In an organization, several important things help keep employees on board and performing. Employees factor in the compensation they get, the workload they have to do, their work relationships, the office and establishment itself, as well as the allowance for a healthy work-life balance. The following demands are all making countless ripples and are slowly making progress. Since 2019, a Gallup report showed a slow and steady improvement in how employers are taking employee retention seriously.
While that is indeed good news, there is one factor that not many companies are aware of, especially small-medium-sized enterprises or SMEs. It is something that naturally attracts talents to work for you. It also glues your internal team together, promoting loyalty, and even helps your marketing team with sales strategies.
The answer? Corporate branding. See, hiring digital heat transfer services to provide your staff with their very own corporate uniforms can do wonders for your employee retention and even boost productivity. So, don’t underestimate these small but substantial efforts.
In this article, we will talk about what corporate branding is, why it is important, and what you can do to achieve it. From establishing a brand bible, preaching your vision and mission, to giving out company merch to your staff, let us get started!
What is corporate branding?
When discussing branding, people usually associate it with marketing collateral such as logos, slogans, posters, etc. While they are not mistaken, corporate branding is more focused on your employees embodying what your products and services are preaching. Corporate branding is having your brand ambassadors in your staff. In a nutshell, it refers to the brand name promotion of your organization to your staff.
Why is it important?
Having a consistent and coherent visual expression of your brand promotes awareness among your customers, partners, and employees. Positive reinforcement of your brand image will be etched on their minds and strengthen your chances to stand out from the sea of competitors.
Your customers associate positive experiences with your company’s visual representation. From the mere sight of your company’s striking logo, people could and would be encouraged to try you out and trust your services. It could be due to a positive interaction with your team in their dashing corporate uniform, making your brand image more memorable.
Having a strong brand identity removes vagueness from your marketing equation. When your internal team is consistent with what you want to convey, your company will have everything it needs to market a coherent branding and message, resulting in a strong online presence that forms a community of loyal customers.
With that said, your employees play an important role in keeping a successful branding image. Your staff needs to know how to represent your organization in every business interaction and even outside work. A team that understands your vision and mission inside out will be ready to avoid marketing mistakes and misrepresentation issues. With proper corporate branding, your staff can be your representatives who can even stand in your stead at times.
How can you achieve it?
Now that you have learned the importance and the benefits of strong corporate branding let us discuss how you can achieve it. Well, first things first, you need to answer these branding questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you want to do?
- Who is your target market?
You cannot expect your employees to live by your company’s values without having a clear identity and direction. You can do this by having a brand bible that would help you remain consistent. When you feel like your company’s direction is being led astray, go back to this bible and remember your whys.
Finally, visualize it and implement it. Sixty-five percent of people are visual learners, and that is why you need to put out your brand image everywhere. Instilling your vision mission will hit differently if you have visual representations all over your office. We don’t mean overdoing it with murals but incorporating it with your office design. You can hire services to redesign your whole office according to your brand colors.
We have also mentioned providing your employees with corporate uniforms and merch that they can use. Not only does it boost their morale, but it can also be a form of marketing strategy. Just think what happens when your staff goes home in commute; people will see your brand and even remember it!
Corporate branding doesn’t count as a company priority sometimes. However, when you pay enough attention to it, it can help you improve your employee retention rate and even help you market your brand better.
