Unhappy Employees Can Damage Your Business - Dumb Marketing Move

This week’s Dumb Marketing Move goes to FedEx.

I’m sure FedEx does a lot of good marketing, but they’re forgetting one important thing, their front line. Now that it’s getting hot again, I thought we should share this. Their drivers don’t have air conditioning in their trucks.

So at least ¼ of the year, if not more, their frontline employees are miserably hot, which can quickly translate into snappy people with the public or aggravated driving. They’re forgetting that satisfied employees, even if it is just their comfort level, are a powerful marketing tool that should not be ignored.

Lesson Learned: Your marketing plan should also include satisfaction of employees; they can turn off a customer, a loyal customer, or even a potential customer. Employees are now less loyal and if they aren’t happy your customers will hear about it, and if they are happy it will show and customers will love shopping at your store, or using your services.

Kill the Messenger

Good management wants feedback from customers, and vendors but especially from their employees and not just with good news. When something isn’t working, especially in marketing activities, you want to know it ASAP. 

When the reaction is known to be retribution instead of appreciation how often do you think you will be told of a small problem before it blows up into a big mess? Get smart and create the right environment …. or get out and let someone with brains and character step in.