I am very excited to share the findings of our first Brand Ambassador Survey. We had a good response which yielded some dramatic findings and surprises. Here are a few top line flashes, however we suggest you click on the link below to review our full whitepaper analysis and call us to schedule a personal in-depth PowerPoint presentation on line.
While employee advocacy and brand ambassador programs are considered to be a strong leading indicator of brand equity, two thirds of our sample feels it is not endorsed or embraced fully within their companies. That is amazing.
The biggest surprise was that despite employee brand advocacy being a high contributing factor to brand equity, only over 68% of the people we surveyed said that their companies did not fully embrace the concept of brand ambassadorship programs that formally promote brand values and new behaviors. Only a third (32%) felt their companies fully embraced this idea. And in comparison to the previous year, 25% believe that their companies will invest less time and money for employee advocacy and brand championship programs. These are startling findings in our opinion.
The second big news headline is that in addition to not embracing brand ambassador programs, few companies are effectively deploying process and tactics successfully within their company.
Respondents cite not having a sophisticated tactics in place, lack of process or integrated plans, limited resources, lack of senior management support and generally an uncoordinated program that does not have an orchestrated goal and objective in sight. We know from our experience that the best employee advocacy companies use social networking and Web 2.0 platforms have highly engaging company wide training programs, and integrated HR appraisal and recognition rewards systems. They also employ groups of people who are charged with the responsibility of championing and promoting the corporate brand promise. The survey results indicate that these techniques are not being deployed in large numbers.
Very few companies according to our survey are relying on an integrated internal communications platform or process and only utilize limited effective tactics to achieve employee brand advocacy.
In the detailed analysis, we provide our top ten take-a-ways that will help you design and measure an effective employee brand ambassador program. The prescription for success is addressed in a simple fashion so that all internal communication professionals can achieve greater success with their brand ambassador programs.
Please click on the link below to see the analysis and order a detailed report. Also, call us to schedule a personal presentation appointment on line. In the near future will be having an on line webinar presentation as well, so keep an eye out for our announcements.
http://www.inwardconsulting.com/docs/Brand-Ambassador.pdf
Last but not least, thank you to all the people who participated in the survey. You helped contribute significant insight to our learning community of Brand Ambassadors.
Happy Reading! -Allan Steinmetz
