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In today's highly competitive business landscape, branding has become a crucial factor for success. It not only helps organizations stand out from the competition but also drives customer loyalty and trust. However, when it comes to Global Business Services (GBS), branding is often overlooked or undervalued.

I recently had the opportunity to share my views alongside leaders and experts in an SSON webinar, which stemmed from a GBS SSON branding study that I partnered with SSON Research & Analytics. Thank you to Barbara Hodge, Tom Olavi Bangemann, and Angela Mangiapane for sharing wonderful insights.

In this article, I discuss why branding is essential for GBS organizations and how they can approach it to create a strong brand image and further improve their talent attraction and retention strategies.

Why Branding is Important for GBS Organizations

Establishes presence

With the rise of digital technologies and globalization, the competition in the business world has increased manifold. Companies need to differentiate themselves from their competitors to attract and retain customers. Branding plays a critical role in this regard, as it helps companies communicate their unique value proposition and establish a strong presence in the market.

Improves recall

A strong brand image helps customers remember and recognize a company's products or services. This, in turn, leads to increased brand recall and customer loyalty. When it comes to GBS organizations, branding can help customers associate the company with high-quality services and expertise.

Enhances culture

Branding can also play a crucial role in enhancing the organizational culture of GBS companies. A strong brand identity can unite employees under a common vision and mission, fostering a sense of belonging and pride. This can lead to increased engagement and commitment among employees.

Builds commitment

By creating a strong brand image, GBS organizations can build commitment and trust with their customers. This, in turn, can lead to increased customer retention and loyalty, which is essential for the long-term success of any business.

Creates engagement

A strong brand image can also create engagement and interest among customers and other stakeholders. This can lead to increased visibility and positive word-of-mouth, which can help GBS organizations expand their customer base and establish themselves as leaders in the industry.

Drives reputation

Branding can also play a crucial role in driving the reputation of GBS organizations. A strong brand image can help companies establish themselves as thought leaders and experts in their respective domains, thereby enhancing their credibility and reputation.

Protects against risks

Finally, branding can help protect GBS organizations against risks such as negative publicity or reputational damage. By establishing a strong brand identity and reputation, companies can mitigate the impact of such risks and ensure that they continue to enjoy the trust and loyalty of their customers.

Need to Rethink How GBS Must Approach Branding

To create a strong brand image, GBS organizations need to rethink how they approach branding. Here are some key considerations:

1. Branding must see GBS as a product to market and promote

To create a strong brand image, GBS organizations need to see themselves as a product to market and promote. This means identifying their unique value proposition and communicating it effectively to their customers and other stakeholders.

2. Bring in an emotional angle to make it more appealing to stakeholders

GBS organizations need to be emotive to make their brand more appealing to stakeholders. This means identifying the emotions that their customers and employees associated with their services and using them to create a strong brand identity.

3. Branding needs to consider how the internal and external can be blended for the best outcomes

Branding needs to consider bringing together the best of internal and external communication for exemplary outcomes. This means creating a strong internal brand identity that aligns with the external brand image and vice versa.

Challenges Internally

However, it isn't as easy as it sounds. GBS organizations face several internal challenges when it comes to branding.

To begin, GBS is viewed as ‘internal’ so less important than customer-facing functions

GBS is often viewed as an internal function and, therefore, less important than customer-facing functions. This perception needs to be changed by showcasing how GBS influences and impacts the business.

One way to do this is to highlight the success stories of GBS and demonstrate how closely knit it is to the business. GBS can showcase its value beyond just the business, but also from a brand valuation context. What is GBS without a brand backing it?

To change the perception that GBS is a place where staff can't build careers, GBS branding efforts must help staff see the big picture and not just their work in silos. Bringing the 'one' company spirit is essential because often, staff in GBS are unclear about where their loyalties lie - for the business or for the teams they work for.

GBS branding teams can be custodians of the culture and bring conversations to reinforce messages. Crowdsourcing ideas and initiatives for branding from staff can raise the profile of GBS. HQ communication and branding teams need to appreciate the significance and value of GBS to pitch for it.

The role of branding is a crucial aspect of GBS organizations. It plays a significant role in driving reputation, creating engagement, building commitment, enhancing culture, improving recall, and protecting against risks. GBS branding needs to be approached as a product to market and promote, bringing in an emotional angle to make it more appealing to stakeholders. The internal and external aspects of branding need to be blended for the best outcomes. Internal reputation can lead to external implications, and vice versa, having strong alignment and linkages will benefit the brand.

With proper branding efforts, GBS can showcase its value to the business, beyond just being an internal function, and also build a strong brand image that can protect it against risks and drive its success in the long run.