In our opinion internal marketing is almost as important as external marketing. It may be a cliché, but your internal staff are your business, they are a big part of your brand. It is important that each and every employee needs to understand the firm’s direction and vision and really believe and live the brand. A romantic statement, but if they are not passionate about your brand it will show in their work.
It is probably self-explanatory, however, internal marketing is about treating your staff as your customers and communicating clearly, selling the vision of the firm to them. You can take it as far as you want, but at the very least the firm’s strategic objectives and team strategies must be communicated and visible within the firm; this gives everyone direction – and something to be part of. Internal marketing offers the following benefits:
- It ensures that staff effectively buy in to what the firm wants to achieve and are more effective at what they do.
- Informed staff are usually “engaged” staff – there is a purpose to work for.
- Happy staff equals happy customers.
- Internal marketing helps firms deliver better customer service.
- Employees feel more motivated and experience higher job satisfaction.
- They are empowered to make decisions within certain guidelines and begin to feel more respected and valued for their contributions.
- This feeling leads to a greater sense of belonging to the “team” as well as responsibility and accountability to employers.
- Staff conflict wanes and people have better dispositions at work.
- Firms benefit from higher employee satisfaction and retention.
- Increased compliance with standards and protocols
Now, who wouldn’t want to work for a firm with a culture like the above? And what does it really require? Openness, flexibility, and a desire to do things better for better results. It is a mindset.
This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein.