I was doing a bit of research today for a project I have been working on about the interconnect between brand and employee engagement and wanted to share what I found.
First, I have been a member of Chartered Institute of Marketing ever since I was head of Marketing and Services at Capital One Bank. They have recently formed an alliance with Thomson Reuters called the Marketing Leadership Transformation Forum. There is a wealth of more globally oriented thinking on the site including resources to help you build the next generation of customer experience management. As an example, check out the really great questions on page 6 of this report.
Another great resource from CIM is their excellent Marketer magazine.
One of the more difficult concepts to get right iin branding is getting employees to become brand engaged and – in the best cases – brand advocates. Social mission companies like Tom’s and Patagonia seem to have an easier time of getting this alignment. Zappo’s is currently the best-of-the-best example out there.
In building a great retail brand it’s my belief that employees are a major part of the brand strategy. I have worked with Interbrand in the past, but was amazed at all the Pay It Forward content on their site. First, there was a great webinar on employee engagement and five levers to consider. Second, both the global brands report and the the best retail brands report provide more than rankings – they provide insights on how to elevate your branding game. Every corner of this web site seemed to be a learning opportunity.
Have fun!
