A merger and acquisition occurs between two companies, one based in Europe and one in the United States. Both businesses are successful, and their industries are aligned, but their corporate cultures could not be more different. Adding to the dynamic, a new CEO has been hired to merge the cultures, grow the newly formed business, and expand the brand. Naturally, the CEO’s first order of business was to engage in a company rebranding process.
I knew the CEO from a previous project I had consulted on and had seen him move companies from merely profitable to incredibly prosperous, focusing on culture building as the path to success. So, when he asked me to join the party again, I was eager to participate.
When businesses rebrand, they often hyper-focus on the most outward-facing activities—creating a new name and logo, updating the website, refining and crafting new messaging, and rethinking marketing strategies. But beyond these core (and unarguably critical) aspects of company rebranding, there is the often-underappreciated work of cultural change management, which involves training leaders and staff to represent and fulfill their jobs in the new brand culture.
Oddly, despite its importance, companies often fail to realize that no matter how “on brand” the external assets are, the organization’s people are who breathe life into a rebrand. In my experience, for any rebranding process to fully take hold, it must include a comprehensive Brand Ambassador Training program. A training program that effectively prepares its leadership and employees—the ones who are the daily face of the company to its customers, vendors, and potential employees— to embody the brand.
At its essence, Brand Ambassador Training is about providing employees at all levels with the skills to represent the brand consistently and positively, both online and offline, to customers and employees alike. Every customer interaction, vendor negotiation, public-facing communication, and inter-departmental exchange sends a message about the brand. If these interactions fail to align with the rebranded image, the rebranding effort may, at best, fail to gain traction and, at worst, be seen as shallow and insincere.
As for the benefits of Brand Ambassador Training, the results are as measurable as spot-on SEO’s impact on a rebranded website. In one Harvard Business Review study, companies with a strong brand identity that extends through employee behavior have a 31 percent higher return to shareholders than those that don’t invest in this alignment. Another Gallup survey found that companies with high employee engagement levels—which include having employees serve as brand ambassadors—are 21 percent more profitable.
Once companies have seen the light and realized the importance of Brand Ambassador Training to the rebranding process, the design of the training program begins. In more than twenty years of developing and leading these programs globally, I have observed some common threads in the training that lead to the best outcomes, Including:
Understanding the Rebrand Focus: Language and Positioning
A key component of Brand Ambassador Training is ensuring that leadership, management, and staff fully understand the rebrand focus, including any new language and positioning. This training helps all employees internalize the rebrand, ensuring consistent communication across all channels and confidently representing the brand. This reduces confusion and builds trust with customers and stakeholders. Studies show that companies with solid brand consistency can increase revenue by 10-20 percent, highlighting the importance of internal alignment.
Defining Best Practices for Online Brand Representation
Today’s brand ambassadorship goes beyond in-person interactions to representing the company online. While front-line staff may not be tasked with being the official face of the company, their social media activity still reflects the brand—for better or worse. According to a survey by Sprout Social, 71 percent of consumers say they are more likely to engage with a brand if an employee has shared positive information about it online.
Brand ambassador training programs should address how employees can maintain a personal online presence that aligns with the company’s brand values. This might include guidelines for using LinkedIn or other professional platforms and general social media behavior that reflects positively on the company.
Additionally, remote work has blurred the lines between “work” and “off-work” hours. Employees may communicate with customers and vendors through email or messaging platforms at all times of the day. As such, it’s crucial that Brand Ambassador Training also focuses on how to stay on-brand in these less formal but increasingly common communication methods.
Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills
When employees are faced with upset, frustrated, or angry customers, how they handle the situation can reinforce or damage the brand image. Studies conducted by the American Psychological Association show that training employees to manage stressful customer interactions improves customer satisfaction and reduces employee burnout, leading to lower turnover rates.
A well-trained employee who can resolve conflicts while upholding the company’s brand values significantly contributes to a positive customer experience. This is especially important in rebranding efforts, as customers are likely to be more sensitive to changes in the company and may need additional reassurance during the transition.
The Role of Management in Supporting Brand-Centric Behavior
Long-term changes in a company’s culture, including brand-centric behavior, cannot occur without the active participation of management. Brand Ambassador Training must extend beyond front-line staff to include mid-management and leadership. Managers need to be trained to evaluate their staff’s brand-centric attitudes and abilities and coach them in the principles and skills of being brand-centric.
A study by Deloitte highlights that organizations with strong coaching cultures have 13 percent stronger business results than those without. Managers who support, encourage, and reward brand-centric behaviors create an environment where these behaviors are expected and celebrated. As part of a rebranding effort, this kind of leadership reinforcement helps ensure the brand transformation sticks.
A comprehensive Brand Ambassador Training program offers immediate benefits in terms of improved communication and problem-solving skills. But more importantly, it helps create a brand-centric culture that reinforces the new identity from the inside out. The result is a rebranding effort that sticks and translates into real-world success.
