A well-formed brand culture can make your company stand out in the present market. Brand culture happens when your employees live by your company’s core values. This shapes how the view of your brand is portrayed outside.
A well-formed brand culture gives your employees a sense of purpose and standard that they should live up to.
A strong brand culture will attract the best talent and retain them. It also creates real experiences for customers. This differentiates your business from all the rest.
By aligning your team with the values of your brand, you may differentiate something for which you can compete besides price.
In this article, we are going to look at how companies like Southwest Airlines, Publix Supermarkets, and Moz use brand culture to gain a big advantage. Understand how to build a strong brand culture which will surely lead your business to success for a long time.
What is Brand Culture?
Brand culture is that the values of a company live inside the people. This is what defines how people view the brand. Good corporate culture and abundant brand values endow employees with purpose.
Employees actually become full-fledged brand ambassadors if they are really able to connect emotionally with the company’s mission. A strong connection with excitement is communicated with the offerings of the company.
A strong brand culture aligns the team toward the company’s objectives. It lets them know why they are doing what they are doing. In this manner, they will always be able to deliver on the promise the brand makes to its customer.
This level of dedication can set a company apart. It amplifies authenticity and hastens business objectives.
Building a Brand-Led Corporate Culture
To create an inspired brand culture, you need to strategize it out. Companies like Southwest Airlines initiate the process by hiring people with spirit in your brand. They look for the warrior spirit, servant heart, and fun-loving attitude.
To invest in employee wellness and growth, making team members passionate about the brand-this way they become strong advocates for the company.
Southwest Airlines: Hire and Promote for your Values
Southwest Airlines invest in brand culture. The carrier is well known for excellent customer service. This has something related to recruiting the right employees by using the core values of the company.
They are looking for a “warrior spirit,” a “servant heart, and a “fun-loving attitude among the ones they hire. Of all the characteristics, it fits the brand well.
Align Workforce with Company Values
In addition to hiring, Southwest only promotes people who demonstrate the company’s values. This creates a culture that shines through in every customer’s interaction.
They’ve been profitable for 44 years and have the fewest customer complaints. This shows talent acquisition and employee development working for them.
The concentration of Southwest on culture rather than skills has made them the leaders in the market. As many as 85% of the employees are proud to work there. They reflect in everything that they do, the spirit, heart, and fun of the airline.
Employee Attributes – Define
Any brand wants to build a strong brand culture, and hence, they define key employee traits. These must correspond to their core identity value. It’s not about someone who is “hard working” or “a good team player.” It is finding something unique which is highly necessary for success.
When companies articulate these traits loud and clear in job descriptions and the hiring process, it finds the right fit with it, empowering them to represent the brand well.
This can be deduced from employee satisfaction and training outcomes. The value being met and achieved will be known through measuring engagement and tracking retention rates. Also, in terms of feedback and the resultant action, listening to employees gives credence to building trust and integrity.
The best companies focus on hiring people who fit in with the brand culture. Employees who resonate with the brand values deliver better services for their customers and grow for the company. Companies define appropriate qualities in an employee to attract and retain the best talent. This creates a work setting that truly mirrors the promise of the brand.
Hire Rigorously
Brand culture, therefore, could be built through the hiring process. No rush to fill a position. Take your time to screen the candidates and look for examples of how they’ve ‘lived’ the values of the company.
Resumes are not the whole report, but rather the starting point of a candidate’s skills and experience. Hiring too quickly often leads to cultures not matching. In order to avoid this, one might use the available tests for skills and personality to come up with the proper fit of a candidate.
Having a uniform hiring process avoids biased judgments, as it allows for fair evaluation of candidates. Companies can also get the best talent with the help of recruiters, no matter how expensive the services might be. One should opt for other recruitment possibilities that guarantee acquiring the right candidate.
A strong brand culture does depend on the hiring process. Companies can create a workforce that reflects the values of their company by taking great care in hiring with a fit to corporate culture. This creates long-term success and generates competitive advantages.
Consistency in Values
Building a strong brand culture must be an ongoing process. You have to remind the employees on a regular basis about company core values. You do that by catching up with employees, showing them the way values are put into work, and rewarding those that live it every day. Keeping the brand culture in focus really helps keep your employees interested in and on track with company goals.
Having a growing business, maintaining core company values is primary. Studies indicate that 95% of companies experience better employee retention when their values remain consistent. This demonstrates the importance of infusing brand culture into the company’s DNA. It guides how employees behave and makes decisions.
Keeping the company values in the open help the employees to understand the brand culture and live it. Therein, this brings about a team that works well together and delivers great customer experiences. If firms can finally focus on developing strong brand cultures, this prepares them for long-lasting success and growth.
Publix Super Markets: Treat Employees Like Customers
Publix Supermarkets is famous in the United States for providing the best customer experience. But how can that be? Because this company focuses on employees. The employees at Publix are the very important customers who are given opportunities for growth, continuous feedback, and an opportunity for even owning a share of the company.
This builds up a culture of caring. This automatically promises enhanced customer experiences for sure. Happy employees automatically promise happy customers.
Investing in Employee Happiness
George Jenkins was a man who believed in treating people well. That’s what guides Publix today. The company values respect, open communication, and the dignity of its employees.
Publix offers many ways for employees to grow. They have programs for professional development. This helps employees succeed and feel valued.
Publix also has its programs to keep the employees happy, too. They share the profit, give compliments to their workers, and yearly reports. With these efforts, they make the employees more satisfied. This, in turn, helps them enhance customer service.
There are no layoffs of workers at Publix even during the worst times. This statement evidences that they truly care for their labor force. Treating employees like customers has helped Publix build a very happy and focused team. They have helped the company be on top in customer service.
Consider Employee Ownership
Give your employees a share in your company’s success and drive your brand culture, but also long-term engagement. When workers have a stake, they are more proud and committed. This leads to better retention and alignment with company goals.
Studies have shown that worker-owned businesses retain employees four times longer than non-owner counterparts. Employees of these businesses make 33% more, a proof that there are financial benefits to ownership. They tend to stay for 5.2 years, while non-owners for 3.4 years, which shows the retention benefits.
Moreover, employee-owned businesses were more resilient to the pandemic. These enterprises laid off staff at a quarter of non-owners. This shows how an ownership culture can find a way of handling market changes.
Make your staff feel part of a business they can take ownership of and feel a sense of pride and belonging in, or empower them so they have the freedom to succeed at achieving things themselves. It makes them more likely to retain talent and position your company for success. Consider using ESOPs, or other programs, to tap into the energy of your workforce and build your brand.
Focus on Employee Needs and Goals
Building brand culture means being concerned with what a staff member needs and wants. Companies should have regular check-ins, ask for feedback, and help each team member work towards goals. This earns you trust, loyalty, and respect, and is more likely to give you better business results.
Success is when the company ranked as one of the best places to work reaps enormous returns. Since 1998, they have earned 1,709% more than the Russell 3000 Index. This indicates the importance of a healthy culture at success. The companies focusing on cultures also see a boost of 34 percent in customer service excellence.
Among the top companies, 83% of the employees state that they trust their leaders; that’s compared to 42% in other workplaces. It is one of the main ways to keep the employees happy and engaged. The excellent workplace also pays them fairly and appreciates their work, which makes them feel valued.
A workplace with pride means employees are more likely to stay and recommend the company. Feeling part of the team makes work more enjoyable and encourages long-term commitment. Companies that value belonging grow their revenue three times faster than those that don’t.
With a focus on the needs of the employee, organizations will then be set to retain high talent, create a positive culture, and be pioneers in the market. This means that it is crucial to invest in the employee experience as a tool to thrive in today’s fast-paced world.
Moz: Internal and External Transparency
This is one of the main reasons Moz, as a software company, is so open about what it’s really doing. From the financial reports that depict everything to do with Moz, the company is transparent to the way in which employees are communicated with, everything is guided by TAGFEE code: Transparent, Authentic, Generous, Fun, Empathetic, and Exceptional.
Building Trust Through Accountability
Moz has done quite a good job of setting an atmosphere of trust and accountability in the company. All this does go to enhance its employer brand and establish real relationships with customers. The TAGFEE code shows how values can link inside and outside images.
This approach gives quite a strong sense of purpose to Moz employees. It also attracts customers, who very much value Moz’s candor and openness.
Moz’s work on transparency has certainly borne fruit. The company saw its customer base rise by 48%, cut its Google Ads cost by 20%, and boosted social media ads by 26%. Its organic search sessions skyrocketed by 522% and inquiries by 714%. All this with less than 17% of its revenue coming from one client.
Define Your Values
Implementing a strong brand culture begins with clear core values. First audit the culture of your company and see what guides employees. Then align those values to the identity of your brand. Values that really show the purpose and personality of the company guide all the business areas.
Studies depict that 77% of people would prefer buying from companies that share their values. It is values that lie behind 95% of the buying decisions. Values support building strong bonds with customers and attract dedicated employees. Using your brand values helps everyone work tgether towards common goals.
This means that your purpose, values, brand, and culture should all find an alignment with each other and strike a chord. Satya Nadella, in his words as the CEO of Microsoft, said: “A clear focus, leveraged through the right culture, is the surest way to make good on our aspirations.” Values such as integrity, empowerment, and excellence all define how things get done at work and how customers view your brand.
What will help your company to thrive is setting clear values on the surroundings and living them through operations and interactions with customers. It is not about a talk on culture but building the right culture: what one acts upon, leads, and communicates. Change the conversation from ideas into actions that make your brand different.
Listen to Employees
True transparency includes listening to the voice of employees. Firms need to open up towards workers by allowing them to express their thoughts and feelings about the company culture.
By listening to employees, the leadership will ensure the company culture is genuine and caters to the needs of everyone. It enhances the firm as an entity where people work.
In times of difficulty, it is all the more essential to hear the voices of employees. Companies can benefit from surveys in gauging what a worker requires. In the long term, it really does help in making better decisions for everyone.
Regular check-ins and feedback sessions are the keys. They help to track just how the opinions of employees might change over time. Open talks on issues like job security or money do show trust coming forward.
Having professionals for assistance, like health coaches or financial advisors, can make a great deal of difference. Virtual meetups allow employees to connect and share their experiences, thus helping them to get through tough times.
Regular meetings and one-on-one meetings with managers are also very important. This in turn will create a supportive work environment that will urge the individual needs to be well met, and thus overall happiness and productivity will rise.
Building trust with employees will improve the relationship between the manager and the worker. This leads to happier and more productive employees. It would make the company a great workplace.
Share the good and the bad
One of the tenets of corporate transparency is openness about the good and the bad. It is supposed to show everything about your company, not just wins. Trust and rapport are built with all parties herein.
The reason companies struggle to speak about their confession of struggles lies with their true colors. This happens when struggling challenges are at hand, as is the case in the recently performed tech layoffs. In 2023 alone, over 1,190 tech firms laid off 262,915 employees. This helps in keeping the authenticity of the brand strong.
However, it’s not all about the pain. Companies that share successes also reveal strengths. Example: Risk3sixty invests a great deal in innovation and training employees. They pay 100% of the cost of any training, but this really speaks to people who are invested in growth and people.
Using both sides of your business causes a culture of trust and accountability. This strategy not only supports the authenticity of your brand but also places you in a leadership position in your industry. It proves that you are willing to rise up to the challenge.
Conclusion
Amongst other things, beating the competition is obtained through the building of a strong brand culture. It helps in relating your company’s values to its brand identity. This way, you attract and retain employees who share your company spirit.
This produces a team delivering real, brand-oriented customer experiences. Openness about one’s values builds trust and authenticity for all those using your brand.
The brand culture does a lot of wonders in the market today. It propels the success of your business for the long term. With huge emphases on attracting and retaining talents, you allow your team to achieve its full potential.
This then positions your business for growth and profit, be it small startups or big companies; strong brand culture is a must. It aligns the internal and external brand for a cohesive and actual experience.
This sets you apart from others and connects with your audience. It’s a way to stand out and make a lasting impression.