Do You Know What Your Associates Know?

July 20th, 2010

A marketing associate of mine relayed a personal experience that I fear happens more often then most business owners want to believe.

The associate was torn between joining two country clubs. One was located closest to her home and was the favorite choice of the family. The other was offering a tremendous discount. She called the former and explained that although they were her club of choice, she was having trouble justifying spending the extra money. She asked the young woman on the phone to please give her some reasons that would rationalize her spending more for a family membership at this club.

The club's associate said she really could not say.

The young woman went on to confess that she wasn't very familiar with what their competition had to offer, and therefore, couldn't really help to justify her own club's higher pricing. My friend joined the other club instead.

What do your associates know, and not know, about your business?

Your brand exists in the hearts and minds of your consumers, and the only influence you have over their perception is your ability to deliver the desired brand experience. Can your associates deliver the brand experience as well as you would yourself? Do they even understand what the brand experience is? And if you think they do, how are you confirming? How are you reaffirming? And how are you training your new associates to do the same?

Internal marketing is one f the most important factors in determining your business' success. If you don;t have a plan for existing associates as well as new hires, you're risking damage to your brand with every existing and potential customer that your associates come into contact with. So ask yourself, isn't it worth knowing, what they know?

Posted on July 20th, 2010 | Posted by Anna Lawrence | Permalink | Rss Feed