Before thinking about how to apply internal marketing in your company, you need to be analytical. What is the first step to win over and retain your customer? The answer to this question can vary quite a bit. For some, offering excellent service and the best price is enough. Others will say that properly promoting your product is the beginning. Or, they might even say that being close to your consumer, at a privileged commercial location, is the main thing.
On the other hand, those who invest in and believe in internal marketing as a management tool might reply that, to retain the customer, the first step is to win over your internal public and engage employees. Thus, they will also feel responsible for your company’s success.
Internal marketing has grown significantly in recent years, increasingly carving out space in the corporate environment. Today, it is seen as a quite effective interdisciplinary area for boosting the motivation and engagement of a company’s employees. So check out in this post:
How to apply internal marketing to engage employees!
What is internal marketing?
To find the first studies and academic records on internal marketing, we have to go back a little over two decades. In other words, it is a relatively new concept, still in the consolidation phase. Recognized as one of the early theorists of internal marketing, Saul Bekin defines it as: the set of marketing actions aimed at the internal public of companies and organizations.
This is a concept very close to the one formulated by one of the leading theorists of modern marketing, Philip Kotler, for whom internal marketing is the internal marketing of organizations.
Author of the books Intelligent Internal Marketing and Management Doesn’t Exist Without Communication, administrator and consultant Daniel Costa delved a little deeper into this concept:
Internal marketing is a managerial process directed toward the purpose of the organization, with the objective of promoting people’s motivation and ensuring their commitment to strategic goals.
We can also define internal marketing as a set of actions and strategies that use concepts from marketing, administration, and corporate communication. The intent is to build a favorable environment for the motivation of the internal public. Its objective is to encourage greater employee commitment to the company, creating a positive climate for pursuing the best results.
When a company’s internal marketing is efficient, its employees know the mission and values of the organization where they work well and understand their role within it. Everyone is aware of the importance of their work for the company to achieve its goals. They also recognize when they are valued. It is a relationship of transparency between company management and its employees.
Bonus: How to enhance internal communication with Corporate TV?
Who does internal marketing in the company?
Internal marketing is a tool originating from the field of administration. In corporations, it is generally linked to Human Resources departments, which develop strategies in coordination with the area responsible for Marketing.
Therefore, internal marketing mobilizes an interdisciplinary group of professionals, involving psychologists, administrators, journalists, advertisers, and public relations specialists. It is fundamental that it has autonomy and proximity to the company’s decision-making core and closely monitors the formulation of strategies.
Being an area in the consolidation phase, internal communication is still striving to expand its footprint in companies. Gradually, the number of organizations investing in dedicated internal marketing teams is growing. Internal marketing agencies have been expanding their market share, meeting the demands of companies of all sizes in this area.
A strategy on how to effectively apply internal marketing can be divided into three action models:
- Strategic: aiming to ensure the execution of goals determined in the company’s planning.
- Motivational: seeking to guarantee employee satisfaction and quality of life, in order to secure a favorable environment.
- Management Support: enabling the understanding and correct execution of company processes by all employees.
What are the benefits of internal marketing?
A good internal marketing strategy can bring a series of benefits to the organization. Besides motivating and engaging employees, internal marketing is an excellent tool for talent retention.
It also promotes knowledge of company strategies and provides employees with a systemic view. They then come to better understand their role within the organization.
What internal marketing actions to adopt to engage employees?
An efficient internal marketing plan must be aligned with the company’s strategies, demands, and the characteristics of its internal public. Therefore, there is no standard model that can be applied with guaranteed success across all organizations.
Check out below examples of initiatives that can be developed while respecting these individualities:
Conduct climate surveys
Evaluating the company’s organizational climate is a starting point for defining the best internal marketing strategy. This should be done through consultations, usually annual, which allow measuring the evolution of indicators related to internal communication.
Have communication channels
Once the strategy is defined, it is necessary to determine which channels are most appropriate to reach the internal public. This will depend on the type of communication desired and the audience profile. Currently, there is an infinity of channels that can be utilized, from the most classic ones, such as notice boards and newsletters, to newer ones, such as corporate TV or mobile usage, for example.
Listen to the employee
Just as important as establishing means to inform the employee and providing listening channels is paying attention to what they say. Plan how the company will listen to its employees.
Integrate teams
Dedicate some time to foster a positive climate in the company. Bring employees from different areas closer together so that everyone better understands the organization and realizes how their work interacts with that of their colleagues. Holding events and encouraging practices like sports, for instance, is a good option.
Train and qualify the employee
Besides constantly updating the company’s workforce, investing in the employee makes them feel valued and important to the organization’s results.
Encourage quality of life
This is another action that makes the employee feel valued and welcomed. It is not enough for the company to merely demonstrate concern for the quality of life of the employee and their family; it must care effectively. This can be expressed in a good benefits package, for example.
As you can see, there is a series of positive impacts that can be achieved when a company decides to invest in a strategy of how to apply internal marketing, especially when aiming to motivate and engage employees.
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