Marketing Your ENTIRE Company

Lindsey Walters

Take a hard look at what your company does. The products/services that your company provides should certainly set you apart from competitors and should strive to be the best, but are they what truly drive your company? Arguably, your company is so much more than your offerings, and it deserves to be marketed that way. When your prospects and clients think of your company, odds are that your products or services are not the only things they think of.

But how do you highlight your entire company in a positive way? Start with thinking about the core of your company – the people. Your employees make up your company and can drive the goodwill of your company in ways you might not have imagined. Marketing aspects of your company customers and consumers might not see on a day-to-day can make a huge impact. Here are some different areas and examples to think about:

• Maybe your company makes an effort to hire veterans, giving back to those who have served. There are many companies that work in partnership with ARMing Heroes in the debt industry to help place and train veterans. Up front, customers might not know about this, but by highlighting certain organizations you work with that are known for uplifting your community, you can give your brand a boost.
• There are various activities that happen over the course of the year, whether routine or one-time opportunities, that might not be promoted. Things like your entire team took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge, your company donated to the annual blood drive, or even your CEO making a huge donation to a charity. Send out social media posts, sharing videos & pictures, or even submitting news releases on these events can help others see your company in another light outside of your services/products.
• Has your company been deemed as one of the Best Places to Work for in Collections? Show others that you not only care about ROI, but also providing the best working experience for your professionals. By entering in the Best Places to Work program, your employees are in charge of how you place. They vote and rank your company based on their working environment and overall experience – straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak.
• Doing things like this already, but need help spreading the word? We love to highlight companies that are Doing It Right at insideARM, and frequently share stories on the site and in social media when we hear about good deeds. Mention us in your next tweet or send us an email and let us know what your company has been up to!

Taking a step back to a consumer or customer point of view, the public’s perception of your company can absolutely make or break your company. Try thinking of some companies in your mind that you absolutely hate. Now ask yourself – do you hate this particular company because of their product/service or because of something else? Honestly, there are a few places that I personally refuse to deal with anymore based on things outside of their offerings. Things like word of mouth, poor customer support, or negative corporate image effect buying decisions and can easily outweigh the benefits your company can provide in consumers’ minds.

Things like BBB ratings, YELP reviews, and other consumer-controlled rankings and reviews of your company can seriously bias potential prospects. How many restaurants you have decided not to visit because of some terrible reviews, like this one? Surely every company cannot have a perfect rating and cannot please everyone. However, you always should strive to right your wrongs & learn from your mistakes as a company – making diligent efforts both on these public reviews and behind the scenes. Reaching out in certain public review forums can prove that you are attempting to make things right, and could even lead to those removing their negative reviews.

When launching your next marketing efforts, consider marketing your entire company, not just your products/services. The interworking’s of your firm, past reviews of products/services/team members, rankings in certain awards or categories, and even word of mouth all shape how your company is viewed to prospects. Help shape the conversation around these things by actively marketing them alongside your products and services to build your brand up around all the areas you are involved in.