We couldn’t help but chuckle when our eagle-eyed Account & Strategy Director James spotted a Tesco employee in full work uniform in an Aldi store talking to an Aldi employee… It’s a PR manager’s worst nightmare!
As well as debating why they were in a competitor store (shopping, job hunting, or perhaps innocently chatting to a friend or family member?!), it made us consider the brand impact of employee actions both inside and outside the workplace.
While it could have been an innocent interaction – although our bet is they wanted a sneaky browse down the aisle of shame – employees being seen in competitor stores in their work uniform doesn’t inspire confidence, and what message does it send to consumers?
As marketers, we can ace our jobs and spend millions on innovative ad campaigns – but actions speak louder than words and, ultimately, your brand is in the hands of your employees and their actions. Tesco position their brand very differently to Aldi, but if your own employees are telling a different story, it negates that carefully crafted brand messaging.
Rude shop staff? Customer service advisors who don’t really care? Bad interaction with a delivery driver? You might just shop or order elsewhere next time – and tell your friends and family to do the same.
It’s a timely reminder of how fragile brand positioning really is. Of course, consumers don’t care about your brand positioning or even consider your brand strategy. But a Tesco uniform in an Aldi store probably isn’t what Tesco want people to see.
Positive messages only resonate when they run through everything from brand campaign to product, service and customer experience. Marketing leaders need to keep doing the great work they’re doing, but also be aware of the impact of employee actions at every customer touchpoint. Your employees are the face of your brand. And consumers believe what they see, not what you say.
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Awesomesauce Marketing is a full-service, Coventry-based marketing agency working with clients around the world.
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