Voice of the Employee. The Difference Maker in the Customer Experience.

Employees are the most untapped and underutilized communications channel leveraged in the customer experience.

We say this based on 17 years of experience. Seeing firsthand, the disconnect between the corporate story being shared through marketing channels and the story being shared by employees across the organization.

The key to creating internal brand ambassadors that are on message is ensuring employees have an emotional connection with your company’s story. Employees that connect with your corporate message are inspired to bring that story to life throughout the customer experience.

And it’s the CMO or marketing executive’s job to create this emotional connection. Just like it is their job to ensure prospects and customers emotionally connect with the company’s story.

As humans, we have an instinctual need and desire to engage with the world around us through stories.

So what’s your company’s story?

Do your employees know the core messages they are supposed to share in customer conversations?

Do they believe in the story?

Well, if you want to capture the hearts and minds of employees so they bring your company’s story to life – you’ll have to create mindset and behavior changes throughout the organization.

So, what does it take to activate this critical marketing channel and create lasting change in the customer experience?

First, you must get leadership onboard. Executives must understand that delivering a clear, compelling and consistent message across the organization requires sustained effort and commitment from the leadership team.

Next, CMOs and marketing executives must be empowered to drive cross-functional change across customer-facing areas of the business. This is critical to ensure customers have a consistent experience in the connections and conversations they have with employees each and every day.

You might ask … marketing? Why not HR? Because, marketing owns the corporate message. While they must work with leaders across various departments, including HR, marketing must be the one that leads the charge in bringing the story to life throughout the customer experience – from the inside out.