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Employee Value Propositions, part 1

This is a great example of how the wonder of the world wide interweb shapes itself.
Upon looking at the analytics for my site, I discovered that most of my search traffic came from the search term “Employer Value Proposition.” In fact, it was well over half, meaning that people are hungry to learn more about this intricate subject matter. So allow me to share.

First of all, the value proposition is a concept that’s been all but jargoned out of the marketing industry. It’s been replaced by far better buzzwords and concepts that people can charge way more money for and sound way smarter when they use them. But in reality, a value proposition is rooted in the concept of the unique selling point: what is it that your brand does exceptionally well that no other brand can claim superiority. This, foundationally, is also rooted in the Jim Collins Three Circles/Hedgehog Concept of “what can you be the best in the world at?” And while this seems like a no-brainer, theoretically, the truth is that the day to day grind of marketing any element of a brand often beats this purity out of you.

But for the employer, the overall value proposition is rooted in these ideas:
1. What is the product (the job) being offered?
2. How does it benefit me individually, both rationally and emotionally?
3. How is it differentiated/superior?
4. What is the proof?

Healthy amounts of research are required to fully understand these perceptions, because an employer or a brand cannot intrinsically understand these points. As the person spinning the plates of day to day brand management, it’s impossible to fully grasp what your publics and your candidates believe about your brand. Because, in truth, a brand is never what you say it is: it’s what your publics and your consumers say it is. Therefore, to fully grasp what your value proposition is, you have to start by identifying the real benefit a job has for a candidate, understanding the internal perceptions of working for your company and discovering the external perceptions as well. A solid EVP and employment brand are fundamentally rooted in realism. We’ll get into that later.

That’s the initial necessity for understanding your EVP, and therefore the foundational element companies need to build a successful, real employment brand.

How the Mighty Fall

It’s called How the Mighty Fall, and it looks incredible. In the context of the current economy, I think it’s perfectly timed and a good shot of inspiration for lots of companies. And for those of us in the marketing arena, I think it’s particularly good to hear the words of encouragement, change and determination for the turmoil we find ourselves in. BusinessWeek did a preview of the book, which you can read here. Here’s an excerpt that explains some of his conclusions:

Never give in. Be willing to kill failed business ideas, even to shutter big operations you’ve been in for a long time, but never give up on the idea of building a great company. Be willing to evolve into an entirely different portfolio of activities, even to the point of zero overlap with what you do today, but never give up on the principles that define your culture. Be willing to embrace loss, to endure pain, to temporarily lose freedoms, but never give up faith in your ability to prevail. Be willing to form alliances with former adversaries, to accept necessary compromise, but never—ever—give up on your core values.

The path out of darkness begins with those exasperatingly persistent individuals who are constitutionally incapable of capitulation. It’s one thing to suffer a staggering defeat—as will likely happen to every enduring business and social enterprise at some point in its history—and entirely another to give up on the values and aspirations that make the protracted struggle worthwhile. Failure is not so much a physical state as a state of mind; success is falling down—and getting up one more time—without end.

Social Media is NOT a strategy

I’ve seen too many posts on Twitter over the past few weeks and months about this subject matter to let it slide any longer. Social Media is NOT a strategy. I know there are lots of people who are self-proclaimed “Social Media Experts,” but from my spot in the yard, it’s pretty tough to be an expert in something that’s an emerging communications tool. Just look at how much tv spots evolved in 50 years of television for proof that it takes more than being on Facebook for 3 years to make you an expert. With so many “experts” floating around, it’s hard to separate the trees from the bark on Social Media.

Because so many confuse this particular idea with a strategy, I think this point of view greatly distorts one of the most basic points that brand strategy requires you to understand: the difference between tactics and strategy. So let’s start by defining each of these terms.

TACTICS are methods you use to achieve a desired end. The more specific that end, the better. If you’re looking to drive traffic to your store, you would use tactics that support a push strategy: direct response, tv, outdoor, etc. If you want to increase trial of your product, you work with merchandising to get it close to the register, reduce the price and create POS materials to gain attention. If you’re looking to build a favorable perception of your brand, go with a heavier lean on PR, social media and brand-building executions in a blending of traditional and non-traditional media. These are standard, poorly thought out examples, but you get my drift.

STRATEGIES are gameplans that will involve multiple tactics to create a desired end with a consumer. So, if you’re a clothing retailer, your strategy might be “to get young people to buy our clothes.” Bad strategy, but a strategy, nonetheless. A better take might be, “To be the “OMG” fashion locale for emerging fashionistas.” More descriptive, a tad cheesy, but easy to work against. To achieve that strategy, you would employ loads of smart tactics that would address trendsetting tweens. The broader concept of strategy should house how you are going to move your brand forward, which brings me to a much debated point at the marketing director level: Every execution should be part of a broader brand-building approach to marketing. Every single POS sign, tv spot, press release, tweet or YouTube video should advance the fundamental values, emotions and ideas behind your brand. Based on the current status of marketing dollars across the world right now, I think the idea of doing “brand creative” is just about done. Now, that’s not to say that Nike still won’t do image tv spots or subway boards, but for the most part those will skew toward a particular product. The best agencies out there will figure out how to make the seemingly mundane tactics do a much more effective job of promoting a brand as well.

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