Every company wants their employees to be good representations of their brand when they're on the job. However, it's even better when your employees are bonafide brand ambassadors who praise your company and act as walking advertisements even when they're off the clock. Turning your employees into brand ambassadors isn't about forcing them to meet sales quotas or to bring in a certain number of new customers a month. In fact, these kinds of tactics can lead to employees resenting your business and effectively turning them into the very opposite of brand ambassadors.
Instead, turning your employees into brand ambassadors is all about creating genuine enthusiasm amongst your team. When an employee has an honest love of the company they work for, it shines through to just about every person they encounter. There are many tactics you can use to create a sense of enthusiasm and happiness in your workplace that will translate to employees who love where they work. Here are some of the best techniques for turning your employees into brand ambassadors who will help to positively market your business, even when they're not on the clock.
Know Your Brand and Know It Well
You can't expect your employees to properly sell your brand to others if you don't even have a clear idea of what your company's brand really is. Marketing is the process of actively trying to raise consumer consciousness about your company and product, while branding involves deciding the tone and feel that your company wants to convey. According to Click Consult, one of the main reasons why businesses fail is that they rush into marketing before they've really branded themselves. Remember, you can't expect your employees to become brand ambassadors if your company's brand isn't clear in the first place.
Decide what your brand is, and set a firm brand guidelines. This entails asking questions about how you want to make your customers feel. For example, if you're a cosmetics company, your brand could be girly, trendy and young. If you sell power tools, then perhaps your brand is edgy, bold and somewhat masculine. Once you've established your brand, do everything you can to make it clear to your employees. Perhaps decorate your facilities in a manner that reflects the same branding that you try to convey in your marketing and advertising efforts. If you ensure that your employees understand your company's branding and the message that you want to convey, they'll have an easier time of becoming brand ambassadors.
Improve Morale and The Enthusiasm Will Follow
If your office is a dreary space where employees rarely get a break and are always over-scheduled, don't expect anyone on your team to become a brand ambassador anytime soon. Employees only promote their employers when they genuinely like where they work. You don't have to create a playground atmosphere where nothing gets done, but you should foster an environment where people are happy and not under so much stress that they grow to resent you and your organization.
While some may roll their eyes at team-building activities and excursions, they can truly be useful in helping to improve the morale of your employees. Consider scheduling one event a month that is just about team-building and camaraderie. It can be as simple as a catered lunch on Friday or as elaborate as a dinner featuring a keynote speaker. It's also a good idea to put up a suggestions box and to have an open-door policy as a manager. When employees feel like they can easily communicate with management, they're more likely to enjoy their jobs. When you work to create an environment where people are genuinely happy to show up to work every day, your employees are sure to become enthusiastic about your company and your brand.
Give Your Employees The Tools They Need For Promotion
If your employees genuinely like your company, they may very well give you some free word-of-mouth advertising. However, if your employees have to resort to word-of-mouth marketing, then you aren't doing your job to make this task easier for them. Plus, word-of-mouth isn't the most effective tool for marketing your brand. As a manager, you want to create a situation where your employees have a wide array of tools at their disposal that they can use to market your brand. This starts with ensuring that every employee has a branded business card that features your company's logo prominently. This is a simple way to ensure that your employees are consistently encouraging the awareness of your brand.
If you want to take it a step further, invest in some branded merchandise and promotional materials that all of your employees have access to and can easily hand out whenever they meet someone who they believe could be a potential customer. Items like t-shirts and stickers are a great way for your employees to show off your logo even when they're off the clock, serving as walking advertisements for your business. If your employees genuinely like your company, they'll be more than happy to don company-branded gear, even on their own time.
Encourage your employees to maintain social media accounts that are linked to your business as well. Social media is one of the modern business world's most powerful marketing tools, so make the most of it by letting your employees network and connect with new potential clients on popular social media platforms. This can also have a good effect on SEO results for your site, as your company mentions spread online. Don't fall into the trap of being overly controlling about what your employees say and do online. The average employee will typically practice good judgment when they know that they are representing their company. If you trust your employees and give them a bit of freedom, they will appreciate it and be much more eager to enthusiastically market your company.
Turning your employees into brand ambassadors isn't about forcing them to meet quotas. Instead, it's about drumming up genuine excitement for your company and fostering an office environment where employees truly love what they do. If you can accomplish this, then your employees are sure to act as walking advertisements for your company wherever they go.
