As soon as you know what makes your business unique, everyone who works for your company should eat, sleep and, breathe this difference, too.
Your company’s “story” is told by all of the various pieces of your business but, most importantly, by the people that make up your public “face.”
If you have a clear unique value proposition (UVP)—and you communicate that same, singular message across all channels—it will be easy and natural to…
…communicate it to your staff.
Think of your favorite retailer, with multiple locations.
- What are the ways in which that company’s message is communicated?
- How does it help its employees communicate that message (e.g. Southwest Airlines’ sense of humor)?
- Does it employ company-specific language (e.g. Starbucks’ “grande”) and?
- Does it use particular naming conventions (e.g. Disney’s “cast members”) to engender loyalty?
Now, think of a retailer who fails to convey a consistent message. It may do a poor job of communicating its unique value proposition to its employees. It’s more likely, however, that the company doesn’t have a unified message to begin with. When that’s the case, then of course, there can’t possibly be any consistency in its materials.
There are a host of ways to communicate your unique value proposition to your employees, including: internal print materials, intranet sites, office displays, events, and incentives. For these tactics to really work, though, you have to cut through the cynicism.
The first step is communicating to employees that you have, in fact, identified your UVP. “Hey, everybody, we know that we’re better than our competitors because we are…” Then, ask your employees if what you’ve identified is in line with what they see on the front lines—even if that’s by anonymous survey. (And, by the way, you should keep doing that annually.)
The fact is, if you can clearly communicate why you’re the best at what you do, it’s not difficult to get employee buy-in. Everybody likes to be number one. Frankly, it doesn’t even matter what you’re “the best” at…as long as you’re “the best” at something.
When employees understand the difference of the product or service they’re representing—and they understand how they personally contribute to that difference—they tend to be proud of where they work. The team will gladly communicate your unique difference to the outside world, with pride.
I’m curious to know: What is it about your UVP that might make your employees feel like winners?
