Going Further, Faster: Signs & Symptoms of Misalignment—and What to Do About It

April 15, 2023

• Recording available

• Questions/comments

• Survey

Housekeeping

We help leaders create and align employee and

customer experiences.

Imaginasium

It’s NOT a marketing issue

Brand Alignment

Heads

&

Hearts

Alignment & Engagement

Change

Happens

Typical Situations

• Growth issues

• Sales situations

• Marketing execution

• Customer experience

• Strategic initiatives

• Culture/alignment

Typical Situations

• Your company has acquired or merged with

another company.

• You're launching a new product, service or

company.

• You want to expand your brand.

• You need to revive your brand.

Typical Situations – Growth

• A competitor has mounted an unexpected attack

on your brand.

• Your profit margin or market share is shrinking.

• Customers don't see a difference between your

brand and your competitors.

• Research shows that your brand is not

understood by your audience.

Typical Situations – Sales

• Your brand lacks excitement or relevance.

• You're having difficulty knowing what to brand and

how.

• Your brand expressions are confusing with too

many product names, sub-brands, logos, taglines,

etc.

• You want to set up brand metrics against which to

measure the success of branding endeavors.

Typical Situations – Marketing

• There's a noticeable gap between business

vision and customer experience.

• Your brand's touchpoints lack consistency across

media or cultural borders.

• You want to make your brand more relevant to

certain customers.

• You want to bring the brand to life at each point

of customer contact.

Typical Situations – Experience

• Your brand expressions don't fit your strategy.

• You need to completely understand your brand's

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

• You want to extend your brand into new product

or service categories and would like to know which

categories have the highest probability for success.

• You need to decide the relationships between

parent and sub brands.

Typical Situations – Strategic Initiatives

• The meaning of your brand fluctuates as

executives come and go.

• You need to 'sell' the brand internally or educate.

• Your team needs to better understand your brand

so they can deliver on it.

• You need to get executive buy-in for brand

programs.

Typical Situations – Culture

The Self Test

Diagnosing Alignment Issues

We have a clear position statement that

guides the direction of our organization's

brand, and it's understood by everyone

within our walls.

Diagnosing Alignment Issues – 1

We have clear expectations for our culture,

vision and values, and they're understood

and "lived" by our entire staff.


Our brand experience is integrated into all

departments & touchpoints versus just

being a product of sales, marketing or

customer service.


How we sell and deliver our products and

services is completely in step with our

culture, vision and values.


Our customers see and understand

the clear difference between us and

our competition.


Our employees see and understand

the clear difference between us and

our competition.


We're satisfied with the level of our

customer complaint numbers.


We're satisfied with the amount and

frequency of repeat business.


We have an integrated communications

plan that engages both customers and

employees.


We've charted our desired customer

experience and what should proactively

happen at each possible customer

touchpoint.


Our employees understand their role in the

customer experience and have what they

need to deliver on our promises.


We clearly know how our

Unique Selling Propositions (what makes us

the clear choice) directly line up with our

customers' Unique Buying Propositions

(what they truly want from us).


Start asking a few questions around

your organization.

And then listen.

You’ll identify potential trouble spots…

and opportunities.

Are employees engaged?

“If I see a downturn in employee satisfaction

today, I guarantee I’ll see a like downturn in

customer satisfaction six months from now.”— Leader from Gallup’s Q

12 Meta-Analysis on Engagement

Impact

• “High engagement” companies improved

their operating income by 19.2 percent

• Conversely, ‘low engagement” companies

lost 32.7 percent.

Impact

Q12

Engagement Survey

Gallup's employee engagement work is based on more than 30 years of in-depth behavioral economic research

involving more than 17 million employees. Through rigorous research, 12 core elements -- the Q12 -- link

powerfully to key business outcomes. These 12 statements emerged as those that best predict employee and

workgroup performance.

• Analyzed data from more than 152 organizations.

• Dramatic differences were shown between top- and bottom-quartile workgroups on key business

outcomes.

• It was proven that engaged organizations have 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate

compared to organizations with lower engagement in their same industry.

I know what’s expected of me at work.

Clarity and definition of outcomes to be achieved.

Q12

Engagement Statements – 1

I have the right materials & equipment

I need to do my work right.

Materials & equipment connect to important organizational outcomes. Demonstrates work is

valued & supported.

Q12


At work, I have the opportunity to do

what I do best every day.

Helping people into roles where they can most fully use

their inherent talents & individual differences removes

performance barriers.

Q12


In the last 7 days, I have received

recognition or praise for doing good

work.

Frequent, objective & authentic feedback matters. Recognition needs to be driven

individually.

Q12


My supervisor, or someone at work,

seems to care about me as a person.

Feeling “cared about” is different for each person. Respond to unique needs. Show connection

between individual needs & organization’s needs.

Q12


There is someone at work who

encourages my development.

How coaching influences how they perceive their future. Improvements in sync with talents helps

both the employee

and company profit.

Q12


At work, my opinions seem to count.

Leads to better decision making. Take greater ownership

for outcomes.

Q12


The mission or purpose of my company

makes me feel my job is important.

Align individual’s purpose with organizational purpose & outcomes. Remind staff of big-picture

impact of daily activities.

Q12


My associates or fellow employees are

committed to doing quality work.

Culture fit. Common goals. Common metrics. Common expectations. Increased frequency for

interaction.

Q12


I have a best friend at work.

Need opportunities to get to know one another & build close, trusting relationships. Influences

communication & trust.

Q12


In the last 6 months, someone at work

has talked to me about my progress.

Need structured time to discuss progress, achievements

and goals. Frequency is important. Drives responsibility &

decision-making.

Q12


This last year, I have had opportunities

at work to learn and grow.

Training benefits individuals and organization.

Need continuous improvement.

Q12


1. Customer metrics (loyalty)

2. Profitability

3. Productivity

4. Turnover

5. Safety incidents

6. Absenteeism

7. Shrinkage

8. Hospital safety incidents

9. Quality (defects)

Business Unit Impacts

Customer loyalty/engagement

12%↑

The Difference Made:

Profitability

16%↑


Productivity

18%↑


High turnover companies

25%↓


Low turnover companies

49%↓


Safety incidents

49%↓


Shrinkage

27%↓


Absenteeism

37%↓


Quality (defects)

60%↓


High engagement = 83% chance of high

performance.

Low engagement = 17% chance of high

performance.

That’s a 5X impact!

Success

Design the Experience

Involve all departments

Chart the touchpoints

Avoid Kmart, Sears

Pursue Disney, Starbucks, SuperBowl

Think like John Deere

• Recording available

• Questions/comments

• Survey

• Blog/resources: www.imaginasium.com (Thinking)

• Twitter: @PatHop & @Imaginasium

• Facebook: Patrick J Hopkins (PatHops) & Imaginasium

Thanks!

http://www.imaginasium.com/

April 15, 2023