7 HR Insights Learned From Marketing

In the world of HR, marketing may seem like a department located on the other side of the planet, but it doesn't have to be. In fact, Chris Ferdinandi on KnowHR wrote recently that marketing can teach HR a thing or two. He has made an insightful list of lessons gleaned from the way marketing departments operate:

• Marketing comes easy when the product is great. HR departments need to stop pushing bad programs on people and shape what they have into a really good program people will want to sign up for.
• Eye-catching works. “Good design doesn’t mean adding a few random graphics at the end,” Ferdinandi wrote. You need to think about “how a user would interact with what you’re creating. Its about how something works – not what it looks like.”
• Think of your department as a brand. “Brands matter,” Ferdinandi said. If you're selling your department correctly, people will come to you and think of you more often.
• Don't spam. Whenever marketers send a stupid, annoying or meaningless email, it's called spam. When HR departments do that, it, too, is ignored and trashed like spam. Hone your message, send them in a timely manner.
• Sell the sizzle, not the steak. “In other words,” Ferdinandi said, “people ignore the dry, buzzword laden prose that’s typical of most corporate communication. Be direct. Be interesting. Be relevant.”
• Tell people exactly what they're getting. “Which would make you feel better: Buying a product that doesn’t live up to the hype,” Ferdinandi said, “or buying a product that ends up being exactly what you thought it would be?” An HR program needs to sell less and be just plain honest.
• Ask Your Customers. Marketers are all about market testing. Why can't HR do the same? “You may think you know what your employees want,” Ferdinandi said. “But you don’t really know until you ask them. If you told someone about Twitter three years ago, they would have told you that you’re crazy.”

 

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