If you took a gander at my last article outlining the fifteen things to watch out for regarding your brand, you might be surprised to learn that there are other benefits along the road to a focused corporate brand.
The biggest might be employee satisfaction. Many times management leads by pushing down to subordinates. “It’s my company, I’ll choose direction”. When you decide to address brand issues, it is best to do this from a team perspective. This way you will gain a deeper glimpse into the inner sanctum of your company’s personality profile. Have you had the experience of holding a sales meeting and one of the recommendations pushed forward requested more sales staff inclusion? This is a cry in the dark – a symptom of a brand in trouble. Sales are the front line infantry of your brand. They take the heat and have to suck it up when the sh*t hits the fan.
Turning front line sales people into advocates for the company will absolutely empower them. Before, when decisions were made without their input, it resulted in adversarial rule. By gaining their trust and implementing their recommendations you show them that their opinion counts for something. The fact is you know your company the most from an operational point of view. You are it’s visionary. You are passionate about the corporate brand and your stake holders look to you for leadership. Front line sales are those people who make the money for the company and therefore have a keen insight into the overall relationship the company has built with key customers and suppliers.
HOW you address brand issues is every bit as important as WHEN you should address them. Keep your mind open to unique insights from key people who have an impact on your organization. There is a reason many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs recruit people smarter than themselves – they make it possible to be great!
Put front line sales on your branding team, develop some of their ideas and watch your brand and their attitude flourish. It’s a strategy for success and nobody has to get hurt.
