How To Make Your Brand Irresistible Through Team Cohesion.
Skip Unnecessary Supervision And Get Results Instead.
Following on from our previous article, the next common challenge facing small to medium sized businesses is managing teams.
So you have gotten down your brand style guide, tone of voice and all the visual elements you need but your team seem not to get a hang of what it is all about.
You can tell because you have seen their outputs and think “oh I wish someone could get this right for once” or “ I just wish I could clone myself”
Here is a way to get your teams outperforming
Understanding team cohesion and how it relates to brand preference.
Team cohesiveness is a team’s ability to effectively work as a whole towards a common goal.
Team cohesiveness in relation to branding involves the ability of a brand’s internal teams to work together harmoniously and effectively towards the brand’s goals and objectives.
When a brand’s teams, such as marketing, sales, customer service, and product development, are cohesive, they collaborate seamlessly to deliver a unified brand experience to customers. This cohesion ensures consistency in messaging, product quality, and customer service, which in turn builds trust and loyalty among customers.
A cohesive brand team is better equipped to understand and respond to customer needs and preferences, resulting in a more compelling and differentiated brand offering.
As a result, customers are more likely to choose the SME over competitors because of the consistent and positive experiences delivered.
Team cohesiveness does not come naturally to most people and must be fostered out of trust and interpersonal relations among team members.
Why is team cohesiveness important?
Team cohesion is important for several reasons, including:
- A decreased need to micromanage a team, freeing up time for managers.
- A heightened ability to achieve targeted objectives and goals.
- A decreased use of resources due to a team’s effectiveness and efficiency.
- Adaptability and resilience in the face of challenges or changes in the business environment.
- Cohesive teams collaborate more effectively, leveraging each other’s strengths and expertise for better outcomes.
BUT I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS
Yes, but how much loss are you willing to incur?
Here is what is likely to happen if your teams are disjointed.
1. Inconsistent Brand Messaging: Without cohesive teamwork, different teams may convey conflicting messages about the brand’s values, products, or services, leading to confusion among customers.
2. Poor Product Quality: Lack of coordination among teams may result in inconsistencies in product development or delivery, compromising product quality and customer satisfaction.
3. Fragmented Customer Experience: Disjointed teams may offer inconsistent customer service experiences, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction among customers.
4. Brand Dilution: Without cohesive branding efforts, the brand’s identity may become diluted, making it difficult to differentiate from competitors and weakening its overall market position.
5. Missed Opportunities: Ineffective collaboration among teams may result in missed opportunities to capitalize on market trends or customer needs, leading to decreased market share and revenue growth.
6. Internal Conflict: Lack of cohesion can lead to internal conflicts and tensions among team members, especially when no one wants to be held accountable.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THIS
Here is how to help your team and get the results you need fast.
- Use a multi-faceted approach to train your team:
Educate your team members, especially those who directly interact with customer touch points like marketers, copywriters, customer support staff, and social media managers, on your brand voice guidelines.
Provide different approaches to help them understand the nuances of your brand voice and how to apply it consistently across different channels.
Training can come under:
- Brand Voice Workshops: Organize interactive workshops focused specifically on refining and internalizing the brand voice guidelines. Encourage team members to participate in activities and discussions that explore the nuances of the brand voice, helping them feel more confident in applying it consistently across different communication channels.
- Cross-Training Sessions: Cross-training sessions involve team members from different departments or roles sharing knowledge, skills, and insights with each other. This would help team members to collaborate more effectively, share insights, and contribute to cohesive content creation from diverse perspectives.
- Content Creation Challenges: Initiate content creation challenges or contests within your team to spark creativity and innovation. Set specific themes or objectives and encourage team members to collaborate to showcase their talents in producing something cohesive and engaging.
- Peer Review Sessions: Implement peer review sessions where team members provide constructive feedback and critique each other’s content. This collaborative feedback process not only helps improve the quality of content but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team.
- Virtual Team Building Activities: Organize virtual team building activities or games to strengthen bonds and foster camaraderie among remote or distributed team members. Activities such as virtual escape rooms, trivia quizzes, or collaborative storytelling exercises can help break down silos and enhance teamwork and collaboration.
- Guest Expert Workshops: Invite guest experts or industry professionals to conduct specialized workshops or training sessions for your team. These external perspectives can provide valuable insights and inspiration, helping team members develop new skills, techniques, and strategies for creating cohesive content that resonates with your audience.
- Brand Immersion Experiences: Create immersive experiences or simulations that immerse team members in the brand’s identity, values, and customer personas. This hands-on approach helps team members gain a deeper understanding of the brand’s essence..
- Team Retreats: Plan occasional team retreats or offsite gatherings where team members can disconnect from their daily routines and focus on team bonding, creativity, and strategic planning. These retreats provide opportunities for brainstorming, ideation, and relationship-building in a relaxed and collaborative environment.
- Continuous Learning Opportunities: Invest in continuous learning opportunities for your team members through online courses, webinars, conferences, or certifications related to content creation, branding, and marketing. Empowering team members to expand their knowledge and skills enhances their capacity to contribute to cohesive content strategies.
2. Create a Style Guide
To ensure consistency in your copywriting efforts, consider creating a comprehensive style guide that outlines your brand’s voice, tone, messaging pillars, and preferred language usage. This guide serves as a reference for anyone creating content on behalf of your brand, helping maintain coherence and cohesion across all channels and platforms.
3. Use Templates and Guidelines
Develop templates, scripts, and guidelines to streamline content creation and ensure consistency. Provide clear examples and instructions for different types of content, such as blog posts, email newsletters, social media updates, and customer communications.
4. Centralize Communication
Centralize communication and collaboration among team members to ensure that everyone is aligned. Use project management tools, content calendars, and collaboration platforms to facilitate communication and feedback.
5. Encourage Cross-Departmental Collaboration
You can achieve this by facilitating regular meetings or brainstorming sessions involving team members from different areas such as marketing, sales, customer support, and product development. This interdisciplinary approach encourages holistic thinking and ensures that content creation efforts are aligned with broader business goals and objectives.
6. Monitor and Review
Always remember to solicit feedback from your audience to gauge how well your brand voice resonates with them.
Monitor and review touchpoints ensure compliance with your brand voice guidelines.
Provide feedback and guidance to team members when necessary, and be proactive in addressing any inconsistencies or deviations from the brand voice.
7. Celebrate Successes
Recognize and celebrate achievements and milestones. Acknowledge the efforts of team members who contribute to maintaining consistency and resonance in brand communication, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence within the organization.
By incorporating these tips into your team’s workflow and culture, you can elevate your brand from a spec in the ocean to one of big fishes in the industry.
In summary, here action points to make your brand irresistible through team cohesion.