I spoke recently an employee of an IT company where they have a room full of introverts: dark and filled with silent

Employee advocacy: your colleague is not a billboard, but something much better

I spoke recently an employee of an IT company where they have a room full of introverts: dark and filled with silent nerds who watch flickering screens. In addition, a bright room full of extroverts who loudly customers will be calling all day. My question to her was simple: one of the two spaces is not about two years, what do you think?


The future is for the introvert

It is a kind of mission from me, I make (others) let introverts believe in the fact that they can pull themselves to the market, as they share their knowledge online. see their whole life they already how the "man with the smooth talk 'runs off with their customers and friends, but that time has been.

For now, most sale processes (especially in b2b) begin - or at least partly take place - Google, knowledge is put online as a marketing tool increasingly important. Especially now that people are better able to circumvent your commercial messages. And certainly when a 2018  privacy law  comes to the "pause" of people is very difficult.

But it is not just all knowledge: it is precisely the substantive knowledge of those introverted employee to whom the customer is looking for. Knowledge of machine standards, for example, or what effect a new law on their industry. Very specific subject knowledge.

This does not mean that extroverted colleagues will soon no longer function, but this is different. Colleagues of sales often know what the problems are that customers are struggling with, and know the terminology used by the customer. Ideal to determine what topics you are going to share your knowledge, and how. And, of course, is ultimately sales to the customer at the table, but as a 'consultant'. Much more fun work too.

no billboard

What surprises me lately is that many marketers are a little too literally when deploying colleagues for marketing purposes. Articles about how you bet your colleagues to spread your message. People in your LinkedIn network that are not a marketer, but the new commercial company (need?) To share. Like other colleagues with a standard explanation there. Sometimes with a smiley even. So clearly directed from marketing.

The employee as part of the P promotion as part of the marketing mix, as a result of the positioning, which is based on once again on the marketing strategy, which follows from the confrontation matrix after an internal and external analysis. And this' employee as an instrument "must of course comply with the house style: identical pictures on social media and (thus) phrases with the same smileys in the same commercials in the same posts. Sin, and not authentic.

I think you can push the whole mix to the side, especially in the B2B. We live in a time when you can not choose a longer image. If you have something else tries to radiate than you are, people are going to trip up those efforts. Each veneer that you make as a marketer, it is the customer scraped off again. Could Heineken in the 80s still change their image of 'beer for the common man' in 'beer for the elite' by paper to adjust the positioning and the associated marketing, in a transparent world is your position just 'what are '. And you're in a transparent world as a company, especially what your employees. Individually and jointly in your company.

Positioning without positioning

I always notice it when I (usually introverted) employees for a blog post interview , in a business where someone is responsible for (corporate) communication: the blog is stripped of all humanity. Only the statements of the employees who are politically correct and fit within the 'house style', may remain. What remains is often a small article without any emotion. Too bad.

When I interview colleagues at MCB, I do not censorship. Yes, a little. But I'm sure my colleagues not to force the style or positioning. You do not: in almost every conversation the themes that show our culture is strongest: quality, customer focus, make mistakes. Without it, I send it.

And so we position ourselves now, without positioning. The image radiates from the employees, without being sent there deliberately. Allowing you to maintain full authentic power behind your content. And so the appeal to customers. And new employees. With the most beautiful side-effect: the stage for your colleagues.

Small digital statuettes

I realized recently that our namely (inbound)  marketing  (help colleagues to themselves and to present their knowledge online) has no marketing target as its main objective. Because if you put your colleagues on stage, you build their pride and confidence. But more importantly, you make them immortal.

I have seen a few times that the staff I interviewed for a B2B company, often older men, were found to have serious health problems. It also struck me that their need to share that knowledge online only grew stronger. And recently I realized: they want to be as "immortal", their knowledge 'failure'.

The interview blogs are small digital statuettes, which are found even in principle forever. I thereto may contribute, is a much greater reward than the clicks and likes that today and tomorrow yields. Or potential customer the day after tomorrow 'converts'. Insignificant in the big picture, just a bonus.

Did you introverted colleagues with a nice personality, good stories and a lot of specialist knowledge? Help them to share it. Not because the extraverted push commercial messages will be very difficult from 2018. Not even because you're dealing with modern marketing. Do it for your colleagues, they deserve it. Build them a stage and let them shine. You will have no regrets.