Your employees are in daily contact with external partners and customers. They are important brand touch points for your company. Awareness of the brand, its values and the resulting behaviour of your employees is the most important condition on the way to the brand ambassador concept. Employees should live the brand values whenever they are in contact with business partners, internally and externally. For example: one of the company's core values is trust. Customers must experience the feeling of trust, when they interact with an employee of your company.
From a brand ambassador...
Consistent brand training is the basis for brand awareness. Trainings are divided into three phases: Initialize (once for all employees), deepen (once for all employees with direct customer contact, such as sales or key accounting) and consolidate (all employees, annually). Within the training system, brand experience events are a special instrument. Events are addressing mainly the emotional level around the brand. On the way to become a brand ambassador, the emotional experience is more efficient and sustainable than the instruments based on a rational level. The consistent and continuous training of your employees will empower your brand from the inside out and it gives your employees a feeling of solidarity and familiarity with your company.
...to an active brand Influencer
In the next phase, selected employees can become brand influencers. These employees will use e.g. social media channels to publish positive, value-based stories and experiences from their daily work. For example: the implementing of an additional machine at a key customer can convey a positive message about the value of trust.
Employees must be trained first, to be sure they understand the impact and interrelationships of social media. It needs also clear rules and guidelines on how to create social media posts. A post can also be linked to the company's website or to a PR initiative to increase attention and reach. Ideally, there is a responsible person in the company for social media, who monitors the messages on social media and thus ensures that they remain in line with the brand values.
Communities - brand experience with added value
Communities are another way to actively engage employees as brand influencers. A popular possibility of communities are academies or professional groups which meet for courses and knowledge transfer. These academies and the associated events are driven by the company where employees from different areas interact with customers. These interactions are also important brand touch points. Social media can also be used here as a channel for spreading positive, brand-relevant messages. For example: a message (incl. positive testimonials from employees and customers) about a successful customer symposium.
Integrating employees continuously and actively into your brand management process is essential. Employee are not only part of the company, but also part of your brand! Employees must understand and live the brand with its vision and values. This enables you to achieve the desired image and impact in your business environment.
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