Employees are good at performing usual business chores. Perhaps, you already know how vital their role is in building a strong brand image. As a brand, we think about success, develop plans, design marketing strategies, and spend good money on advertisements but forget how powerful an asset lies among our resources i.e. brand advocates.
One of the safest concepts to building a strong brand is valuing employees and developing enough confidence within them that they begin to feel a part of something bigger than a brand – a family.
Begin motivating those you already have. Employees will most certainly be your first resource. They are normal beings with connections online and offline. As a brand, you are the only one responsible for how effectively you manage to get into their network.
Motivate them if their energy is too low to produce desirable behavior – sending referrals, sharing on social media, recommending your brand to their acquaintances. Develop them into brand advocates so that a successful brand advocacy program can be built.
Would People Believe A Company’s Employee?
Very often, they would and sometimes would not. That is how a marketing strategy or even a big-budget advertisement works – clicks with some, doesn’t with others.
Imagine a situation where a brand’s employee doesn’t use its products. So, let’s say employee X works with cell phone company Y but uses company Z’s cell phone for personal use.
It is highly unlikely that people who get to know this would go further to buy a cellphone from Y. Only an employee knows the quality measures its company takes in developing a product. A recommendation from a trustworthy employee advocate does contribute to building the right brand image.
To build trust within employees, it becomes imperative the senior management live the brand and set an example for others in the company. It goes a long way in detailing the success grid.
A brand’s goal is achieved even if one out of many brand advocate recommendations succeeds in fetching a lead. Think of it in terms of how much it cost you.
Encouraging an employee may not involve any cost a lot of times, which is just one of the many benefits of engaging your employees as advocates in your brand advocacy program.
Empower your employees. Inculcate within them a sense of ownership. Make your brand a part of their life, so they actively help your brand achieve goals.
And did I forget to mention employees serving as brand advocates stay with the brand and help longer?
