Woolworths – the role of contact planning process and how internal marketing is shaping their brand.

 

Don’t you get a positive feeling every time you leave a Woolworths store? Like your life seems better for the experience and you can’t wait to return? You’re not the only one, and this is because the experience has been carefully crafted by Woolworths to ensure every point of contact is a positive one. In this post I will discuss how Woolworths have used internal marketing to inspire employees to promote the brand through every step of the brand contact process.

 

What is Brand Contact?

 

According to Klopper and North (2011) brand contact is any moment a brand performs or expresses itself and influences what stakeholders think, feel and believe about the brand. For a brand like Woolworths this can be experienced from their print media ads, their products and the farewell from employees. All these points and everything in between have an influence on how you perceive the brand. So it is important to ensure that all these points are planned and managed to ensure that it is effective and efficient at delivering their promise.

                                               Quality you can trust - a fresh veg contact point 

The most important group in establishing this brand contact process are the employees as they are customer facing. As Woolworths state on their website; it is important for them to hire and invest in people who share their brand purpose, values and passion to help grow a future-fit business. To effectively do this they need to focus on internal marketing to create a company culture that encourages and inspires employees to live and embody the brand values. By doing so they can entrench their purpose and values through employee engagement. Grossman (2008:4) states that an engaged employee will embody the brands values and go above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

 

What is Internal Marketing and how does Woolworths use it effectively?

 

Internal marketing focuses on promoting the companies purpose and promise to it’s employees so they are able communicate this effectively with their customers. Woolworths have a collective forum of senior executives that deliver a modern and connected people experience to its employees (www.woolworths.com, 2023). They have focused on further entrenching their values and building leadership capabilities. 

Image from the Woolworths "Good Business Report' illustrates 

where they position their employees.

Once a brand has realised that its employees should be treated equally to their customers when it comes to marketing, they can then focus on planning and managing the brand contact process.

 

The brand contact process and the role of the employee.

 

Now that Woolworths have focused their marketing efforts internally and engaged their employees to communicate the brand purpose, they need to focus on how this can be applied through all their contact points to ensure consistency and cohesion. Klopper and North (2011:161) suggests five steps in managing the brand contact process.

 

Step 1 – Establish all points of contact.

 

For Woolworths, it is important to collect an inventory of all the points a consumer may come into contact with their brand. For Woolworths they have contact points with their products and their service. These points are often planned but there are also unplanned contact points consumers have with the brand such as word-of-mouth.

It is important for them to consult their employees on all levels to get a holistic view and identify every possible point of contact. 

Step 2 – Identify the main contact patterns.

 

From this inventory, Woolworths need to identify the main brand contact patterns and identify how and with whom their consumers will interact at each point.

 

Step 3 – Identify the most important brand contact points

 

As Woolworths is an employee run store most of these important contact points involve interaction with employees. It is vital to ensure employees are given the right conditions and motivation in these important instances to add value to the customer experience. Important contact points include the first contact someone may have with Woolworths, the last contact point, frequent contact points and points that resonate with consumers.

Woolworths 'To Go' and the employee interaction is an 

important Brand Contact Point.

Step 4 – Brand contact points must contribute to brand cohesion

Woolworths have stores across the country and it is important for them deliver the same message through all their contact points. Each point must tell the same message to create cohesion across the board.

 

Step 5 – Managing brand contact cohesion

 

Klopper and North (2011:161) suggest that the goal of brand contact planning and management is to achieve brand cohesion and that all contact points serve the brand purpose. Woolworths offer a 12-month experiential learning opportunities and upon completion employees receive a nationally recognised qualification which helps achieve brand cohesion across the country.

 

Conclusion

 

Woolworths are a brand that have focused on their employees and ensure they are aware of the companies values and purpose. By including and engaging their employees they are able to inspire them to live and shape the brand. In doing so they allow the employees to communicate this same message in a cohesive way through all the interactions they have with customers. Effectively spreading their purpose and building strong lasting relationships with customers.

References

Get Smarter. 2023. Brand Contact Planning and Management (module five). Available on GetSmarter portal.

Grossman, D. 2008. Internal Branding: How to Create and Sustain a Successful Internal Brand. London: Melcrum Publishing

Klopper, H.B. & North, E. 2011. Brand Management. Pearson: South Africa

Woolworths 'Good Business Report' (2018) - Good Business Report

Woolworths Website (2023) - www.woolworthsholdings.co.za