In Ty Montague’s book, “True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business” (2013 Harvard Business Press), he argues that “the best-run and most successful companies convey one clear, understandable story through every action they take, not solely through their marketing.”
When there is true alignment between the vision, mission, values and corporate messaging, companies are able to deliver a compelling and consistent customer experience.
Montague’s advice?
“Make understanding and telling your company’s story both a shared responsibility across the whole organization and a core value of the company. If you do this, you — and your shareholders — will reap the rewards.”
With increasing levels of competition and the increasing velocity of change, there has been a recent surge in interest in organizational change programs and >internal marketing campaigns that link “what’s on the inside” (i.e., vision, mission, values) and “what customers experience on the outside” (i.e., messaging that validates the vision, mission, values and informs external marketing and communication efforts).
Because the leadership team, in partnership with human resources, typically owns the creation of the vision, mission and values, employees often experience a disconnection between the corporate values and the corporate messaging. Yet employees must have buy-in to internalize them emotionally and intellectually — heart and head. The stronger the connection and consistency between these components, the stronger and more positive the customer experience will be.
When employees fully embrace the corporate vision, mission and values, it positively influences behavior. They are able to be a part of something bigger than their specific role within the organization and make decisions that are consistent with organizational goals and objectives.
Creating a comprehensive strategy that internally aligns your vision, mission,values and corporate messaging will focus and align your employees, maximizing their potential to deliver the highest return with each customer interaction and creating consistent customer conversations that deliver profitability and growth.
