As marketers we should understand the incredible value of branding from the inside out.  It’s a necessity to get the internal stakeholders involved and behind the plan — at all levels of the organization. I’ve seen first-hand how employees can offer unique insights, relevant experiences and ideas never considered in the brand development process.  And just as powerful is to see their excitement for the opportunity to be involved with branding their company — something typically held close by the marketing folks. Without the internal brand evangelists you lose on so many fronts. And the end result is likely a failed customer experience — under delivering on expectations and confusing with misaligned communication. Consider the daily touchpoints your internal team has with the outside World. The potential is incredible if you have their buy-in.

There’s many ingredients that are factored in with the internal process. It’s easy to gather a bunch of people at the urging of the company president to participate in weekly meetings for several months. The challenge is sustaining the interest and commitment long after the meetings end.

Recently a BBQ chain called Smokey Bones has given their employees a second job as a Web host. An employee that meets certain criteria is selected from each of their 68 locations. In addition to their regular work duties they’re posting content and building relationships on a local franchise Web site. They also engage with customers on a corresponding Facebook and MySpace page. It’s not uncommon for these “local” sites to have 5,000-10,000 followers.

The corporate office trains the brand hosts and monitors the local site’s content to make sure it’s within the parameters of their handbook. A recent Advertising Age article about Smokey Bones strategy shared that the the chain is adding 2,200 followers each month and their overall Web traffic is up 50%. They’ve also significantly increased their email database paving the way for email marketing strategies down the road.

There’s no doubt that this strategy is working well based on the various metrics reported by the company. What’s even more exciting is the potential to strengthen the internal buy-ins from employees outside the departmental walls of marketing. We can all relate to seeing posters in the hallways that share company values and goals. I’m guilty of putting them up in elevators and bathroom stalls, too. But these messages can be easily forgotten unless there’s ongoing internal communication and excitement among the employees. Social media offers huge adoption rates and a vehicle that your employees are likely using daily. It has become the new “newsletter” or sign to share your mission. And the empowerment opportunities in this new digital age will likely be a gold mine for your employees that want to get more involved with their brand and customers.

It will be interesting to see if Smokey Bones is able to move online engagement to brick and mortar sales. I do know one thing . . . all this talk about BBQ is making me hungry. I wonder if they have a location near me?

We’ve all been in this scenario . . . you get a craving for [insert fast food joint here] and so you announce to your co-workers that you’re going to make a run. A piece of torn-off paper is passed around getting more ratty by the minute as everyone scribbles in their own hieroglyphics what they want in a range of specific to unclear terms. Moments later you’re sitting in a drive-through trying to decipher everyone’s order without a magic coder ring with cars honking behind you and a very impatient fast food employee screeching on a microphone. It doesn’t take long for you to regret the whole thing. Perhaps next time you’ll read a chapter from the Navy Seals training book for covert operations to sneak out of the office undetected.

Before you dress in all black and apply face paint to begin “Operation Fast Food” you should try a solution created by Dunkin Donuts. The application called “Dunkin’ Run” allows you to create a database of friends and send them an “alert” that you’re going to take a trip to Dunkin’ Donuts.  Friends are invited to access an online menu of items and make their selections. The list is collected for printing or you can take the list on your mobile device (iPhone) and show it to the Dunkin’ Donuts employee. Yes, it’s that simple!

The solution is a fantastic marketing effort by Dunkin’ Donuts that makes these runs easier while maintaining your “hero” status among the office cubicles. What I really like about this app is that it offers a solution for an every day challenge while creating a buzz component among traditional media, social media and throughout the cubicles. We shouldn’t forget the loyalty factor considering that if you like their coffee and donuts this solution makes it easier to build a stronger relationship with their customers.

I also applaud their effort to create an app for their customers. Don’t underestimate the adoption rates of mobile tools and marketing opportunities. These platforms will continue to grow . . . especially with the increasing prominence of the Millennial Generation.

All of this talk of coffee and donuts is making me hungry. Now if they could just figure out an app to collect the money from my co-workers for my Dunkin’ Run.

http://www.dunkinrun.com/