INTERNAL customers are just as important as external ones and this week I have decided to look at this area of marketing that is so critical and yet has been relegated to the backseat of most marketing programmes in many organisations.
It is regrettable that most organisations do not see the importance of acknowledging internal staff or employees as the starting point for their marketing programmes and activities.
It is precisely because of this shortcoming in most organisations marketing programmes end up in total failure.
Most of the organisations have for a long time valued external customers at the expense of the internal ones.
To them, their only customer is the one outside the organisation.
Can you imagine having a situation where a company has sales representatives who have to go out to find new business yet they are less knowledgeable and have little information about their own products, services or organisation?
What about officers who are totally ignorant about the organisation’s products or services?
The situation can even get worse when an organisation has staff who hardly believe in their own organisation.
I remember that I used to tell my former marketing students that if a marketer cannot convince?his or her potential employers during an interview, then that marketer will not be able to convince his or her customers.
Effective marketing begins with one self.
The basic and primary principle is that before an organisation begins to market its products and services to the outside market or customers, it should begin the marketing process with its own internal customers who are its employees, agents and representatives.
Whereas in most cases this is taken to be mere orientation of staff, internal marketing goes beyond orientation as it has to do with everything regarding the organisation’s sales proposition and marketing strategy.
It is all about getting the internal staff’s introspection and understanding on the core values of the organisation in respect to its services, functions and product offering.
Internal marketing is about motivating staff in the most positive way on how they deal with?customers and clients.
A typical example can be the use of slogans or brands such as ‘big, durable, reliable, experts’, these should reflect an organisation’s true picture.
Motivation is also a critical component of internal marketing, as it has been said that a well motivated staff, is a productive one.
This reminds me of a story a friend of mine who runs a small advertising company in town, shared with me.
He told me that one day his newly recruited sales representative collapsed at the feet of a prospective client during a sales pitch.?Apparently, this individual had gone out to meet the client on an empty stomach.
You can imagine the embarrassment this incident caused the company.?Internal marketing also looks at internal processes in a much more holistic way and aims at synchronising and harmonising the functions of every individual department and unit in the organisation.??You will observe that in organisations where internal marketing efforts are lacking, every department will perceive their functions to be more important than others.
Internal competition rather than synergy will be the order of the day.
Under such circumstances, it is common to find finance officers holding on to finances which are required for conducting a sales promotion campaign because they probably do not appreciate its objective.
In other instances the finance, logistics and administration will consider advertising a total waste of company resources.?Having such kind of a situation makes it difficult for any organisation to effectively deliver its products and services to the external customers.
In marketing, it has always been emphasised that all the relevant stakeholders’ needs must be taken into account when preparing marketing strategies.
One important factor in marketing success is the supply chain.
The supply chain refers to all the relevant stakeholders within an organisation in the process of producing and delivering a final product or service.
An example could be the procurement and purchasing department’s role in ensuring that they order and stock high quality role material consistently and on a timely basis.
The finance department’s role is to release funds needed for important activities such as production, marketing and distribution.
The administration’s role of ensuring that all logistics, such as transport, fuel, stationary and as other work support requirements are looked into, to allow for smooth operations.
The role of the human resources department is to ensure that recruitment and staffing levels as well as training are done appropriately to enhance production.
Internal marketing is simply a concept that enables the organisation to look into their house keeping issues before they go out to handle their external markets.
It involves internal test marketing, as well as the application of the marketing mix on internal staff.
That is on the product. Are staff knowledgeable? Are staff conversant with the pricing structures?
Place, are staff willing and ready to work in any environment or places? Promotions are the messages appropriate based on staff’s evaluation?
It is all about implementing the marketing plan internally before it gets implemented externally.
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