Every employee carries a piece of your company’s brand. That’s the message Maureen Lally brings from years of watching companies succeed and fail at brand management. Drawing from her experience as a marketing executive, board member, and brand expert working with major corporations across construction, manufacturing, and professional services, she’s seen how brand consistency can make or break a company’s reputation.
Embracing Employees as Brand Ambassadors
The corner office isn’t the only place where brand identity lives. “The success of any organization depends on a cohesive and consistent brand presence,” Maureen points out. She’s watched entry-level service reps make or break million-dollar relationships, and seen executives undermine years of brand building with a single poorly worded email. Every interaction, from customer service calls to executive presentations, shapes how people see your company.
Working with global B2B companies taught Maureen some hard truths about brand management. Your brand isn’t just your logo or your website – it’s every email sent, every phone call answered, every LinkedIn post shared by anyone with your company’s name in their title. That’s a lot of moving parts to keep aligned.
Here are Maureen’s three ways to how senior leadership can effectively communicate any brand’s mission and the importance of messaging guidelines for all their stakeholders.
Understanding the Brand Mission
Maureen’s first rule hits at the foundation: “Everyone in the organization needs to understand the brand’s mission and value proposition.” Sounds obvious, right? But she’s not talking about just hanging mission statements on walls. Her approach digs deeper, starting with solid guidelines and backing them up with real training. New hires shouldn’t have to guess at your brand values – they should get immersed in them from day one.
This isn’t about memorizing corporate speak. When people understand not just what your brand says, but why it matters, they make better decisions in those countless small moments that shape brand perception. The training isn’t a one-time thing either – it’s part of the company’s DNA, built into everything from onboarding to ongoing development.
Every employee should understand what their role is in the organization and how they personally and individually contribute to the mission of the company and the brand promise to their customers.
Turning Employees into Brand Champions
The second piece focuses on making brand ambassadorship real for every employee. As Maureen puts it, companies need to “provide clear examples and resources that showcase how each and every employee is a brand ambassador.” This includes helping people understand how their personal online presence affects the company.
Your employees’ LinkedIn profiles and professional social media presence matter more than you might think. They’re not just representing themselves – they’re carrying your brand into spaces where business relationships often start and grow. Clear guidelines and examples help everyone understand how to handle this responsibility without feeling micromanaged.
Keeping a Clear Message
The final key? “Consistency of messaging is critical,” Maureen emphasizes. The biggest brands keep it simple – clear messages that anyone can understand and share. But simple doesn’t mean static. Maureen recommends “creating a communication framework for both internal and external corporate communications that is fact-based and updated regularly.” This framework needs to work both inside and outside company walls. It should evolve as your market changes, but the core message stays rock solid. Regular updates keep everything relevant without losing the thread that makes your brand recognizable.
Building strong brand identity isn’t about controlling every tweet and email. It’s about giving people the tools and understanding they need to represent your brand naturally. When everyone from the CEO to the newest hire understands what your brand stands for, they’ll make better decisions about how to represent it. Maureen’s approach cuts through the usual corporate clutter to focus on what actually builds brand strength – people who understand and believe in what they’re representing. In a world where one bad customer interaction can go viral, maybe it’s time more companies paid attention to how they’re building brand champions at every level.
To learn more about Maureen Lally and her approach, check out her LinkedIn profile or go to her website.
