Internal marketing is one of the most complicated forms of marketing there is. It involves creating persuasive and informative messages that resonate with every department and employee within a company. The best way to conduct internal marketing in an effective way is to create a comprehensive plan.
For example, consider Wachovia, one of the five largest banks in America. The bank was formed in the year 2001 after two smaller banks merged, creating a large bank that suddenly had to create a brand identity for themselves and instill that identity in a much larger new workforce. To help them reinforce a company-wide image, they developed an internal marketing plan that has had positive results.
Benefits of Internal Marketing
Encourages employees in every department of the company to perform better
Empowers employees by giving them accountability and responsibility
Creates a common understanding of organizational goals and strategies
Places value on the employees contribution to the company
Helps non marketing staff to do their jobs with a marketing focus in mind
Improves employee development and customer retention
Integrates the organizational culture with the employees personal and professional needs
Allows different departments to coordinate and cooperate effectively
Information flows effectively between different departments
Employees understand the expectations placed on them
The first step of any plan is to identify clear goals for the internal marketing strategy. This could be anything from increasing awareness of a new marketing strategy to promoting brand awareness amongst employees. In the case of Wachovia, their goal was to provide superior and seamless customer service as they went through their merger.
Once the goals have been identified, plans can be developed to meet those goals. These can be complicated and comprehensive, or relatively simple. If a company wants to promote awareness of a new product they might deliver presentations at staff meetings. But if they need to fundamentally change the culture of their company they may need to add staff, reorganize departments, or develop new product lines.
In the case of Wachovia, exceptional customer service was their end goal. They did this by providing comprehensive training programs, and using new technologies to improve efficiency. Their staff was prepared to meet the expectations placed on them after the merger.
Before the plan is put into action, employees need to be educated on its aims and goals. Everyone in the company must know what the goals of the plan are and how they are going to be achieved. Companies will use departmental meetings, newsletters, corporate retreats and blogs to help disseminate this information.
The plan should be accessible to any employee at any time. This step is important because internal marketing focuses on creating awareness and focusing efforts. Employees should feel like they are participants in the plan and their feedback and ideas should be respected.
Many companies also offer incentives like bonuses or vacation days to help motivate employees to meet goals. Wachovia appealed to their employees by offering comprehensive maternity leave and benefits for families. They also made a concentrated effort to acknowledge their employees as the reason for their success.
After the plan has been put into action, professionals should closely track and evaluate results to determine whether the effort was successful or not. Many internal marketing efforts use surveys and employee feedback cards to gain a sense of how employees feel about the companies they work for. Wachovia developed their own in-house survey to track employees attitudes about loyalty, job satisfaction, and company policies. This helped them to align their brand message with their company culture. Today, Wachovia consistently earns the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any major bank.