Those of us who do Marketing have our attention focused on the market and its trends, on the development of products or services that are valued fusion database by the target audience, on the construction of strong brands, the generation of actions that regulate demand to have greater sales and profitability, among others. In short, the main function of Marketing is to look outside the company. Look at the market.
This article proposes that the Marketing specialist turn his gaze 180 degrees and look inside the company, towards the human resources it has. Companies work with people for people. I wonder, is it really possible for Marketing strategies to be consistent with delivering the brand promise to the customer when the organization and its collaborators are unaware of them or do not live them from within?
Marketing must ensure, through the Human Resources department, that employees have a competency profile that is aligned with what the company requires today and in the future to deliver the defined value to the market. In addition, within the holistic vision of Marketing, this area must also ensure that its brand vision is communicated to the organization's employees and that they internalize it.
Before continuing to develop the subject, I would like to say a resounding statement : shoemaker, stick to your last! There is no doubt that, for example, Marketing is not and will not be responsible for recruiting employees, and that, for its part, Human Resources will not launch products or services. Each area has its specific responsibility in the organization. What is necessary is that both areas are aligned. It is then essential that senior management and marketing specialists recognize that “activities within the company can be as important —or even more important— than those directed outside the company. It makes no sense to promise excellent service before the company's staff is ready to provide it.” (Kotler and Keller; 2013)
Therefore, I propose that Marketing specialists constantly coordinate with Human Resources. Marketing will define what the service or product will be like, the positioning and the brand promise on the external front (customers) and Human Resources will put the talent of the collaborators in their hands so that they can develop it from the internal front (collaborators). Understanding the impact of the above becomes vital when it comes to service companies where there is direct contact between collaborators and the consumer. It is the collaborators who provide the services, who serve the customer or who give information about the use of a product, for example.
Likewise, in coordination with Marketing, Human Resources will develop Internal Marketing actions so that employees become brand ambassadors. In recent years, various lines of thought have been developed regarding the concept of Internal Marketing. This function goes beyond internal communication, or simply informing the company's vision or mission; or announcing product launches. (Regalado, Allpaca, Baca and Gerónimo, 2011). Internal Marketing can be defined as the processes and actions deployed by the organization so that its employees project with their behavior at work the same thing that the company seeks to transmit to the external client. In a few words: BE and SEEM.
