Emotional connectivity- Key to Executive branding : Role of Executives

Customers now look for authenticity. Earlier practice of closing sales by demonstrating how a company’s product & service satisfied customer need no longer holds ground. Executives need to establish an emotional connect with customers over social media to win & maintain their trust & loyalty. I am going to talk about how C-suites can improve their branding.

Businesses are no longer B2B or B2C rather focused on H2H-Human to Human approach. Customers want to know about the company & CEO(s) they are supporting. With social media, it is easy to know & track what CEO(s) are doing & tweeting constantly- whether they are committing fraud or donating huge amounts of money to help those in need. These activities & engagements create emotions- from compassion to concern. 

Credible CEOs endorse & represent the core values of their organisation with which they resonate. Customers want to know the personality of the CEO(s) & what they do in their private lives ( by watching out for their posts on social media) & how that reflects on the company.

So how to CEO /C-suite emotionally connect with their customers/target audience? The best way to establish a connection is to communicate the value & purpose of organisations through storytelling. This reinforces authenticity & creates brand loyalty.

The following paragraphs will detail how CEO(s) can align their values with those of the organisation that will impact the public perception about the your company’s brand:

1. Practice what you preach: When you imbibe the core values and practice what you preach, people across the organisation like to imitate your behaviors. Employees will be motivated enough to demonstrate such behavior while dealing with vendors & customers. The core values & purpose written on a document or hanging on a wall does not mean much, unless the same is practiced by top management throughout their code of conduct. If a company is led by a manager who is trustworthy & has honest & ethical values, the business performance improves.
2. Focus on small things: An organisation’s core value is not reflected in big & strategic decisions. Core values & philosophy should be demonstrated by employees in their day-to-day operations. Encourage your team to implement value alignment in every action they take on a daily basis.
3. Be transparent & visible: If you are visible & transparent in following & implementing the organisation’s value, your team & employees would be more inclined & considerate in imbibing & implementing those values. If you are seen as engaging & adopting certain behavior, then it is an authentic reflection of you as a person. If you represent value of your organisation in your daily interaction with employees, vendors, customers, you can see & demonstrate sustainable business growth