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Brand promise can win customers. Keeping them requires delivering on that promise.
Historically, branding work has focused on the external communication and support of the brand, creating the image, and defining and delivering the promise. In a relatively stable business environment, that usually worked. Organizations had time to figure out how to consistently deliver on their brand promise, adjust to changes in the marketplace, or correct errors. However, in an environment where change is the norm, and time to respond or recover is very limited, internal branding requires the same attention as external branding.
The results of internal branding efforts have been mixed, but some successes are worth noting. Take for example an airline that introduced a new approach to customer service by focusing on the special needs of its passengers, especially business travelers. This helped the company build a reputation for service that far exceeded its expectations. Competitors quickly tried to copy this by going so far as to measure the seats in the airline's business class and change color schemes in their planes. Their efforts missed the mark, however, because their changes were limited to visible features of the service and not to the cabin crews and ground staff who actually deliver the service.
Similarly, a real estate management company has created a new branded service offering based on input from its tenants. The company treats its renters like they are part of a community and gets its staff involved as well. As a result, the company is producing profit margins twice the industry average.
A bank, which has recently begun an internal branding effort, already has improved its understanding of the brand promise at all levels of the organization. Managers are making changes that influence delivery of the promise, and employees are engaged and energized because they understand the positive impact they can make.
These organizations and others are "raising the bar" for their industries by visibly making good on solid brand promises-delivering what customers value. Four critical factors distinguish these internal branding efforts. All three companies have (1) clarified their brands internally; (2) aligned leadership, management systems, and work process with the specific business values and practices that deliver value to customers; (3) enrolled employees in the internal branding effort;...