Law firm Marketing Directors spend huge amounts of effort and cash in trying to brand and re-brand their law firms in the eyes of clients. Yet, many businesses consider their employees as primary branding tools. In fact, Interbrand, a branding consultant to the Fortune 500, says that there appears to be a direct correlation between the visibility and acceptance of a brand in the marketplace and employee awareness of the brand and what it means. That’s not idle chat…Starbucks, one of the Business Week 100 Most Valuable Brands, uses no advertising to perpetuate the brand. Instead, it relies on its employees as evangelists. 

 

The experts tell us that, especially in professional service firms where there is little expenditure on advertising, employees need to be excited about the brand, able to communicate and connect with it, and then radiate that message to clients. Without employee buy-in, the brand’s external promise falls flat in the real world of daily client interactions.