Are They Buying It?

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There are 5 million* marketing books, articles, blog posts and tweets espousing the value of a compelling brand story – a powerful narrative that explains how your company solves problems, delivers solutions or is the best at whatever it is you do. Good storytelling is vital to customer capture and marketers use it because it works. (*estimate)

Subaru uses emotionally-engaging stories centered around their cars in their TV ads – I get choked up watching them. Now I own a Subaru because their compelling narrative is backed up by real-world performance, but it was the story that got me in the door.

So, you’ve developed your story, and you’re getting positive public feedback. That’s good! But wait, there’s a critical piece of this whole storytelling thing you have to get absolutely right or it’s not going to work.

You need to find out if your employees believe it. No really, do they?

Sell it Here, Sell it There, Sell it Everywhere

Your employees are your brand’s first consumers.  They’re also critical ambassadors who transmit your story to the world through their actions and interactions. They will either be evangelists or your most compelling critics.

If your employees believe in your story, clients will feel it at every engagement and touch point. If not, well, your clients will feel that too. And no, instructing your staff to believe in the narrative because you told them to doesn’t work. What it does instead is create cynical employees who undermine the company because they can’t support its false narrative.

A recent visit to two banks – a community-based credit union marketed as helpful and member-focused, and a large national with a polished story about client-focused service – demonstrated a stark difference. The credit union’s employees authenticated the narrative end-to-end with friendly, helpful service.

The large bank's employees told a story that diverged wildly from their marketing narrative. Surrounded by bright posters with catchy customer service slogans, the staff was argumentative and hostile to irritated customers who waited in long lines. At the end of one transaction the teller loudly admonished the client, “Well sir, if you had an account with us this would be easy.”

He answered, “After this experience, I don’t think anyone in this bank wants to have an account with you.”   

So, Do They?

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You need to really ask, and investigate, and accept honest feedback on whether or not your story feels true to everyone involved with delivering the narrative. Is it a genuine description of your values? Do your employees agree with your perception on that?

Posting copies of the story, vision or mission all over the office won’t convince your staff it’s true if the leadership are not demonstrating the values behind your brand’s story.

Walt Disney famously walked around his park talking to everyone – the man who swept the street, guests, cooks, ride operators and managers. He participated in delivering on his vision of a Magic Kingdom for everyone involved. His story was compelling, and he embodied its values sincerely – more than 60 years later, Walt’s vision is still shared across the organization and still engages guests in its narrative.

Sell your story as enthusiastically to your employees as you do your clients. Demonstrate the values you’re selling matter to you in every interaction, internally and externally, and your employees will too.

Go Tell It

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How you communicate and interact with your employees matters. Inspire your people to personify your brand values with each other first, then focus on external clients.

Take the time to ensure your employees’ engagement with your narrative is as authentic as you want it to be for your paying customers. When employees are on-board, they’ll go out and sell it for you with every post, tweet, talk and client interaction.