7 market leaders explain how employee training improves the bottom line

CREATING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND DIFFERENTIATED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE7 Market Leaders Explain How Training Employees on Their Corporate Story Improves Business Performance

Why does one company win more business than another? Why do

certain companies retain customers longer than their competition?

It’s not because they spend more on media and advertising

campaigns. It’s because they spend time, energy and dollars to

ensure every employee knows how to bring their corporate story

to life in customer conversations. This document includes quotes

from market leaders who understand how infusing a clear,

compelling and consistent message throughout the customer

experience outperforms traditional advertising investments.

7 STATISTICS AND STATEMENTS 3

“ Starbucks is not an advertiser; people think we are a great marketing company, but in fact we spend very little money on marketing and more money on training our people than advertising.”

— Howard Schultz, Starbucks

Companies that bring their message/story to life throughout the customer experience spend only 1 percent of annual revenue on paid media while those that don’t have to spend 3–4 percent to get similar results.

1


“ An organization can only ‘walk the talk’ when its managers deliberately shape its internal reality to align with its brand promise…(the brand’s) values must be internalized by the organization, shaping its instinctive attitudes, behaviors, priorities, etc.”

— Alan Mitchell, “Out of the Shadows” Journal of Marketing Management

The truth is, customers do not engage directly with your brand. They experience the brand based on the experience (conversations) they have with your people. “Seventy percent of customers’ brand perception is determined by their experience with your people.”(Ken Irons, Market Leader)

So the real question becomes: Can you afford not to infuse your corporate message throughout your organization?

2


“ When making a purchase decision, customers use an average of six different channels, which are often managed by different parts of the organization. That series of interactions highlights a crucial issue in today’s business world: Brands need to work across multiple functions to deliver a coordinated and consistent experience.” — Harvard Business Review

Companies that excel in delivering a consistent message throughout the customer journey can increase revenue growth 10–15 percent and lower costs 15–20 percent.(Harvard Business Review)

3


“ Managing brands is going to be more and more about trying to manage everything that your company does.” — Lee Clow, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, TBWA Worldwide

Those companies that “live” their message and bring it to life throughout the customer experience increased their share price by 6.4 percent while those that didn’t saw share price decline by 4.4 percent.

4


“ In a competitive world, organizations are realizing that only people can brand products or services — that we are not just selling a branded product but a mass of branded people who support and deliver.” — Helena Rubenstein, Managing Director, The HR Lab, UK

Engaged organizations grew 3X faster than their competitors. It’s a fact, business performance increases if your people understand your story, internalize it and leverage it in customer conversations. Don’t let messaging development and infusion stand in the way of future success.(Corporate Leadership Council)

5


“ Your brand is created out of customer contact and the experience your customers have with you.” — Stellos Haji-Ioannou, CEO, EasyGroup

Higher than average levels of employee engagement produce 27 percent more profits, 50 percent more sales and 50 percent higher customer loyalty. Employee engagement requires a personal understanding of your story (who you are, what you do and the value you deliver).(Gallup)

6


“ A brand is no longer defined only by advertising-driven perception. Rather it is defined by the customer’s experience in buying the product; satisfaction in using the product; and the services wrapped around the product with positive consequences.” — Andrew Cohen, Founder, Exposed Brick

Living your story and aligning it with your corporate strategy increases revenue growth. Companies that infuse messaging throughout the enterprise experience an operating income growth rate of 16.1 percent versus 7.1 percent for those that don’t.

7

© Copyright OnMessage, Inc. 2014 | All rights reserved.

About OnMessage

It’s more than our name.

It embodies our singular purpose and mission …

To grow our client’s business by helping them deliver a clear, compelling and consistent corporate

message throughout the customer experience.

OnMessage is a messaging infusion company with a proven model for helping you develop a clear,

compelling and consistent message. Our methodology aligns your company’s strengths and true point

of difference with customer needs to create a messaging platform that elicits optimal engagement

throughout the customer experience. This methodology, when combined with our employee training,

sales enablement, content development and brand integration services, enables you to achieve a higher

return on every connection you make.

For more information

For more valuable and informative resources that can help you improve your customer experience go to:

www.itsonmessage.com/resource.

Follow us on

twitter.com/onmessage

facebook.com/onmessage

itsonmessage.com/blog

linkedin.com/company/onmessage