Creating a brand around your people.

• Author: Aldisert, Lisa
• Position: Work Trends - Brand management techniques for banks - Brief Article

Lisa Aldisert is a management consultant, professional speaker and author specializing in strategic planning and performance management. You can reach her at worktrends@lisaaldisert.com.

Most bank marketing departments are responsible for creating a congruous impression of their bank that will attract top-notch clients. You reinforce this image on-site, in the mail and across all media--print, television, radio and the Internet--so that current and prospective clients receive a consistent perception of what your bank stands for.

Have you ever thought of taking this process one step further by building your bank's brand around the employees you want to attract? This can be a win-win strategy. After all, the purpose of marketing is to get a targeted clientele interested in buying. This audience certainly includes businesses, but it can also embody future employees. When done right, the marketing campaign will appear as if you are talking directly to each constituency. Yet, most marketing campaigns are geared solely to the clients, without regard to bank employees.

By shifting gears slightly and including your people in the target audience, you will create a new way of presenting your bank in the market. Banks will reap a number of benefits by taking this fresh, inclusive approach. This ultimately benefits all stakeholders--your people, your clients and your shareholders.

* By including your people in the brand, you concurrently produce a brand for recruiting. Attracting talent is one of the biggest challenges for all companies--banks included. Why not take advantage of this by making your public image reflect your internal persona? Creating an inclusive marketing campaign gives current and prospective employees the important message that they are valued and important to your success.

* Molding your message to include prospective workers establishes alignment between your internal goal of building a strong base of human capital and your external goal of attracting qualified prospects for business development.

* Companies that demonstrate that they care about their people are...