If there’s any truth to the clichés, the phrase “now we’re all marketing” might teach us something. Employee Feedback about your company, in person, and on social media, is important.
That’s why brands stand out in the defense of employees.
In a 2016 study, Altimeter found that 90% of companies surveyed either involve employees in branding or plan to do so shortly. It makes sense: Employee advocacy on social media trumps digital advertising, according to the report “Social Media Advocacy: Harnessing the Power of an Engaged Workforce.”
At the same time, however, other studies show us that employee engagement is low: only one in three people say they trust their employer.
Marketing campaign
When the fundamental foundation of trust is missing, the “now let’s go to market” principle becomes a much less optimistic statement.
What do your Employee Feedback about your brand? Do they trust your management team? And does it support or hinder their marketing objectives if they talk about the company publicly?
How can employees who feel this way defend their company? They can not.
To scale up their campaigns, marketers need to understand employee engagement, and the best way to find out how employees feel about the company is simply to ask.
Specific, FAQs can start conversations, strengthen connections, increase engagement and inform marketing programs, whether it’s employee engagement or any other type of campaign. When you ask questions transparently and not anonymously—and when industry leaders demonstrate that they listen and respond to employee responses—companies can close the job gap and improve their marketing results.
The questions you ask can focus on different areas: the job, the culture, the team, the company, and how it is marketed. Gaining a basic understanding of employee opinions can and should inform how you market your business.
Here are the results of four questions our customers asked their employees.
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Do you think our marketing represents our products and services correctly?
Of course, the conversations generated by this demand can yield far more than marketing and other departments such as customer service and product development need to explore.
After all, if a third of your employees don’t believe your company’s marketing fits what you offer, then this is a data point you should investigate, more than just marketing.
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Do you think our company’s reputation clearly represents who we are?
We received 104 companies that asked 696 employees that question. Of the respondents, 74% said “yes” and 26% “no”.
However, the way employees train after choosing “yes” or “no” can say much more:
- Do they think the company’s reputation is good or bad?
- Is there a specific business misunderstanding that points to multiple employees?
- What do they think of this misunderstanding?
- Can this conversation help initiate an employee advocacy program?
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Do you think our customers agree with us?
About 88 companies we work with asked this question and 667 of their employees responded: 76% said “yes” and 24% said “no”.
If 24% of your team gave you this Employee Feedback, what would you ask to follow up? How does this feedback change the way you view your marketing messages? Your buyer? Your campaign strategy?
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Do you think we’re misunderstood as a company?
We have 61 Know Your Business customers who asked this question to 443 employees, 40% of whom answered “yes”
If 40% of your team thinks your business is misunderstood, it’s a problem that marketing can solve, even if the solution depends on everyone being marketing.
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Altimeter found that more than three-quarters of employees who participate in advocacy programs are managers or superiors. Millennials, who probably use social media the most, are unfortunately the least involved.
As marketers explore ways to increase employee participation in campaigns and improve results, they need to begin to understand how engaged their teams are and then consider what they can do to build stronger bonds.