HR is the Backbone of Branding
I know a title like this one is likely to raise the eyebrows of my friend and branding expert Eric Mann. However, while branding is traditionally a function of marketing, HR is taking a more vital role in this area.
One of the very first things marketing majors learn is the “Marketing Mix” or the “4 P’s of Marketing:
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
However, the traditional concept of “Marketing Mix” is becoming less effective as developments in technology and communication have enabled competitors the ability to quickly “outdo” a firm’s marketing message. Many businesses are beginning to realize that successful delivery of a marketing message requires a 5th “P”: People.
In the Age of Globalization, most businesses operate in an environment where differentiating their value proposition to the consumer is becoming more and more difficult. Many markets are mature with educated customers, and the transparency afforded by the internet makes it difficult to exploit product ambiguity when branding and pricing. Marketers are beginning to realize that their employees (People) are in fact the last unexplored marketing channel to convey the brand message to customers. This means transmitting the brand message through customer service and the interaction employees have with the customer.
Exploiting the “5th P” of the Marketing Mix goes far beyond how companies currently release marketing messages through internal memos and operations bulletins. The “5th P” requires the firm to “live the brand”. To achieve this, HR must not only source employees that are passionate about the brand, but foster a corporate culture that continually reinforces the brand within the organization.
For HR to foster an organization that “lives the brand”, it must continually train and assess the organization to ensure it is projecting the brand message at all levels. Further, metrics need to be developed to assess HR’s role in reinforcing the brand to determine its own effectiveness.
I realize this is a departure from the role HR currently plays in most organizations. I wrote about this in a previous article titled “Building a Performance Culture“. HR must begin to be drawn into the strategic intent of an organization for it to be effective in this new age. HR is the one department that has the power to build and maintain a brand internally, and organizations that draw HR into this strategic role will have a substantial advantage over competitors.
It’s a lot easier to read with your eyebrows raised than lowered, let me tell you that much!
You’ve just about hit on the head what I’ve been trying to tell people for years now, and what I’ve been doing in my work. Brand is a promise - not just a promise of product quality, pricing, or availability, but of the entire customer experience.
To “live your brand” is to integrate your brand promise into everything you do from new product development to advertising to hiring practices. An ‘Integrated Brand’ is far stronger than an organic brand that just kind of happened and is limping anlong with the help of the marketing department.
As a matter of fact, the Harvard Business Review published a case study this month about brands. It goes so far as to discuss (in it’s wonderful interactive case study) hiring and internal promotion practices in the world of a brand that wants to “walk their talk.” I’ve linked to both the case study and a video interview with the author on my site: here.
I do have an issue with your post title, though. I would agree that HR is becoming the backbone of marketing but I would argue that branding is the backbone of HR. Not the other way around. You can’t hire your company into a brand image, but you can hire people who fit within your brand image. Yes, this looks a bit like a chicken-and-egg situation, but brand must come before everything in your company. I can’t ever express that enough.
I came across an interesting article today that recreates the four Ps from a customer-centric point of view. Ironically, their first P (in the new ‘5 Ps’) is People. You can read the full article here.
I am that cutting edge!