How to Use Your Employee’s Benefits to Your Marketing Advantage

Ken-Blanchard-quoteThe corporate world is full of companies that don't treat their employees fairly. We have all heard the stories of employees being denied benefits or losing their jobs for no reason at all, as these corporate entities view their employees as expendable.

Increasingly, however, customers are staying away from organizations that lack the moral framework to treat employees with respect and are now choosing morally sound companies.  Companies like the Dish Network are finding that their treatment of employees is having a direct affect on their brand. This opens up an interesting marketing opportunity for small businesses with a reputation for taking care of their employees. These small businesses can now use this history to attract new customers, as people want to make purchases from companies that take care of their own.

The Power of Advertising Employee Benefits

If you offer things like disability insurance, life insurance, a retirement plan, employee discounts and flexible spending accounts, make sure that potential customers are aware of this. These customers will see that you treat your employees fairly and will, in turn, see you in a more favorable light.

Disability and life insurance are particularly important in this regard, as they provide support for family members should something tragic happen to an employee. If you choose to offer disability insurance, keep in mind that it is very expensive. While this will cost you out of pocket, the public relations that it will gain for you could make it a worthwhile investment.

With an aging workforce in the United States, retirement benefits are becoming much more important. If you can show potential customers that you intend to take care of your employees after they retire by matching their retirement contributions, it can go a long way towards improving your standing with the general public.

How to Get the Word Out

While you are surely doing these things to benefit your employees, making sure the general public knows about these benefits is great for public relations and, therefore, your bottom line.

Start by creating a LinkedIn profile that summarizing the benefits that are available to all employees. Although having this information on your profile could attract new employees, it also makes the benefits that you offer public knowledge. This space also gives you the chance to answer frequently asked questions like “do rehabs take insurance?” or “Will my insurance cover all of that?”

Twitter is another important tool when getting information about your company out to the public. While you should not tweet about the benefits that you offer your employees every day, periodically reminding your followers that you treat your employees well can build goodwill.

Using Twitter also allows you to include pictures of your employees in the workplace, which adds a human element to the benefits that you provide.

In addition to Twitter, more businesses are now using business-based social networks like Foursquare. It is possible to link this account to your Facebook and Twitter profiles, which provides potential customers with access to all of your social media pages.

Foursquare and other similar platforms offer a check-in feature. Through this feature, you can let all of your followers know when you visit a physical location. Checking-in at your insurance provider's offices, at locations that accept your insurance company's plans and at banks where you make employee retirement fund deposits acts as a reminder that you are doing everything possible to provide your employees with the benefits that they desire.

Running a Small Business

The main issue with offering these benefits is that they can cut into a small business’ profits. At the same time, however, treating your employees with respect is a great way to succeed long term in today’s economy, as society is paying much more attention to how these organizations operate. If you can develop a reputation as a great employer in your area, you can use that stellar reputation to attract new customers.

 

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Gary

CEO at 3Bug Media
Gary Shouldis is the founder of 3Bug Media, a web marketing company that helps businesses create 360 Marketing Strategies to dominate their market. His blog is read by over 20 thousand small business owners a month and has been featured in the N.Y. Times Small Business, Business Insider and Yahoo Small Business.