How to demonstrate company culture to clients
When all employees of a company are united by a common mission, promote the same values, adhere to the same rules — they are not afraid of crises, competitors, or other problems.
The corporate spirit unites and brings people together: all employees know exactly what they are doing, for what and for whom. How to build a company culture, show it to your clients and maintain it for many years — we will tell in this article.
What is corporate culture and why is it needed
A company culture is a set of common rules, values, norms of behaviour with clients and within the team, which all employees adhere to. Even if your online store employs five people, we advise you to develop a corporate culture and adhere to it. It is known that when there are rules established once and for all, it becomes easier to work. Just stick with them – that’s all.
What problems does the creation of a corporate culture solve?
Detachment from competitors. Not all online stores can boast of a developed corporate culture — you can become one of the leaders;
Positive reputation of the company. Honest methods, a simple and understandable mission, universal human values, can attract more customers than the most expensive advertising company.
The influx of good personnel. Market news travels quickly — people will want to work for your company.
Basic concepts of the corporate culture
Mission, or big idea
The main message that your online store carries to the masses. For example, make people’s lives more comfortable with your products. Or make women beautiful — if you sell cosmetics. Or promote healthy lifestyle ideas — if you specialise in sports goods. There are a lot of options — start from your niche and think about the mission of your store.
Values
Since we are talking about eCommerce, customer care will most likely be the main value. If you have fast delivery, then you value customers time. If the quality is impeccable, then you are not indifferent to what kind of goods the client will surround himself with. Ideal service is also about customer care: if you have it at its best, you can safely say that you are ready to consult day and night, just to make the client happy.
Development strategy
When you were writing your business plan, you probably calculated the main goals for the coming years. Now, when you work for a certain time, it becomes clear in which direction to move, which goods to give preference to. Are you sure your employees are up to date with your ideas? Corporate culture is called so because every person in it is involved in the course of events.
Leadership system
Each employee must clearly know what tasks he performs and to whom he reports. You should have a clearly built structure and the hierarchy of the company: if the online store is small, the manager is in charge of everything. If it is large, there are heads of departments, who, in turn, report to the director themselves.
Rules of behaviour
There are internal rules of communication that ensure the format of work within the team. The same corporate spirit that creates the environment and defines the relationship of employees. For example:
- Each employee has a certain range of tasks;
- Employees undergo training once a year;
- In your team, squealing and intrigue are not accepted;
- For cheating a client, an employee is fired.
Brand personality
The visual part of the corporate culture that unites both employees and customers. If the same elements, colours, fonts, slogans are present on the site, in the group of an online store, and on the packaging of goods, people involuntarily perceive such a company more holistically and more solidly. You can use stickers with your logo on companies cars, on the windows of the office and a nice detail would be putting a couple of good quality entrance mats with your logo, so clients will notice them before entering your company building.
Traditions and rituals
Everything that helps to unite employees and gives them peace of mind and confidence in the future. People know: no matter what happens — in the summer you will go to a corporate event, every month you will reward the best employee, and Lisa’s manager will photoshop his picture for publication on the website.
Conclusion
The main thing that can be gleaned from this article is endless trust and respect for employees and costumers. If customers cannot trust you, you do not respect them- then why would they cooperate with you? Build a dream team that supports your company culture and your clients goals and values. Good luck!
