Why Building Your Brand Internally is More Important Than Ever
This article explores why building a strong external and internal brand is more important than ever. Whilst employees are physically surrounded by a brand when working together in one office, that tangible bond disappears when employees are working from home. A brand is only as strong as the people who deliver it - so now is the time for businesses to reinforce their brand to their people as well as potential customers.
During these challenging times, it may seem the right thing to do for businesses to regroup and shut out the world while starting to navigate “the new normal”.
For many businesses, colleagues are distanced from each other and customers locked down too. It might seem tempting to avoid investing in the future out of fear and uncertainty, but this could lead to losing focus.
Don’t just consider how your business is going to survive and thrive beyond the pandemic - focus on your people, too. Bringing together your employees as a single force to drive your business forward and come out the other side stronger will help your organisation to grow in the wake of the crisis.
Perhaps businesses feel brand focus and development isn’t a priority right now. It’s just something to be reinvested in at a later date. Now’s not the time to be short sighted. It’s more important than ever to build your brand both internally and externally.
Uniting your people
There is a dramatic increase in remote working, with many businesses predicting that this will fundamentally change how we work in the future. Therefore the importance of building a strong external and employer brand is paramount.
When your employees are working together in an office, they are literally surrounded by your brand:
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Physically surrounded by internal branded, from welcome signs through to office decor
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Immersed in your company’s products or services, constantly discussing your offering
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Directly connecting with other people within the business. How many physical meetings would your team normally hold in a week?
All this leads to a real feeling of being part of something. Take this away, and the tangible bond disappears. The focus becomes on completing tasks from home, rather than striving for excellence as part of a wider vision. Yes, teams will speak regularly to each other. But rather than walking past your brand identity each and every day, and being surrounded by physical representations of your brand, they’re more likely to have the kids’ finger paintings to look at, or the kitchen cabinets. Which don’t exactly immerse them in your business.
Home working can be a fantastic thing, but it does distance people from the brand they work within.
A brand is only as strong as the people who deliver it. Reinforce your brand to your people first and foremost, as well as promoting it to the outside world. Businesses can do this by putting their creative thinking caps on and investing in regular branded communication.
Use emails, personal videos from senior figures, virtual social events and regular internal community activity that will make people feel integrated into your business.
Continued communication is key for your external marketing, too. Don’t go quiet and allow your customers to forget you. How you handle these challenging times will no doubt be remembered for months, if not years, by your customers. Take the opportunity to show genuine kindness and concern, demonstrating your brand’s ethos and values where you can.
As any brand marketer will tell you - a brand is not just a logo or tagline. Your latest marketing campaign will come and go but your brand will remain indefinitely. It’s important to think long term, and not be distracted by trying to achieve quick wins.
Now is a great time to show colleagues what your brand stands for, its personality, and how it should be represented. The more your teams understand that, the more a part of it they will feel.
A strong brand is the foundation of any business. Powerful internal and external branding can be the virtual walls that bring your people together as one, when they’re not physically side by side. Your people will not only feel a positive connection to your business, but it will shine outwards and help your business thrive.