Building Brands From The Inside Out

What's this about?

Internal branding is the process of aligning employees, culture, communications, and behaviours with a company’s brand purpose, values, and strategic direction. If you don't start with your people, your external branding will never perform as well as it could.

Why internal branding matters.

When thinking about the performance of a brand and its resonance, we automatically look at how people perceive it from the outside. Do people know about it? What do people think of it? Do people buy from it?

Whilst these are completely valid considerations, what isn’t being considered is how the brand is performing internally, for employees.

Always start with your people

Your people will always be your biggest asset, and should also be your biggest advocates. If your people don’t know what the business is trying to achieve, the story it has to tell, and the values that it holds, then your brand will never truly perform as well as it could.

By creating a culture that embodies the values of your brand, everything your people do will align with the direction of the business.

So, before sending out your customer survey, speak to your internal teams first. Find out what they know about the brand purpose, how they feel their role impacts the wider vision of the business, identify communication hurdles, and how employees interact with other teams and customers.

Use these questions to asses how well aligned your culture is to our brand:

1. Do you have a defined brand vision, story and purpose? (yes/no)

2. If you asked anyone in your business, could they tell you what these are? (yes/no)

3. Do you have an internal system for employees to share ideas, provide feedback, track training etc? (yes/no)

4. Are new employees onboarded with training that includes brand purpose, values, and voice? (yes/no)

5. Do leaders and managers consistently model the brand values in their behaviour and decisions? (yes/no)

6. Are your brand values woven into processes and/or performance markers? (yes/no)

7. Do you actively work to achieve/maintain a desired culture that reflects your brand values? (yes/no)

8. Do you have a verbal tone guide that is available to all employees? (yes/no)

RESULTS:

0-3 ‘yes’

Getting your teams aligned with your brand values should be a priority for your business. Work to embed your values into processes and behaviours and encourage leaders to lead by example. You’ll soon start seeing the benefits. We would recommend starting with an immersive employee brand workshop to understand if the values you have align with your people and truly reflect who you are as a business.

4-6 ‘yes’

You clearly recognise the importance of internal branding. However, there’s still room for improvement. Explore the areas where you’re falling short and create an internal brand strategy that will be the envy of your competitors. 

7-8 ‘yes’

Wow, your brand is fully embedded into the internal culture. Kudos to you! You're priority is to maintain the culture you have now and to know how to flex should you experience any pivotal changes in your business in the future.

Summary

Businesses going through periods of growth, repositioning, acquisition, or transformation often discover that internal alignment becomes just as important as external communications. A strong internal brand helps teams communicate consistently, build trust, and support organisational change.

When your people are engaged and values are aligned throughout the business, you’ll create a meaningful brand that customers believe in and employees want to be a part of.