Here’s A Secret to Disseminating Your Message

When marketing budgets are slim, look within.  Even if you have a generous marketing budget, don’t forget your internal resources.  Your employees are often your most overlooked marketing tool.

When I worked for an oil refinery, it was hard to communicate the good things we did.  I mean, the world is literally “fueled” by our products.  People can’t commute to work without petroleum – not just the gasoline, but cars are made of petroleum products.  Your cell phones, your eyeglasses, the paint on the walls, the cushioning in your chair, the soles of your shoes, the carpeting or laminate you’re walking on…all made of petroleum products.  And yet, environmentalists love to spend their energy trying to shut us down.  That’s a story for another day.

It was nearly impossible to get the media to post any good news about our industry (it was perceived as “spin from Big Oil.”)  So, we turned to our employees and created Team Proud.  Employees from four of the Bay Area refineries came together – we trained them to speak and sent them out.  When I say we trained them to speak – we didn’t give them messaging, other than to say “tell your story.”  We did prepare them for what they’d encounter when they spoke – the booing, hissing, skepticism, etc. of “activists.”  Then we invited them to regulatory meetings, to town halls, to one-on-ones with legislators and they shone.  

They talked about how working in energy has provided a great living for their families.  They talked about how they feel safer at the refinery than out on the roads or in the community – because they know how stringent our safety protocols are.  They talked about raising their children in the community – and being proud of the environmental protections for air and water that they KNOW their company takes.  They even talked about how working at the refinery is a family affair – often working alongside their father or daughter or spouse.

It was awesome.  Not only were their testimonies hard to argue with and the message was delivered loud and clear but morale among the employees went up as they professed their pride for the industry and were recognized for their engagement. 

Companies often use their employees for recruiting (promoting it as a great place to work.) Don’t forget the value your employees have in protecting and improving your company’s reputation.