One of your most valuable tangible assets will be brand-passionate employees, authentic storytellers who spread your message and personify your values, and help you cultivate brand equity. Starbucks, for example, is often cited as a successful inside-out brand culture. At the Starbucks stores, you can actually see the employee buy-in, positive customer-employee dialogue, and on-brand behavior. In other words, you see the brand personality and style reflected in the employees.
The more internal brand champions you have, the stronger your brand will be.
Successful internal branding starts with the involvement of the CEO and senior management and trickles down. Brand champions help make the brand relevant for their colleagues. They do not have to be senior managers. They do not have to be experts on branding. Their most important qualification is enthusiasm.
The idea of brand begins to resonate with employees when it begins to affect the way they do their everyday work. They must be inspired by the brand and see the benefit of engaging with it. Brand champions deliver on the brand promise on a day-to-day basis. Brand champions transform the brand into something that has meaning for the whole company…and ultimately for the customer.
Every customer brand experience has a defining moment that will determine how a customer responds. Mapping a complete customer brand experience will help you identify every possible opportunity for a human-to-human customer connection.
Faulty internal branding results in weak connections, and conflicting brand messages are almost guaranteed. An authentic brand is a consistent brand.