Just the other day, I was shopping online for black pantyhose. Whenever I shop on Amazon, I start with an overall keyword search, select only those items designated as “Prime,” and then sort by four-star ratings or higher. That’s when I stumbled across this listing and thought, "Wow, that's an interesting place for an employee video." The connection from the employees to the company to the product, and then to overarching company brand message seems so effortlessly and beautifully aligned. 

Watching this video and hearing from the employees at No Nonsense influenced my decision to buy. And, when I passed this link along to members of #teamexaqueo, there was a similar, positive reaction. “I watch product videos all the time to help inform my purchases. Just thinking about this on a personal level, I don't think I ever thought twice about the No Nonsense brand,” shares Lexi Gordon, exaqueo’s COO. “But after seeing that, I've changed my viewpoint from ambivalent to more positive.” 

What if there was a concerted effort put toward measuring employees’ influence on overall brand perception and awareness? How interesting that would be! 

According to the 2018 Talent Board North American Candidate Experience Research Report, “Candidates who believe they have had a ‘negative’ overall experience will take their alliance, product purchases, and business relationship somewhere else.” On the flip side, the willingness of candidates to increase their relationship with an employer (if they have had a positive experience) trends upward. 

In this No Nonsense example, I was clearly a consumer not a candidate. However, based on No Nonsense displaying this employee video, there is now a greater willingness for me to increase my buying power with them, as well as influence others.  “It’s always a great exercise to dig in to potential points of influence, especially on the product side,” adds Susan LaMotte, CEO and founder of exaqueo, “there’s a direct correlation between employees being purchasers and the dissatisfaction of the candidate experience process leading to declines in sales.” To begin to better understand the business impact of the candidate experience, take a look at the Talent Board’s resentment calculator. 

This is just one small example of how one 30-second employee video helped to increase overall company brand awareness and product awareness, and influence brand perception and a purchase.  What if, instead of just posting employee videos across HR’s typical channels (LinkedIn, Glassdoor, career sites, Facebook, YouTube), we partner with colleagues in Marketing to explore new opportunities? 

What if employer brand became a stronger vehicle to create more than interest in jobs? What if, as employer brand leaders, we expand our sphere of influence to drive tangible sales results?