Visual Communications in Business: What is Internal Branding?

Internal branding is a "corporate philosophy that focuses on bringing the company's core culture, identity, and premise to its employees as well as its consumers, and usually looks to make workers at all levels "ambassadors" or true representatives of the company and its ideals" according to SmartCapitalMind.

Many companies have a great brand with a well-defined mission, vision, and values but fail to live those values as a company. Focusing on marketing, customer service, and sales as the main drivers of the brand leaves a considerable gap—employees at all levels of the organization work for the same company with the same brand. Still, many cannot articulate the company's mission when asked.

In that case, what are they coming to work every day for? Just for a paycheck? This is a problem as a high-level employee of a company that you believe in. You want all employees to feel in it and make daily decisions that lead to better company outcomes.

This can seem like a daunting problem when you already have a lot of the groundwork already in place. All you must do is take your brand that is already doing a great job with its external focus and turn it inward. In other words, you must start living and encouraging others to live the brand by quizzing employees at the beginning of every internal meeting on the mission, vision, and values, using brand colors throughout the office or in online tools, and bringing positive attention to decisions that are made that reflect the company brand.

Why is Internal Branding So Important?

Live Brand Values

When done successfully, internal branding empowers employees to bring brand values to live as true ambassadors. Focusing on external interactions leaves a big gap between the company and what it could be. Instead, focus on building a solid foundation of company values by exposing your employees and coworkers to them every day. At the start of every meeting, review the mission, vision, and bargains so everyone knows them by heart. When difficult situations arise, let the company brand guide you to the right decision that reflects the company's true nature. Lastly, treat internal employees and coworkers like external clients and customers so they can lead by example. Once everyone has the company brand engrained in their actions, building upon that foundation to provide exceptional customer and client service is much more sustainable.

Create Meaning

Not only will your employees and coworkers truly live the brand, but they will be empowered by knowing they are working for something greater than checking off their daily tasks. They will be working toward the company's vision, allowing them to be more creative in their solutions, produce better quality work, and have a more positive workplace experience. Creating a common language that all employees and coworkers can communicate around lays the foundation for great collaboration and better results as a company.

Attract the Right People

Once you have a great foundation built on your company's brand, you will naturally attract the right people in your recruiting and retention efforts. Workers who want to work for a company like yours and are passionate about the company's vision will apply when it is clear from everything you do, including past employee reviews online, that everyone at the company truly values and believes in the same thing. The important distinction of not just saying what the company does but genuinely living it can make all the difference when a great potential employee is evaluating their options. Attracting the right people leads to a deeper shared understanding of company values.

Top Internal Branding Tips

Here are some additional tips to help make your brand internally recognized and celebrated.

It takes effort, but before long, you will have a great foundation of employees living the brand that will spill out externally and lead to an even stronger overall company.

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