Applying Concepts

Internal marketing is an inward facing marketing concept, used to motivate all functions to satisfy customers, thus aiding in increasing a company’s reputation and image. As MarketingTeacher.com notes, “with internal marketing the marketer is really extending and developing the foundations of marketing such as the marketing concept, the exchange process and customer satisfaction to internal customers” (2012, para. 1). Today within the concept of internal marketing, we see a trend towards a service economy, where there is a convergence of marketing concepts, corporate identity, quality of service and human resources management. There also appears to be a shift in marketing more to the sales side than in the advertising. As Dr Pedroza explains, “happy employees make customers happy.” In the internal marketing model, all activities of an organization have a direct or indirect impact to the external environment. With a focus on the employee, communication becomes an interactive process, and employees are empowered as customers themselves. MarketingTeacher.com goes on to explain that there are a number of techniques that marketers can use to communicate with internal customers and functions. These include identifying internal and external customers and their needs and wants; providing internal services at intranets for human resources; and representing internal business functions within the external environment. Steps that organizational leaders can take in creating strong internal networks include establishing common organizational goals and objectives, and reinforcing the commitment to the success of the team as members’ own personal success. Often confused, a differentiating factor of internal marketing from internal branding is that internal marketing is “based on the self-reinforcing relationship between employee and