Nothing sucks the motivation out of people as quickly as the absence of information -- in other words -- marketing to the people within your firm or company may be the best thing you can do to weather a down economy.A recent study measured the effectiveness of having wide open communications with employees about the situation and health of the company they worked for. The results were astounding.
- Employee retention - +44%
- Customer loyalty - +56%
- Safety - +50% better
- Productivity - +50%
- Profitability - +33%
Yes. That is exactly what I am saying.
Unfortunately, in tough times when success seems shaky, leaders clam up and withhold information from the very people most equipped to lend a hand -- their employees.
When I was at Deloitte & Touche during the initial months of Sarbanes-Oxley activity we established a war-room dedicated to delivering information and resources to Deloitte professionals. We tracked every tidbit of anything SOX related and pushed it to everyone at the firm. We even tracked and reported on ROI for the firm and relayed daily updates to every producer, rainmaker and staff member. The result -- no person in the firm had any questions about where we were and what needed to happen next. Deloitte & Touche, and the clients of Deloitte & Touche weathered a significant change with few hiccups and significant stability.
Marketing to your own people has to be a first priority if you wish to survive in a down economy.
I encourage you to feed your troops. Do not let fear nor ego stand in the way of enabling the people most committed to your success.
(Return to Marketing Success in a Down Economy index)
