• by Drew McLellan , October 25, 2021

Did you know your organization’s culture affects how customers view your brand? For instance, think about Amazon. The ecommerce giant wants to appear trustworthy and considerate, but its poor workforce practices suggest it cares more about productivity than people.

Considering the increasing importance of transparency, you need to evaluate what your culture says about your company. By taking the time to understand what values and expectations guide internal behaviors, you can strengthen the outward image you portray.

It can be disconcerting for customers and employees when your culture and brand don’t match up. Maybe your company is still working on changing its culture, or maybe its core values are just words on a wall. No matter the case, you must take stock of any misalignment before you can craft a more authentic brand message.

Harnessing Cultural Insights To Improve Marketing Efforts

The first step to strengthening your brand is taking an honest look at your company. Survey internal stakeholders to pull together qualitative data, and then confirm these findings through quantitative research. How do people talk about themselves? How do people talk about the organization? Eventually, you’ll begin to see patterns in both the qualitative data and quantitative research.

This will help you determine what words, sentiments, and colors best reflect your company. Combined, this information can help you craft marketing material directly related to marketing, recruitment, or retention. If your messaging and communications are honest and authentic, you’ll attract the right customers, engage the best talent, and retain the right employees.

Going through this process also provides the opportunity to initiate any necessary culture shifts for recruitment messaging. What sort of behaviors are no longer conducive to the brand you want to create? Is there a type of person or skill set you need within the organization to balance out the team? Culture evaluations become a strategic tool and tangible business asset for screening and interviewing candidates.

The Importance of Culture

Understanding your culture is more than a branding and marketing exercise. It’s also an initiative that reveals the core of your company. Assessing your values, practices, and expectations (and using this information to inform your brand) gives you a starting point for growth. Your culture provides direction for your operations, your branding, and your marketing. It also gives new hires a better idea of what to expect as part of the team.

If you cannot articulate who you are internally or live up to your external image, your brand is simply a facade.

Above all else, today’s customers expect brands to be authentic. By pinpointing and capitalizing on the aspects that affect your culture, you can strengthen your brand and people’s perceptions of your company.