The term ‘brand’ should be reclaimed, ‘rebranded’ even because in today’s highly competitive market the best companies are realising that branding means so much more, according to Andrew Stothert, CEO at Brand Vista, who draws his conclusion from years of research carried out by the organisation Brand Vista. The research clearly demonstrates that employees and customers have changed their behaviour over the years. Stothert explains that rather than blindly believing the spin, they are now waiting and watching, seeing how the company or brand actually behaves. They bide their time and ask themselves: “does the experience match the promise?”, making a truth out of that old saying – actions speak louder than words. This employee and customer experience process is where ‘the new era of branding’ battles are being fought, and new organisational adjacencies are being actively developed – where cross-functional teams work on providing sustainable and consistent customer experience.

To support his reasoning, Stothert refers to Pets at Home, the UK’s largest pet shop, which the UK’s Sunday Times lists as one of the top 100 best places to work. Stothert explains that the ethos of this company works brilliantly inside as it does on the outside, with the real point of difference being the experience the brand delivers through its people to its customers – they clearly know what it is doing, how it does it and why. They all share the same set of values that are understood not just in their store but also at head office and in the warehouse. What is more is that they crucially understand how to bring those values to life for themselves and their customers, rather than just reading them on the wall. Stothert also makes reference to other organisations that have been successful in this aspect and these include the London Eye, the Merlin Group, which is the parent company behind Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds.

Brand Vista’s research demonstrates that out of 15,000 employees, 92 per cent know and believe in what they are delivering, 92 per cent are aware of the values and 96 per cent are clear about what they are expected to do. Other Merlin Group data shows that 94 per cent of employees are happy to go the extra mile at work when required and The Merlin Engagement index shows that 86 per cent of permanent staff and 88 per cent of seasonal staff would recommend the company, are committed and are proud to work there. In this regard, Stothert comments: “In the new era of branding, your talent is as big a contributor to delivering competitive advantage and differentiated positioning as any advertising – after all your people will meet and interact with more relevant customers, more often than an ad can ever do and customers will remember great or rubbish experiences a lot longer than they remember any ad! In fact, we have a phrase that we think all HR professionals should keep in their minds when talking about customer experience delivery. It is based on over 20 years of talking to customers about their experiences and working with professionals who have a real passion for delivering great customer experiences. The phrase is ‘the insides of an organisation always leak out’ – you can’t stop it, it will happen.”

“The key to getting great staff leaking out so often lies in the hands of HR professionals and how they marshal and inspire the talent of the organisation – it could be argued that HR and operations are the real custodians of sustainable brand promise delivery and should be encouraged to not shirk the challenge,” he maintains.

Hence, in this new era of branding it becomes crucial that HR aligns its employees around the brand of the organisation. Prophet, a strategic consulting firm specialising in business and brand strategy, explains that the reasons to align employees around the organisation’s brand are straightforward and difficult to dispute: It provides a tangible reason for employees to believe in a company, which keeps them motivated and energised; it allows each employee to see how he or she fits into the grand scheme of delivering the brand promise to its customers and the effect of these efforts on business goals; it develops a level of pride tied to fulfilling the brand’s promises; it facilitates recruiting as well as retention, and finally, it confirms that the customer and the brand are the things to focus on.

In its guide “Brand Assimilation – Aligning employees around your brand”, Prophet explains that for organisations to develop brand advocates, their first job must be to generate excitement around the brand and demonstrate the company’s thoughtful commitment to it. Businesses must then present a persuasive and convincing argument about the value of the brand and ensure that employees understand the impact of the brand and its positioning on their individual activities. If organisations do this well and reinforce it consistently, over time employees will begin to live the brand, instinctively, naturally, and with an ever-increasing fervour. The brand becomes an old friend to them, someone they are proud of and want to defend and protect.

Unfortunately, however, the reality still exists in some organisations that while they recognise the value of a powerful brand, they often overlook the critical role employees play in shaping relationships with customers and instead focus solely on external communications such as advertising, direct mail, and the like. Companies that focus their efforts solely on marketing communications are not only failing to fully capitalise on the knowledge and enthusiasm resident within their business, but may be also setting themselves up for brand and business challenges ranging from disenfranchised customers to loss of shareholder value.

According to Ulrich, HR leaders embody the brand of the organization. And, because HR leaders and professionals are in touch with everyone at every level of the organisation, they are in a position to make sure the brand is reflected in all HR talent practices, including staffing, training, and communication.

As such, Stothert concludes: “The truth of the matter is that in today’s connected customer world, brands are not purely the responsibility of the marketers. They need to seek out effective collaborations with HR in order to help focus the talent of the organisation and deliver consistent and sustainable brand promises. This is the challenge that gets my colleagues and I out of bed in the morning and the results can be extraordinary, from improvements in employee and customer satisfaction and customer retention to repeat business and improved cost efficiency of delivery.”

“Whatever your sector, HR and brands need to get up close and personal, because without the talent of the business on board, brand promises will remain unfulfilled and customers will naturally look elsewhere for brands that actually do what they say they are going to do. So be a part of the new era of branding and make sure your people are helping to keep, not break, your brand’s promise - otherwise your company might be branded by your customers in ways you will end up paying a real price for,” Stothert maintains.

Ms Camilleri is a researcher at the Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD)