September 25, 2006
CUSTOMERS OR EMPLOYEES FIRST: 2006 Survey Offers Insight on Internal Branding

For the third consecutive year, Jack Morton Worldwide has conducted proprietary research to gauge response and receptiveness to experiential marketing. This year, we probed preferences in communication from employers. Data was collected on a global basis.

Below is an introductory excerpt of the research findings. To request the complete white paper, follow these instructions

Internal Branding and Experiential Marketing: A Global Survey of Employee Response

Excerpt from "Internal Branding and Experiential Marketing: A Global Survey of Employee Response"

Many companies say: "customers come first." Increasingly, many add the caveat: "after employees." In order to inspire customers, organizations first have to inspire their employees—to understand and believe in the products and brands they represent, to improve performance and ultimately to be more effective advocates with customers.

Inspiring employees has clear business benefits. For example, organizations with highly favorable employee attitudes have significantly better financial performance; leading companies increased stock appreciation after instituting employee measures; and a major retailer found that an increase in employee training yielded an increase in customer satisfaction and revenue.

But employee engagement is, in the words an Advertising Age editorial, "still the most underutilized of marketing tools"—perhaps because marketers lack insights into what type of communications employees prefer and which will inspire better performance.

Employees want to be engaged
Globally, only 33% of employees are satisfied with the quality and quantity of current communications from their employer. Satisfaction levels are even lower in China, where just 15% of respondents say they are satisfied with current communications. Across geographies, 36% of respondents say they wish employer communications were more engaging and interactive; 31% say they would like more frequent communications.

Clearly, there is a significant need for employers to improve how they engage employees. For the largest portion of employees, the desire is for communications that provide higher levels of interactivity and engagement. This is especially true of younger members of the workforce. Globally, 44% of 18-23-year-olds think their companies communicate enough, but wish communications were more engaging and interactive. In the US and UK, lifestyle relevance is also an increasingly important factor.

Download the complete white paper  to view data supporting additional key findings, such as: