [In full disclosure, I helped the Committee develop their initial internal communications plan in which they identified the need to streamline their employee e-mail.  However, I was not involved in any follow up design or implementation.  This post reports on their experience that I thought may be helpful to others.]

According to Eric Bryant, Assistant Director of Communications & Marketing, the Hudson Valley Campus Chronicle has been well received.  I recently got a sneak peek at it & was impressed with how user-friendly it is.  So I asked Eric to share his experience in developing and managing the Campus Chronicle.

Lessons Learned

  • Employees were anxious for an alternative to streamline the all-campus e-mails they received, so getting buy-in for this e-newsletter was not as difficult as anticipated.
  • In getting employees to use the Campus Chronicle, it was important to convey that it’s THEIR publication – an open platform for information, not just top-down communication.
  • Those involved in the project worked hard to make it easy to navigate (so people would read it) and easy to submit information via template (so people would use it).
  • Recognizing some employees need extra hand-holding to become more comfortable in submitting information (especially those who are not web-savvy), Eric felt they could have been more proactive in providing training in this area.

For other communications professionals about to engage in a similar initiative to streamline all-employee e-mail communications, Eric acknowledged an ongoing effort in continually “tweaking” the newsletter to meet employees’ communication needs and continually promoting it.  He also advises being flexible and having some fun with it.

Thanks for sharing, Eric.  And I’d love to hear from others who have experience with this.

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Engagement Marketing Training & Development

2006: Recognizing A Special Anniversary

This new year is a very special one: 2006 marks the beginning of my 18th year in business as Quality Service Marketing.

Most small business statistics cite the first five years as being critical for survival, which is the reason I celebrate my business anniversary in five year increments.  But the number 18 has special significance for me – in Hebrew numerology, it represents “life.”  So I wanted to recognize this special year by acknowledging:

  • My clients (past & present) – I’ve enjoyed working with all of you, and it’s been an honor to serve you over the years, helping you with internal marketing & communications, marketing & strategic planning, and marketing & customer-focused training.
  • Special thanks to my long term relationships with Peg Portz & Jim Brown at Lehigh University’s Office of Distance Education; Pat Lawless at the Northeast PA Area Health Education Center; Ned Boehm at Keystone College; and Pat Goodrich, Lynn Brown & the rest of AMA’s professional development staff.
  • My colleagues – I’m fortunate to have a truly incredible network of marketing professionals & mentors whom I’ve relied on since starting QSM.  Time & space preclude me from mentioning everyone who’s helped me, but I need to acknowledge a number of special advisers (in no particular order): Frank Haas, Chris Bonney, Alan Kay, Toby Bloomberg, Len Berry, Steve Brown, Mike McDermott, Bill & Carolyn Neal, and Linda McAleer (she may not remember, but she helped convince me to start my business).  Special thanks, also, to my colleagues who continue to help make QSM look good: Glenn Wampole of Waitz Corporation and John Bartorillo & AJ Zambetti of Maslow Lumia Bartorillo Advertising.
  • Last (but certainly not least), my family and inspiration – my devoted husband, Michael (who’s still waiting for me to define success beyond professional & personal fulfillment. He loves to say, “Show me the money!”), and my wonderful son (and technological adviser), Jason.  I also need to acknowledge my mother, Ruth Fischman – a retired English & journalism teacher, who is still there for me when I need help with my writing.

Thanks to all for helping me reach this milestone 18th anniversary.  I couldn’t have done it without you!

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Engagement Marketing

Keeping Up with Employee Communication

My last post covered the results of a research study that found a distressing number of organizations failed to effectively communicate to employees the purpose of their jobs along with their corporate mission & strategy.

It’s not as if organizations don’t have enough communications tools to use.

Check out New Frontiers in Employee Communications: 2005 featured in Christopher Hannegan’s blog. Christopher heads Edelman’s Employee Engagement Practice.

Here are the key findings from Edelman’s survey on employee communication trends:

  • While in-person communication was found to be the most effective tool for general employee communications, it is not the tool most frequently used; i.e., cost-effectiveness does not equal communication effectiveness.
  • Communicators have a much greater awareness of new communication tools over the past year.  Despite high awareness of blogs and wikis, these tools aren’t being applied for internal or external communication.
  • Most standard communications policies do not yet include guidelines covering the new tools, notably employee blogs.  The absence of such guidelines puts companies and their blogging employees at risk (depending on blog content and tone).

Note: For more info on employee blogs, check out Edelman & Intelliseek’s white paper: Talking from the Inside Out: The Rise of Employee Bloggers.

Bottom Line

There’s no lack of available communication tools – both new and traditional – in organizations.  And there’s certainly no lack of content to be communicated.  The key is to focus on what employees need to know in order to do their jobs, apply the appropriate communications tools, AND find the right balance between too little and too much information.

Categories
Engagement Marketing

Companies Fail to Engage, Connect with Employees

Here are some scary statistics from a recent survey by IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) and Right Management Associates:

  • nearly half (48%) of 472 organizations surveyed acknowledged that their management failed to effectively communicate to employees the purpose of their jobs and their business mission and strategy
  • only 37% of those surveyed said their employees are effectively aligned with their organization’s mission and vision.

Talk about a disconnect!

Internal Marketing Fundamental

Effective communication is one of the basic precepts of internal marketing – to engage employees, an organization needs to communicate (at a minimum):

  • what the organization stands for (i.e., its mission, vision & values)
  • what its goals & objectives are (strategy), and
  • what is expected of employees in helping achieve the mission & strategy (where they fit in “the big picture”).

How can employees effectively help their organizations move forward if they don’t know where it’s going or what is expected of them?!

Consider this

I’ll avoid going off the deep end here (no wringing of hands or gnashing of teeth).  And I won’t waste time pondering the many reasons why this happens in organizations.

My question, dear readers, is this: where would your organization find itself in this survey? And if you think you’d be in the company of the 48% above, what will you do to improve your situation?

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Step 5

Now you’re ready to develop your resulting plan (building on the previous four steps).

Your ultimate plan will be reflective of your situation, corporate culture, and internal politics.  To give you an idea of what might be included in such a plan, here are some sample activities I’ve seen used to promote marketing:

  • Host a department “open house” so others within the organization can get acquainted with marketing & its resources.  (I did this in my earlier banking career, and it worked to the point that bank staff recognized the marketing department as more than “just the guys who blow up balloons at the branch openings.”)
  • Invite key people from other departments to your staff meetings to learn what marketing is doing and vice-versa.
  • Distribute an internal marketing newsletter or report to let other staff know what’s happening; e.g., share the latest on market & consumer trends, competitive analysis, product usage, customer satisfaction results, etc. (whatever is not proprietary or confidential).
  • Conduct mini-seminars or brown-bag lunches on marketing — feature subjects such as product development, pricing, understanding consumer behavior, etc.  (Better yet if you can afford it, spring for lunch or refreshments … an excellent incentive to encourage attendance!)
  • Participate in new-employee orientation.  (At the very least, make sure whoever is in charge of orientation covers the organization’s marketing/branding efforts.)

Following the five steps covered in this series can help you increase marketing’s awareness & visibility, increase your perceived value, and strengthen marketing’s relationships with others in your organization.

But what if, despite these efforts, your situation doesn’t improve?  The you can adapt this strategy to market yourself somewhere else!

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Step 4

For this post, we build on the previous three steps: understand your product value (Step 1), identify your target markets, and establish your positioning (Steps 2 & 3).

Step 4 involves assessing your internal communications to identify opportunities to build awareness and educate your target markets about marketing’s value:

  • How are you using the top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal communication channels within your organization?
  • What are the media vehicles available within each directional channel? (e.g., intranet, staff meetings, employee newsletters, etc.)
  • Are you using the appropriate mix to reach your target audiences?

When you do this assessment, you may be surprised at the opportunities you may be missing to reach your internal targets.

Say what?

And once you identify the communications vehicles you wish to use, what do you say?  Whatever is necessary to reinforce your value and positioning (as you determined back in Step 3).

My next post will wrap up this series with the final step involved in marketing marketing.

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Steps 2-3

Continuing in this series of posts, once you’ve determined marketing’s value, you need to identify your target markets (Step 2):

  • Who are the key targets within your organization that you need to reach?
  • Who do you need support from?
  • Who’s most critical to the marketing function?

You can also segment your targets by executive level, division/department, function, etc.

Now you’re ready for Step 3

Here’s where you determine your positioning — how do you want to be perceived by your target markets:

  • a strategic player?
  • contributor to the bottom line?
  • a necessary function?
  • professional?
  • responsive?
  • not a waste of resources? etc.

Your desired positioning should tie back to your product value (see Step 1) and be relevant to your target audience.  For example, you may want to be perceived as a “creative resource” within your organization, but that may not resonate with the folks in Finance (especially if they’re eye-balling the advertising budget for potential cost-savings).  However, the accounting-types might be more receptive to marketing as “not a waste of resources” or “advocate for customer loyalty & retention” (i.e., more bottom-line oriented).

My next post will continue with Step 4 — assessing your communications opportunities.

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Engagement Marketing

Marketing Marketing – Step 1

Based on my last series of posts, “CPR for Marketing,” here are the five steps to effectively market marketing (or whatever your function):

  1. Understand your ‘product’ value
  2. Identify your target markets
  3. Establish your positioning
  4. Assess your communications opportunities
  5. Develop your resulting plan; then implement & monitor.

In the 1st step, you need to start with the ‘big picture’ in terms of what your value is to the organization; i.e., what is it you really bring to the table?

There are several ways you can get at this, including doing a “feature & benefits” analysis of your function or department.  But my favorite starts with exploring the question “What if … ?”

What if marketing no longer existed in the organization?  What would be the impact?  (e.g., Would we be missed?)

You gotta be kidding

Granted these questions are not easy to answer.  But you better get over your discomfort and deal with these questions before someone else does!

This is not meant to be a negative exercise.  By taking the time to explore marketing’s value, you’ll build confidence in what you have to offer.  And you’ll also get a good sense of how much (internal) marketing you need to do.

In my next post, I’ll continue with Steps 2 & 3.

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Engagement Marketing

CPR for Marketing – Part 3

So what do you do if you’re in a situation where marketing gets no respect? (See my last post.)  Assuming the situation isn’t too far gone (i.e., resumes being updated & professional networks heating up), here’s what I advise.

Strategically you need to:

  • increase awareness & visibility of marketing within your organization
  • increase the perception of marketing’s value, and
  • strengthen relationships within your organization.

Think of it as internally marketing the marketing function (a different application of internal marketing as featured in this blog).

I know, I know … most people are surprised by this.  Don’t marketers automatically market themselves?

That thing about the shoemaker’s kids being barefoot

The reality is most marketers are so busy doing their jobs & whatever else has been heaped on them in this era of do-more-with-less, that it’s easy to neglect their own needs.

But just because you’re part of the organizational chart doesn’t mean that people know who you are & what you do!  So marketers sometimes forget they need to educate others within the organization as to what marketing really does.

Non-marketers: listen up!

Important note: while I’m addressing marketing here, the situation also applies to other fields as well.  Doesn’t matter if you’re in HR, IT, Finance, Operations, etc. … just substitute your function in place of marketing and read on.

I’ll continue this series of posts, but under a new name: Marketing ‘Marketing’ [or insert your particular function here] …