Few business owners recognize this, but there are actually two facets of branding: There’s the brand you present to your customers, and there’s the brand you present to your employees (or potential employees).
Though many think that the consumer-facing branding is most important (after all, it’s what brings in the money, right?), in reality, that’s far from true. In the long run, it’s actually your employee-facing branding that’s most important by a landslide.
You see, it’s your employees who ultimately create, control and manage your consumer-facing brand. If your employee-facing branding doesn’t draw in workers that are well equipped to handle those tasks, then your consumer brand is set up to fail from the very get-go.
It’s a little confusing, but let me boil it down for you:
- Your employees create your brand – The branding you present to customers and potential buyers is ultimately devised and created by the employees you hire – the marketers, the designers, the executives, etc., that work for you. In order to be able to create a strong, effective brand, your employee-facing brand has to draw in new hires that have the knowledge and creative capacity to do that!
- Your employees manage your brand – Even once your consumer-facing branding has been established, your employees still play a huge role in how the branding plays out. They’re the ones who convey it through advertising and marketing efforts, they translate it into social media posts, and they promote it on customer service calls and in sales meetings. Your employee-facing branding needs to attract workers who share the values of your brand and are equipped to properly manage and promote your consumer-facing branding to others.
- Your employees control your brand – If there’s ever a need for a rebranding or new positioning, it’s your employees who will recognize that need and make that decision. If you want in-tune workers who can spot a lagging brand and devise creative, innovative ways to fix it, your employee-facing branding needs to draw in that type of talent.
It’s pretty simple when you think about it: You can’t create or promote a great brand without great employees, and you can’t get great employees without spot-on employee branding.
So what do you need to do to ensure your employee-facing branding is bringing in the right types of talent? I’ll do a full post on that in the coming months, but in a nutshell, you want to brand yourself as a great place to work – somewhere that fosters creativity, values hard work and innovation, and offers a rewarding, enriching atmosphere in which to spend the day. You want to steer clear of being just a “9-to-5” for employees and brand your organization as a place where workers can learn, grow and thrive for the long term.
How’s Your Employee Branding Doing?
What does your employee-facing branding look like? Is it drawing in the right talent to ensure your consumer-facing efforts are at their most effective? If not, it may be time to take a step back and reevaluate. Contact Haley Aerospace today for help.
