Properly train all your brand ambassadors

Last weekend at a family get-together, my brother-in-law mentioned that he had recently landed himself a new job at a well-known consumer electronics firm.

Inadvertently – at least in so far as that particular conversation was concerned – the young lad had just volunteered himself as a brand ambassador of the company. He instantly became part-salesperson, part-spokesperson for the firm.

Down the table, someone exclaimed that they are a regular customer of the company, before asking him about what he thinks of the company’s latest product.

It was around about then that my brother-in-law turned a deep beetroot red.

“Actually, I’m just an operations guy there. I don’t really use any of our products, so I’m not really sure about the new model. I can ask one of the salespeople at work on Monday though,” he responded sheepishly.

It was an answer that reflected very poorly on his employer.

Sure, my brother-in-law should have been more curious about the company he works for and the products they produce. He also showed a poor sense of company spirit.

But more than that, his words betrayed a company that is apparently indifferent to whether its own staff use its products, along with an induction process that fails to properly explain the company and its products to new staff. That’s making the generous assumption that his company even has an induction process.

Each day, all your staff will be asked who they work for and what they do for a living. All your staff will be brand ambassadors during such conversations.

So make sure all your staff are familiar with your products and services, rather than just your salespeople.

Get it done – today!