5 lessons from consumer marketing

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Leaders and people teams can learn a lot from consumer marketing. 

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” – Seth Godin

Taking Godin’s marketing wisdom to the world of talent attraction and engagement:

Your employer brand is a set of experiences, stories, relationships and perceptions which are at the core of a person’s decision to choose to work for you over another employer. Your brand is why they choose you, and why they stay.

Your employer brand is equally if not more important than the brand you show to your customers and donors. And they absolutely must be aligned.

A global research study commissioned by Cheetah Digital in 2023 uncovered the key trends in what people expect from brands they do business with. Drawn from a survey of 5,400 people across seven countries including Australia, five of the key insights are equally applicable to talent brands as consumer brands.

Money isn’t everything.

The core of loyalty is an emotive connection to the brand. Money matters, but consumers won’t always choose the cheapest price point (or best salary).

People choose brands that focus on experience, foster community, recognise the customer (employee) as an individual and deliver honest, useful content.

Trust is paramount.

Purpose-led brands have a natural advantage when it comes to trust. Consumers are four times more likely to trust a brand with a strong purpose.

Yet leveraging this natural advantage in recruitment is not a given. 64 per cent of consumers do not trust the advertising they see online. When we look at the challenges and limitations outlined in this research, it’s clear there is much room for improvement in how NFP employers communicate with the talent audience.

Transparency builds trust.

73 per cent of people said ‘lack of salary information in job ads’ is the most frustrating thing about searching on job boards. How can an employer expect people to opt in to a job if they don’t have enough information to assess if the offer is right for them? 

In consumer marketing, good content drives engagement and results. Irrelevant content and offers create frustration.

Transparent, comprehensive recruitment content will drive engagement and connection with the right audience.

Experience matters (and it’s the core of your brand).

21 per cent of consumers have left a favoured brand because they didn’t feel valued as a customer. If you care about donor or customer experience (CX), you should care about employee experience (EX). 

How you make people feel matters. EX can make or break engagement and retention. It’s the core of your talent brand and key to effective talent attraction.

Brand loyalty is on the rise.

57 per cent of consumers are prepared to pay more to purchase from a preferred brand. 

When it comes to jobs and the talent market, employers can gain an advantage by being known. Once people know who you are, you can build trust and become a preferred place to work. 

Not sure where to start? Read about the four steps to building a proactive employer brand in our free download.

Get more talent insights and solutions in Heart Talent’s NFP Talent Attraction Report. 

This insightful, practical report is designed to help NFP leaders understand common talent trends and challenges and consider new approaches to the mission-critical challenge of talent attraction and retention.

For support with talent attraction or a confidential chat about your talent strategy and how to leverage key opportunities in the era of talent, get in touch with Cynthia Harris.