Is Culture Your Brand’s Secret Weapon?
Your business’s most significant expense (most likely) is your workforce, and for a good reason: without your team at the front lines and behind the scenes, your business, as you know it, would not exist. You couldn’t do without them.
The innovative product engineers, the marketing experts, the masterful salespeople and the customer service gurus of your business collectively make up your culture and the essence of your brand.
A recent Harvard Business Review article penned, “Branding is culture. Culture is branding.” In the same essay, the two are described as a power couple that supports one another on the journey to achieving overarching business objectives.
So let’s talk about that…
5 Tips For Cultivating Company Culture
1. Audit your current status.
The best first step you can take when trying to amp up your culture is to see how you are doing. Check out where you are now, where you want to go and how you will know when you get there.
How to assess where your company culture is right now:
- Check out your online presence. Glassdoor is a great place to read reviews from employees’ and potential employees’ candid thoughts about your business, the management team and your interview process.
- Survey your team anonymously. Current employees won’t feel comfortable speaking freely if you don’t allow for an anonymous opportunity to communicate concerns.
- Gauge your team’s current understanding of your brand. Check-in to see how well your team members understand your brand and its mission.
What goals can you set for your culture:
- Roll out a communication strategy. Write the culture that you want to create and communicate, communicate, communicate. Just like your brand, your vision for your culture should be a thread that continues through every aspect of your internal communications.
- Make it known externally. Don’t forget to share your culture externally. Make your internal culture known on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook so your customers can see what you create.
- Let your team help curate the culture. Get your key leaders involved in the plans and rollout. They will have a special level of insight that management is often removed from.
How will you measure your success:
- Employee growth.
- Survey results (internal and external).
- Recruiting efforts.
- Growth and innovation metrics.
2. Foster connection.
Company culture happens organically when real connections happen. In today’s world where remote teams and Zoom interactions are the norms, connections are more elusive than ever before. From team lunches to professional development workshops, every opportunity that can facilitate connections within your team the better.
3. Support growth.
Empowered teams are a key element in the creation and facilitation of a strong culture. By empowering your teams to embody your brand, you will propel a strong culture and strengthen your brand. It’s a true win-win for your business.
4. Prioritize feedback.
A common mistake made by businesses that are trying to create a strong corporate culture is to bypass buy-in, feedback and constructive criticism. Feedback should be a two-way street in a healthy business environment with feedback to employees to help them improve their work as well as feedback flowing back to management.
5. Communicate the mission.
The mission, the brand statement, the value proposition, the purpose, the why – all of these pieces of information are mission-critical to your business. This is all an obvious statement that most businesses would agree with. The misstep that is often made is related to the frequency and the reinforcement of these messages. What is your brand program missing?
Culture plays a vital role in supporting your brand. It shapes the way customers perceive and interact with your business by demonstrating that you have a shared set of values and beliefs. A strong culture can build brand loyalty, foster customer trust and ultimately drive business growth. Businesses that are able to solidify strong company cultures are more likely to succeed in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace.
Jackie Awve Marketing & Design provides select clients in the commercial real estate industry with marketing, branding and communications strategies and services.
