The CMO’s Newest Challenge: Capitalizing On Workplace Culture

Like many areas of the business, this change is being driven by one fundamental source: the consumers themselves.

It’s no secret that today’s chief marketing officers have a very different job than their predecessors.

Once responsible for brand building, advertising, and market research, the modern CMO now also needs a financial fluency on par with the CFO’s, as well as the digital savvy of a chief technologist.

But that’s not all. On top of these new hats, we can now add one more responsibility to the rack: developing the company’s workplace culture. That’s why a CMO like Patron’s Lee Applebaum was tasked with influencing employee behavior in addition to creating external brand slogans (“Patron Worthy”), or why Dawn Hudson, CMO at the NFL, got involved in defining the league’s internal values.

Why CMOs Are Getting Involved

Like many areas of the business, this change is being driven by one fundamental source: the consumers themselves. Consumer expectations continue to evolve with the rise of new business models. As online marketplaces like Amazon and Zappos raised the bar for customer service with insanely fast delivery and 365-day returns, so, too, did Netflix destroy the traditional entertainment consumption schedule and create a demand for even more content as a result.

Furthermore, consumers are now more discerning than ever when it comes to choosing their brands, relying not only on word-of-mouth recommendations but on a teeming well of online reviews right at their fingertips. With such easy access, consumers can now make purchasing decisions without having seen a single brand message or 30-second TV spot.

Most importantly, with a vast array of options available, modern consumers have now become so selective, they steer their brand loyalty toward those who share their own values as individuals. According to a recent study by Global Strategy Group (PDF), shoppers ages 26 to 35 are at least 20% more likely to shop at companies whose social-political stance mirrors their own. And with public demonstrations of progressive policy, like CVS’s applauded announcement to take tobacco off their shelves, there’s plenty of motivation for brands to align to a shifting ethical atmosphere.

With all these changes in consumer expectation and behavior, it’s clear that the modern brand has become far more than the advertising it displays. The brand is now the complete set of associations the consumer links to the company, and these include the perceptions of its employees themselves.

With these de facto brand ambassadors in the public eye and serving as constant points of contact with the consumer, it’s increasingly important that CMOs have a hand in shaping the company culture and how it hires, engages, and retains this talent.

Fortunately, the marketer’s experience in understanding and engaging consumers on the outside provides a unique advantage in doing the same for employees internally.

Five Ways CMOs Can Adapt

Turns out that the new methods of meeting customer demands can be applied just as effectively within the walls of a company itself. Here are just a few of those tactics:

1. Crowdsourcing the next big idea: Instead of limiting the source of internal strategy to a small team (or even one individual), a brand can poll the entire organization to harness innovation and creativity in the development of its culture. The trick is to do this in a way that’s not only quick and straightforward, but also doesn’t give employees the feeling of extra work without real consequence. To this end, we often use a simple cross-device platform that lets employees simultaneously submit ideas while voting on others, all within 30-second micro-engagements.

2. Enterprise crowdfunding: Similar to casting a wide net for the ideas above, some brands are now starting to experiment with the use of mock funding platforms to help internal projects flourish. Nascent programs allow employees to allocate up to a certain amount of their company’s money, say $2,000, toward the projects they believe will be the most beneficial to the business as a whole. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

3. Cubicle anthropology: As long advocates of anthropological and ethnographic methods for understanding the consumers’ lives, we’ve found these tactics can now also be used effectively to help companies better understand their employees. By studying how individuals work, think, make choices, overcome challenges, and achieve their personal goals, brands can create a custom workplace culture and design a bespoke organization that reflects the employees themselves.

4. Co-creation sessions: Revamping a company mission is like writing a constitution: No one person can (nor should) do it alone. Going back to Dawn Hudson at the NFL: When tasked with defining the league’s internal values, she was able to curate the new set of written principles after a series of one-on-one sessions with team officials, players, and other NFL partners. Taking the time to sit down with your collaborators as a team will always beat trying to fly solo.

5. Marketing the product and the employee: It’s one thing to get the word out about a new offering, but some brands have even started to showcase their own people and opportunities as coming attractions. Linda Boff at GE has done this with its “What’s the matter with Owen?” series, and L’Oreal secured over 150 applicants (and nearly 6 million views) through its social media recruiting campaign for a single internship. Presenting the brand as an exciting place to work doesn’t only connect with job-seekers; it gets the company name out there in a clever and creative way that all consumers can appreciate.

What CMOs Can Start Doing Today

Of course, every brand is different and has its own specific needs. The above tactics are by no means one size fits all. But no matter which strategy is put into play, there are a few fundamental resources already at the CMO’s disposal, and immediate action can be taken.

First, that brand narrative and employee value proposition can be established as the source of all future development by translating an external slogan into an internal company story. Second, the CMO can team up with HR, working together to develop systems for identifying and rewarding on-brand behavior among the staff.

Finally, employees should always be encouraged to take part in the ongoing process of culture curation. After all, in the ever-evolving world of brands, your most important customer may be your employee.