Clients with tight budgets and even tighter schedules sometimes find it difficult to consider spending the time or money on an internal launch for new branding or marketing programs. That’s one of the biggest marketing mistakes there is. The people in your community are your organization’s most powerful ambassadors or its worst critics. Simply put, the return on your marketing investment will be greater if you have your community’s buy-in.

It’s never too early to start building buy-in.
When Mindpower begins a project, our first step is Discovery. That’s when we spend a few days onsite speaking with everyone who has anything to do with you. These visits provide us with valuable information we need to develop solutions that are authentic to your organization. They’re equally important for making your internal constituents feel that they’ve had a voice in the process.

Knowing that change is threatening to many people, there are a number of ways you can begin paving the way to consensus before Mindpower arrives.

• Be open with your internal audiences about the fact that you’re in the planning stages of a new branding or marketing program.
• Tell them why you think it is necessary and what you hope to accomplish.
• Invite them to participate in focus groups. Make sure they know that their input is important.
• When they do participate, follow up with a thank you.

Share the wealth.
When your new branding or marketing materials are ready to present, make a point of sharing them with your internal constituents before you make them public.

Your internal launch can be simple or elaborate.

Some of our clients have held campus-wide events with speeches, free t-shirts, and activities that support the brand or marketing experience. Others have been more understated.

• Recap how important their input was to the process and thank them again.
• Make sure they know how they can continue to make the new solutions a success, especially in the case of branding.
  For example: if your brand promise is excellent service, then you need them to think in terms of how they will deliver excellent service in every aspect of their daily activities. (If we’ve done a good job uncovering your authentic brand, then that shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for most of your community.)
• Give them whatever tools they need to be good ambassadors.
  • Do they need follow up sessions with your marketing department to help them follow the new plan?
  • Do they need talking points, so they can clearly articulate the message?
  • Do they need graphic elements, such as logos, so they can produce consistent materials?

Every organization will be different. The point is to include your community in marketing efforts so they will know what’s going, feel like they’re a part of it, and know how they can help make it a success. Be open to what your community needs and creative with the solutions.

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Posted on August 30, 2010 at 5:51 am
Filed under: Branding,Marketing