You Asked Consumers What They Think, But What About Your Employees?
Successful brands are always thinking about things through the eyes of their target audience. They want to know what these consumers want and need, how they feel, and what will motivate them to move from customers to brand advocates.
Unfortunately, these same brands are not always giving their employees the same consideration.
Treating employees as stakeholders in your brand strategy can be a game-changer. These are the front-line representatives of your brand, so keeping a pulse on their understanding and engagement with your strategies is a vital part of upholding the experience you’ve worked so hard to design.
Your employees possess unique insights and perspectives. They understand the intricacies of your company’s operations, culture, and customer interactions. By involving them in brand research, you can uncover valuable, nuanced insights that can refine your brand positioning, messaging, and overall strategy. This internal knowledge is crucial for developing a brand that is not only customer-centric, but also deeply rooted in the realities of your organization.
Treating your employees as stakeholders in your brand doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are three easy ways to get started:
Ask: Organize focus groups with employees from a mix of departments, company tenure and levels and ask the hard questions about your brand. These sessions can provide deep insights and reveal fresh perspectives you couldn’t get from solely talking to customers. (It’s important here to have third-party facilitators so employees feel safe expressing honest opinions.)
Empower: Identify passionate employees within your organization and make them brand champions. Include them in brand ideation sessions so they can lead by example and gather peer feedback. Recognize their contributions.
Share: Make it a priority to keep the lines of communication open with your employees. Update them about brand research findings and how their input is being used to shape decisions. This transparency builds trust and creates a solid foundation for future brand engagement.
The benefits of involving employees in brand research can be significant. When employees feel their opinions are valued and that they play a critical role in shaping the brand, their engagement and morale significantly increase. In turn, this can improve the performance of the entire company.
Need help taking the next steps to include your employees in brand research? Let’s talk.
