How to triple your marketing team overnight for $0

If you’re a CEO, marketing director, or a part of your organizations communications team, you probably think you have the biggest marketing team you can afford… yet you still wish you had more people. Truth is you have a potentially huge marketing team and may not even realize it.

Every person who works in your organization has contact with people outside your organization. Every person who works in your organization has family, friends, and acquaintances who they recommend products and services to every day.

Unfortunately, many people in many organizations think of themselves as working exclusively for their department. “I’m in accounting.” “I’m in customer service.” “I’m a teacher.” “I’m an administrator.”

Think bigger!

You could make the case that everyone in your organization is already on the marketing team. They just may not know it yet. Everyone who works for your organization implicitly represents your organization. But people don’t buy products, visit churches, or give to non-profits because they know someone who works there and they seem nice.

People do, however, buy products, visit churches, and give to non-profits based on the recommendations of their family, friends, and acquaintances.

Do the people who work in your organizations believe in what you’re doing? Are they passionate about why you’re doing it? Are they telling their friends, their neighbors, the other parents at the ball field? If not…

It’s time to change the culture!

In this era where trust of media and advertising as at an all-time low, and your staff’s potential to influence others is at an all-time high (thanks to social media), you can significantly impact the growth and influence of your organization by creating a culture where everyone on staff sees themselves as a part of the marketing team.

How do you create a culture where every employee sees themselves as a part of the marketing team?

1. Talk about it. Culture starts at the top. It takes leadership. The CEO, principal, or senior pastor has to talk about it – often lot. Not just verbally, but in all types of communication: emails, organization newsletters, etc.
2. Incentivize it. Create incentives for employees to refer their friends. They could be financial incentives, but they could be non-financial perks like a nice parking spot, lunch with the boss, or recognition in front of peers.
3. Celebrate it.  Tell stories. Find examples of employees who have referred friends. Give them the opportunity to tell their story or ask the person they referred to tell the story. Include these stories in staff meetings or newsletters.

Does your organization have a culture where every employee sees themselves as a part of the marketing team? How do/would you go about creating that kind of culture?

9) 4 Innovative Ways to Build a Communications Team When You Have No Staff <– Leadership in Communications –> 11) Creating a “We” Culture: How to Grow Your Marketing Team by Another 10x