Develop brand ambassadors internally with ESN

Dayle Wheeler, founder of ModernBusiness, says, "In rare cases, the CEO of the company can also reach almost cult-like celebrity status, such as the late Steve Jobs of Apple, but the average SME still needs to establish a name for itself, its service or product, without a major ad budget or a celebrity CEO.

Marketing from the inside out

"Companies already have their most valuable advertising assets: their own employees. Marketing needs to happen from the inside out and their workers are their company's best brand ambassadors. They are essential to conveying the brand's message to the world."

A great way to accomplish this is through enterprise social networking (ESN). "ESN is basically internal social networking on a platform where ideas can be shared between employees working across various departments. It is catching on worldwide, as companies realise how much value it holds in terms of fostering collaboration and innovation.

Wheeler, who has launched an ESN - aptly called 'ideas' - says apart from sharing information companywide, it also allows a company's marketing department to 'test-drive' campaigns among co-workers first before sending it out into the world.

Successful US application

Even those major corporations that do have huge ad budgets are realising this. In order to win back consumer trust in financial institutions following the major banking crashes on Wall Street in recent years, one Fortune 250 insurance and annuities firm in the US, Lincoln Financial, rolled out a TV campaign during Thanksgiving last year. Called 'You're In Charge', the empowering message it hoped to convey was to let consumers know that they are in charge of their own financial futures.

Before publically launching the campaign, it empowered its employees too. It enlisted the help of some of its employees to spread the campaign at its various operations across the US.

Not only did the tactic serve to spread the word among workers and get them enthusiastic about the campaign, but also it simultaneously allowed the company's marketers to 'kick the tyres' and evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, allowing them to tweak it and iron out any possible wrinkles before the public reveal.

"Getting employees directly involved in something as crucial as one's company's brand image empowers them. This in turn will strengthen the entire company, because when one's employees genuinely believe in the product or idea they are selling, consumers will buy it too," concludes Wheeler.

For more information, go to www.modernbusiness.co.za.