the induction process . Any change or introduction of new products should be clearly communicated to employees as the first line customers and default brand ambassadors .
I believe that principles of marketing should be imparted to all employees whether they are customer-facing or at the back office . The role of the employee within the modern workforce is now more important than ever before . While they still must take on traditional roles whatever their part is , the employee also needs to become a brand ambassador to convey the value of a service or product of the company to the customer . This is because employees are the most trusted source of truth about how our company works .
If we want to tell the story of your company , employees will be the best storytellers . By getting employees to become brand ambassadors , it validates that the company has something great going on within its culture . It ' s more authentic and believable when it comes from actual employees .
As the person heading the marketing function , my role has been to curate content that staff can easily share within their circles . I have provided inspiring promotional products and quality branded clothing that team members want to use and wear in their everyday life . With the advent of social media and as employees we all have social media accounts , how many of us have shared what has been posted in your company official social media handles with our friends ?
It is very critical to make employees understand that marketing is an approach to business that places the customer at the center of all business activities and focuses on satisfying customer needs and wants . The idea that " great products sell themselves " is simply not true .
In many companies , a mediocre product or experience is covered up by flashy , creative marketing that gets enough customer attention that they try the brand at least once . They might not actually like the product or service , but the marketing is enough to entice people to try it and maybe even repeat their business . Are our products and services strong enough on their own that customers would be satisfied to recommend them and keep coming back ?
The focus of marketing has changed from emphasizing the product , price , place , and promotion mix to one that emphasizes creating , communicating , delivering , and exchanging value . Value is a function of the benefits an individual receives and consists of the price the consumer paid and the time and effort the person expended making the purchase .
Everyone has an opinion about marketing and how it should be done . We welcome such , nobody would dare comment on how finance or IT departments are doing stuff . This places marketing at the core of all activities that take place in an organization .
As an employee , my parting shot is that we should always strive to take part in whatever is happening around our organization , share that post , wear that t-shirt on Friday , and embody the brand that feeds you .
Geoffrey Sirumba is a Brand and Marketing Practitioner , currently working as the Head of Marketing at Metropol Corporation Limited . You can reach him via email at : Geoffsirumba @ gmail . com or @ geoffsirumba on Twitter .
72 MAL41 / 21 ISSUE