Educate All Your Employees to be Brand Ambassadors


By: Jude Carter

This may seem like a really dumb question, but think about it. We’re not talking about sales or customer service here. Those folks have to know what you do so that they can sell your products or services and keep customers happy.  But what about everyone else?

Maybe you have a standardized orientation for all new hires that does a great job of explaining what you do, who your customers are, why you’re in business and where they fit in. If so, you’re in the minority. More often, people are hired for their ability to perform a specific function. They’re thrown into the position and expected to get up to speed quickly. Soon they’re caught up in the day-to-day, with little time for, (or even awareness of) what is going on around them.

By correcting this, we stand to win in three key ways:

1. Better customer service
You don’t have to have “customer service” in your title to be touching customers. Anyone who has the opportunity to talk to, email or meet customers should have a basic understanding of the company. At each of those touchpoints they are influencing the customers’ view of your brand.

2. Improved employee engagement
When workers understand how their job fits into the company as a whole, they have a greater sense of pride, commitment and understanding of their work. They’re not just “doing a job”. They’re a part of the company.

3. More sales
If we empowered all our workers to find referrals for our products, we’d have a steady stream of leads. That can’t happen unless all of our employees understand what we’re selling and can explain it easily to people they know outside of work.

How are you improving workplace communication to mobilize your employees as brand ambassadors?

  • mark allen


    Your question is not so dumb! Franklin Covey's survey of some 26,000 workers found only 1 of 7 employees could state the company's top 3 goals for 2010. To me, that equates to 85% of companies who could see significant improvements to bottom line profits by addressing this.

    Your article reads, "we stand to win in three key ways", citing better customer service, improved employee engagement and more sales. May I suggest that is dramatically understating the benefits of having everyone know "what we are in the business of doing".

    To illustrate by analogy: Let's say you have a worker who's job is to dig a ditch and install pipe. If that ditch digger were to understand deeply their MISSION to provide flowing water, a whole new world of possibilities open up.
    1. The "lowly" ditch digger will become an ambassador on and off the job, enthusiastic about the new crops and lives the water service will enhance. Calling in sick and on the job injuries seem to magically go down.
    2. Meaningful conversations between employees ensue, uncovering new ways of installing pipe, better parts suppliers, ways around tree roots, conversations with owners suggesting to add more sprinklers to the pipe, more fun and teamwork between the workers, etc. (oh yes, better customer service employee engagement and sales)
    3. Employee competency goes up, increasing likelihood that new and more efficient ways of delivering water are discovered.
    4. The new-found competence of the ditch digger likely gets them re-hired and referred.
    5. The ditch digger's management team finds their job has become easier and less stressful.
    6. Seeing clear mission permeate the ditch digging company, it's investors want to invest more, maybe provide better shovels and improve work environments?

    Great challenge with your closing question. "What are you doing to mobilize your employees as brand ambassadors?" I hope readers recognize the raw profit potential and confront this need to get clear about their mission statements, and then really get enthusiastic about communicating vision and mission to their employees.

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