Internal Marketing

I talked with a business guy yesterday about communication. He specializes in internal communication- that is communication which is important for employees to not only have access to, but be attuned to pay attention to. What was also interesting was that his company did marketing, and I realized this communication is a form of marketing. You need the consumers (your employees) to buy the product (put the policy into practice on the front lines).

This is a common problem with large companies- the disconnect between the ivory tower (corporate headquarters making the decision) and the front lines (who actually have to put those ivory tower concepts into practice)!

Keep in mind- the Ivory tower is often seen as out of touch with the front lines. There’s a reason that “Bullshit runs downhill” is an adage- because seemingly asinine proclamations are handed down by people the front line people have never met from a headquarters they’ve never been to. Add to the fact that customers (bless their hearts) can frustrate the hell out of the best of us, and you get the ultimate recipe for feeling disenfranchised and skepticism – and skeptics are the worst targets for marketing.

Keep in mind- they have some incentive to put the policy into practice – performing well at their job, but do you want someone who grudgingly adopts a policy- or someone who is enthused, energized and buys into it?

Client Service Reps or front line workers (including sales staff) have the biggest impact on the B2C experience- more than any multi-channel global million dollar ad campaign ever can. Taking a fraction of your operating budget and putting it towards a campaign to target your employees and get them excited about new products, services, policies, or offers will not only impact your bottom line from a experience quality perspective , but a cost perspective as well.