Internal Marketing: The Transformation from "Touchy-feely" to Hitting the Bottom-line.
Like everything else, it seems that internal marketing is undergoing a transformation - moving from the "touchy-feely" era of benefits to those that really hit the bottom-line hard. Especially in these times of acquisitions, affiliations, and other cooperative arrangements. Several summertime events have reinforced what we've thought all along - the value of building brand knowledge on the inside has immediate and very tangible results. First, a personal experience from a recent summer trip that included a hotel scheduling snafu. For some reason, the Marriott hotel I thought I was booked into, was actually sold out and did not have my name on the list. Even with my usual "song and dance," the receptionist could not accommodate. But, instead of sending me and my travel companion on our way to a competitor for four nights, she provided us a list of other Marriott branded properties in the area and called a special hotline for availability. S...