The Intersection of Brand and Culture:

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1 The Intersection of Brand and Culture: Leveraging Engaged Employees as Brand Ambassadors Brand and Culture Are Interrelated Brand is more than a logo and a tagline. It is the experience that customers have with your organization, its products and its services. As the workplace changes and social media channels continue to blur the distinction between external and internal communications, the roles of organizational leaders continue to evolve. In a conventional business model, marketing owns branding and develops the external messaging while human resources guides internal communications, employee engagement, recognition programs, and other cultural initiatives. While it is perhaps easier for newer companies to establish an organizational structure with fewer functional silos and stronger partnerships between its leaders, an opportunity exists for all organizations to strive for the kind of greater collaboration that can result in mutual guardianship of both the brand and the culture across the entire enterprise. An organization s brand represents the combination of both rational and emotional customer perceptions and choices that are influenced by their personal interactions with the brand. A key touch point is the customer s interaction with the people who represent the brand an organization s employees. Employees have the ability to make or break the customer s brand experience which is why marketing, human resources, and all organizational leaders must actively collaborate on a more cohesive and pervasive strategy in order to ensure better alignment between the brand and the culture. At the heart of this partnership is a basic premise: brand is what your customers think of you and culture is what your employees think of you. Alignment of the two perceptions is both desirable and critical. Brands are created not only by marketing, but also by the attitudes and actions of employees and their ability to deliver a positive brand experience for the customer. It is no longer enough to have the best pricing, the cleverest packaging, the greatest innovation strategy, or the most profound advertising. An inferior corporate culture can quickly hijack the best marketing plans. In today s connected world, advertising and public relations can amplify the corporate brand, but they do not create it. As Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad, puts it, Advertising is a tax you pay on having an unremarkable culture. 1 Culture Fuels Brand Tony Hsieh, Zappos Chief Executive Officer, is bullish on the connection between brand and culture. As Hsieh puts it, A company s culture and a company s brand are really just two sides of the same coin. 2 Culture remains a high priority at Zappos and that strategy has handsomely paid Employees have the ability to make or break the customer s brand experience which is why marketing, human resources, and all organizational leaders must actively collaborate on a more cohesive and pervasive strategy in order to ensure better alignment between the brand and the culture. 1 Culture or Strategy? Five Rules to Make Sure You Have It Right. CPN Onpoint. Web. 6 August Erb, Marcus. How Zappos Creates Happy Customers and Employees. Great Places to Work Institute. Web

2 2 off for its brand. Zappos achieved over $1 billion in sales in its first 10 years in business and enjoys a strong rate of repeat customers, fostered in part by word-of-mouth marketing. Zappos frequently appears on billboards that rank organizations relative to employee engagement such as Fortune s 100 Best Places to Work. Zappos marketing plan is highly dependent on the strength of its culture; the company embraces social media as a means of broadcasting core values, and publishes The Zappos Culture Book annually to evangelize the positive impact that culture has on its brand. Zappos is an undeniable example of culture fueling brand. A robust culture is a byproduct of workforce engagement. Through its World Poll, Gallup systematically tracks and reports on well-being, leadership approval ratings, confidence in national institutions, employment rates, and other important issues affecting people s daily lives. In its Top 10 World News Findings of 2013, Gallup published its editors picks for the most fascinating new world discoveries of the year. Topping that list was the finding that, worldwide, only 13% of employees are engaged at work. Sixty-three percent are not engaged while 24% are actively disengaged and likely to spread negativity to their colleagues. On a positive note, this same study cited North America as leading the world in workplace engagement. 3 The importance of having engaged employees goes beyond culture and loyalty; it directly impacts business profitability. In fact, Gallup research has linked employee engagement to nine specific business outcomes such as higher productivity, profitability, and customer ratings that directly affect the bottom line. 4 Similarly, a 2012 study by the Aon Hewitt consultancy found that a one percentage point increase in employee engagement resulted in a 0.6 percent growth in sales. 5 Gallup s researchers studied 49,928 work units, including nearly 1.4 million employees. This latest iteration of the meta-analysis further confirmed the well-established connection between employee engagement and key performance outcomes: Customer ratings Profitability Productivity Turnover (for high-turnover and low-turnover organizations) Safety incidents Shrinkage (theft) Absenteeism Patient safety incidents Quality (defects) The importance of having engaged employees goes beyond culture and loyalty; it directly impacts business profitability. The study indicates that engaged employees rank high in performance while disengaged employees are more likely to have safety concerns, engage in theft, be absent, and /or produce lower quality work. These statistics are alarming, not only for the damage that disengaged employees can do to the bottom line but also for the havoc inflicted on company culture that then affects the brand experience. 6 An article by PeopleMetrics sums it up best, Disengaged Employees Create Disengaged Customers. We ve all experienced the salesperson who was aloof, the phone rep who was rude, and employees who badmouth the organization they represent in the presence of customers. PeopleMetric s research illustrates how these disengaged employees actually work against the organization: Negativity: An employee s negativity can certainly rub off on the customer. If the customer doesn t feel like the employee cares about that customer s needs, or even the business itself, the customer will quickly become hesitant to interact with the brand. Inability to Support the Customer: Similar to negativity, a disengaged employee is less likely to solve customer satisfaction issues. 3 Ray, Julie. Gallup s Top 10 World News Findings of Gallup World. Web. 27 December Sorenson, Susan. Don t Pamper Employees -- Engage Them. Gallup Business Journal. Web. 2 July Aon Hewitt s 2012 Trends in Global Employee Engagement. Aon Corporation, Web Sorenson, Susan. How Employee Engagement Drives Growth. Gallup Business Journal. Web. 20 June 2013.

3 3 Unwillingness to Go Above and Beyond: Disengaged employees are far less likely to put discretionary effort into their roles or expend the extra effort that is often required to make the brand experience positive. Negative Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Disengaged employees who deliver a negative brand experience may cause customers to share that adverse experience with others. And, social media makes it easier than ever to spread the word about a negative brand experience. 7 Social media is a topic of great importance to organizational leaders. Like it or not, employees and customers are totally in control of whether or not they publicize their feelings and experiences with the brand socially. What s more, the strength of social media grows daily as advertising-averse millennials gain increasing leverage in the workforce and marketplace. Given this added cultural factor, there has never been a more appropriate time for human resources and marketing professionals to align on the common goal of promoting and maintaining a positive brand experience both inside and outside of the organization. In other words, rather than spending time and money drafting and regulating organizational social media policies or dreaming up a hot new advertising campaign, leaders might, instead, put their focus on optimizing workforce engagement and fostering brand ambassadorship. Recognition Fosters Engagement Confirming similar findings from other industry studies, the Aon Hewitt survey also found that recognition was one of the important drivers of engagement for all employees in In fact, a Ceridian Pulse of Talent Survey of 1,000 employees revealed that 67% would like their company to offer nonmonetary compensation for well-done work. 8 Reward and recognition programs have evolved to handle the broad spectrum of employer/employee needs. Everything from peer-to-peer ecards to major travel incentives are available as a way to foster engagement and underscore an organization s brand. Incentive rewards are becoming more frequent and have become customized to fit today s mobile society. In truth, millennials have helped to drive the expansion of reward and recognition programs with their expectations for frequent recognition. 9 The best conceived brand management and marketing plans may fail if the people who comprise the workforce and occupy the frontlines for the brand are not engaged. A recognition program should reflect the brand s values and lay out a path for the behaviors that support the brand reputation and promise, says Susan Adams, Director of Engagement at Dittman Incentive Marketing. It is an important and effective way to communicate the brand message to and through employees. Brand Ambassadors and The Marketing Mix The traditional marketing mix consists of Product, Placement, Promotion and Price. These are the customary, tangible elements within the brand manager s toolbox. A fifth P should also be considered within the professional domain of marketing People. People strategies are among the intangibles that include the experience and relationships that customers have with the brand. Simply put, the best conceived brand management and marketing plans may fail if the people who comprise the workforce and occupy the frontlines for the brand are not engaged and cannot, or will not, deliver on the brand promise. More of our clients are paying attention to the fact that a total recognition program, and not just a sales incentive or service anniversary program, is a key ingredient for success, says Cindy Mielke, Vice President of Marketing at Marketing Innovators. It s critical to, first and foremost, communicate and then reward all employees to capture alignment with corporate goals. The ultimate goal is getting employees to think like owners and serve as brand advocates who work on behalf of the company s goals. Brand ambassadors are committed, connected, passionate, and highly trusted employees. According 7 How Disengaged Employees Create Disengaged Customers. Customer Experience Strategy Blog. People Metrics. Web. 5 May Ladika, Susan. Companies Recognizing Importance of Recognition: Rewards & Recognition Providers. Workforce. Web. 13 December Ladika, Susan. Companies Recognizing Importance of Recognition: Rewards & Recognition Providers. Workforce. Web. 13 December 2013.

4 4 to the 2013 Edelman Trust Index, Employees rank higher in public trust than a firm s public relations department, CEO, or Founder. Forty-one percent of us believe that employees are the most credible source of information regarding their business. Each and every employee has the capacity to influence and dictate the brand experience. 10 Brand is not necessarily what marketing says it is; it s what the employees and customers say it is. Thus, the brand promise cannot be dictated solely by the marketing team. It must be nurtured by a culture of engagement with the ability to deliver the promise. Employee behavior and engagement is a big reflection of the brand. It speaks volumes about the authenticity of the organization s value proposition. If an employee s experience within the organization is different from the promise made to consumers, the company won t get the buzz from its employees that it desires and could actually end up getting negative publicity at the hands of its own disengaged employees. If employees don t understand or don t believe in what the company says it stands for, why should customers? This is why marketing professionals have such a high stake in cultural-brand alignment and adding People to the marketing mix makes profound sense. Nurture a Culture of Collaboration, Inclusion and Recognition Peter Drucker is quoted as saying, Culture eats strategy for lunch. A positive culture allows the brand to thrive. Collaboration and recognition are paramount to a vibrant culture that yields brand ambassadors. Janet North, Director of Incentives & Recognition for Staples Promotional Products agrees. In the past, recognition and cultural programs were too often viewed as soft or feel good initiatives. I m seeing more organizations shifting this paradigm and leveraging employee recognition as a strategy to execute the business plan. The blending of cultural and branding objectives gives employee recognition added significance. Research supports the strategic value of recognition. According to Bersin & Associates, organizations that design and deploy strategic recognition programs realize a 14% higher employee engagement index score than those without systematic recognition. And, a 15% improvement in audience engagement can yield a 2% gain in operating margins. 11 Employees want to be part of a common purpose. Collaboration fuels that need. Not only should marketing and human resources align on branding, but employees should also be tapped for their insight, trained on the brand promise, coached on how to bring the brand to life, and rewarded when they do it well creating a culture of recognition and collaboration. Brand-Cultural Alignment Ideas Employee behavior and engagement is a big reflection of the brand. It speaks volumes about the authenticity of the organization s value. 1. Educating employees on the components of your brand, what it stands for, and how to represent it. Training should become a core component of the on-boarding process and should continue as the brand evolves. 2. Allowing employees to experiment with your products and services. This practice not only reinforces your goal of getting employees to understand the brand promise, but it also serves as credible insight that exposes potential inconsistencies with the brand promise that can be addressed proactively and more effectively than relying on customer feedback. 10 Aruda, William. Three Steps For Transforming Employees Into Brand Ambassadors. Forbes. Web. 8 October New Bersin & Associates Research Shows Organizations that Excel at Employee Recognition Are 12 Times More likely to Generate Strong Business Results. Bersin by Deloitte. Web. 7 November 2012.

5 5 3. Involving the workforce in marketing brainstorming sessions and conducting focus groups to gain employee perspectives on whether the intended messaging is relevant and genuine to the brand. 4. Clearly articulating core values, mission, and vision, and tangibly illustrating how employees might best represent the brand in real-world situations. This is critical to ensuring that the brand promise is executed consistently throughout the organization. 5. Specifying the importance of organizational leaders walking the talk and visibly living the brand. Inspiring action by defining the discrete employee actions and behaviors that represent alignment with the brand promise 6. Recognizing and rewarding employees when they successfully epitomize the brand promise. Creating on the spot or formal recognition programs that allow both management and employees to make nominations when they observe positive instances of the brand promise in action. 7. Better data with personalized information promoting preferred rewards that will help increase point redemption from programs. 8. Increased availability and use of peer-to-peer recognition tools. Brand Culture As brand strategist Christopher Betzer put it, Brand equity is the sum of all the hearts and minds of every single person who comes into contact with your company. Today, brand and culture are inextricably intertwined and the organizational leaders who are responsible for both must work in concert to ensure internal and external alignment. Systematic recognition and rewards fuel employee engagement, creating a framework for internal brand building. This provides a means for the brand and culture to come together. On the whole, brands can initially establish notoriety, but culture creates permanence and legacy. As co-founder and former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal put it, When employees are happy, they are your very best ambassadors. 12 This paper was created by the Recognition Council, a strategic industry group within the Incentive Marketing Association that educates and promotes the benefits of recognition and rewards to the worldwide business community. More information is available at 12 Gerard, Joe. Employee Relations Best Practices: Costco s Approach to HR I-sight blog. Web. 25 March 2010