Look back a year or two, see how mainstream milieus have changed around you. Those sleek and smart music videos or TV soaps now look jaded, your superstar’s hair style looks old, those fashion statements are no longer in vogue. Add to that the super power of disruptive technologies, the most trusted mobile phone brand’s free fall continues, world’s favourite news magazine goes into oblivion, social networking services that everyone loved either dies or hides into internet scraposphere (that’s a new word, I just invented…scrap + stratosphere = scraposphere…:-)). So much so, your email address can shame you to no end or make you look old, dumb, computer illiterate and less job worthy (these are perceptions.)
Modern day technology companies are propelled by people who are early adopters (mostly) or early majority consumers and they are marketers’ dream demography. They may fall in C2 category but their aspirations will make them buy a product slated for grade A (Reference: Demographic classification method).
Internal communication is all about acquiring employee mindshare in this extremely cluttered ever changing media landscape in favor of the organization. High employee awareness surrounding the employer brand holds immense importance.
The goal of internal communication marketing is to have employees think of their employer brand, its vision, its image versus identity, mission, objectives, CSR, environmental sustainability, innovation, employee friendliness, best practices, equal opportunity, ethical standards, inspiring management, market success, financial strength etc. ahead of competitors. The moot question is, does the employer brand resonate better than its competitors in the above mentioned matrices?
Employees’ purchase decisions coupled with media propaganda routed through their self-bought channels act as deterrent in gaining this eluding mindshare. In this age of information overload, it is especially true in the inbox, where an employer brand has to battle with more interesting (content wise), mightier and unrelated competitors.
The biggest challenge for an employer brand is to be at the forefront of employees’ minds with a unique and distinct identity that sets it apart from other brands. The innovation is one important key to successfully building a sustainable employer brand through tried, tested and exciting new channels. This should be followed up by brand’s resonance, (the emotional connection an employee has with the brand) as well as a brand compass scorecard (the brand’s progress along four different dimensions: trusted, remarkable, unmistakable, and essential).
I would advise these 3 steps to win mindshare and influence
- Determine the mindshare you want to win.
- Create a brand strategy that embodies the mindshare you seek to own.
- Use a systematic approach for all your employee engagement activities.
Image courtesy: Top left: Heye GmbH, Munich, Germany created this print advertisement for McDonald.