Companies and corporations are, ultimately run and designed by human beings. It’s strange, then, how they can sometimes feel like operational machines, robbed of any values we might consider specific and emotionally relatable. For this reason, then, it’s important for companies to think about their image and just how pristine it may be, and if allowing a little more in the way of ‘the human factor’ could be a great idea.
After all, it can sometimes be that lacking the human factor harms our company in ways we might not predict. For instance, if your company has no real presentable figures, then problems encountered by customers can be immediately personified in that of your support staff they contact, who are only trying to satisfy and ameliorate issues.
It’s a great idea, then, to make sure that your company feels ‘more human’ via leveraging a range of branding and management habits that can help this image adjustment feel natural. It’s also worth knowing that making a firm feel ‘more human’ is not just a benefit for your image or clients/customers, but also those who staff your ranks.
Let’s consider this and more below:
Don’t Overdo It
Of course, it’s important not to overdo things when it comes to making your company feel more human that it might otherwise be. For instance, a common tactic companies use when hoping to seem more relatable is to instruct their copywriters to make sure all marketing material is written with a humorous tone. They may insert jokes into every single part of the copy on the back of a product, or reference memes in their Twitter posts, or do their best to go along with cultural moments that have no bearing on what they’re actually here to sell.
This cna come across as a little much, to the point where people feel as though they have to roll their eyes and would prefer you to be a faceless entity. This is because customers and clients aren’t stupid, they know when a company is trying its hardest to appeal more intimately in order to enhance their sales.
They know that your whimsical social media posts poking fun at other brands have to go through an approval process so you can weigh up the pros and cons of shifting your marketing strategy. So – try not to be overbearing and disposable with this approach. And remember, appearing like a firm with human values is not necessarily the same thing as marketing yourself as a firm with human values.
Recognize Your Staff
How better to help your firm celebrate its human factor than actually recognizing the people who run it from day to day? Recognizing your staff may not necessarily come with a rulebook, but it can be tremendously helpful in allowing your staff to realize that you care about them, that good work is rewarded, and credit is given where credit is due.
But of course, this is just lip service. With employee recognition software, you can make sure that this becomes a systemic means of managing your staff, operating your management workflow, and more. With real, tangible benefits to exemplifying the values your firm espouses and enhancing the social factor inherent in work communications, you may just develop a more appropriate outcome that you hadn’t considered until now.
Listen To Your Team
The truth is that often, a firm doesn’t have to focus on ‘being human’ more than it does figuring out how the clean shine of a carefully curated brand image takes away from that natural state.
It might be, then, that listening to your team can help you assess where difficulties might lie as a fundamental approach. For instance, perhaps your support staff report that the highly intensive script given to them and the relative inflexibility of being able to help clients out means that whenever answering the phone, they feel as though the help they give is never anything actually autonomous and satisfying, but a process that they have to force their clients through, making them feel useless on the job.
Sure, that might not be enough to make sure you change your entire support handling process, but you may make a few adjustments here and there, and empower those working in this space for the better. You’d be surprised at the positive effect an approach like this can have, and the degree to which it makes a difference.
Express Your Team, Your Brand, Its History
It’s good to show the people working behind the scenes of your brand, so that those looking in can understand that yes, you are a very real team with real people trying their best to help the brand and those it serves thrive.
For instance, you’ll no doubt see the benefit of curating a ‘meet the team page’ with some carefully selected photos of your team, consented to of course. This can help show the brains behind the scenes. Having a ‘history’ page drawn up can also allow those curious to come and see the development and principles of your firm, and how your story has developed over time.
Think of firms that are so large you couldn’t name a single actual employee, but those that sell their brand to make you think you’re familiar. It’s unlikely you know many people working in the administrative departments of Disney, for instance, but you know the brand, and no doubt feel some kind of familiarity to it.
That’s the power of good, inclusive, well-presented branding. An approach like that can help a firm look and feel like one that is stocked by people who have the same values and the same dedication to amazing service that we like and expect. Inviting your consumers in with a presented image like this can work wonders, provided it’s backed up with substance and doesn’t serve as another marketing effort.
With this advice, we believe you’ll find that making your company feel ‘more human’ is not just another SEO tactic, but a great way to increase brand familiarity and to stand out in your field.
