Safety and marketing – they’re two terms you probably wouldn’t immediately connect with one another. But as surprising as it may seem, the former can play a real part in the latter’s success.
Your company’s marketing efforts can involve a number of elements, from its employees to its research. But have you considered incorporating its safety record into its publicity?
Highlighting your low record of accidents at work can really help to set your company apart in the eyes of many, from prospective employees to suppliers.
How can safety help your marketing?
Ensuring the safety of employees and anyone else present on your organisation’s premises can be more beneficial than simply keeping your reputation neutral. This is particularly true if you operate in an industry known for its accidents and casualties.
Making sure everyone is safe within your organisation will keep your company name out of the headlines for the wrong reasons. This means your marketing and PR teams won’t have to spend any time mitigating these kinds of incidents, allowing them to focus on the more important brand awareness and publicity campaigns.
Meanwhile, morale won’t take a hit when everyone is safe. This can mean that employees are productive and reliable, keeping focused on doing their jobs. Customer-facing departments could therefore deliver better service, inspiring customers to share their positive experiences. If you can capitalise with a review site, such as TrustPilot or Feefo, your organisation can see a real marketing boost – for a minimum amount of effort.
Putting it into practice
Recruitment is a major part of growing organisations. And a major part of recruitment is ensuring your company is visible enough to attract the attention of the right talent – something your marketing department can play a role in.
Start looking at employer review sites like Glassdoor and various job boards. If you’re confident about your employees’ experiences working for your company, encourage them to post their honest reviews. It’s important not to force them to write favourable reviews, though. This can be found out easily and will result in reputational damage – just the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
If safety is a priority at work and accident levels are low for your industry, this is something that potential employees will likely be interested in. Highlighting this fact on your company review sites will help potential applicants weigh up how important that is to them. When you operate in an industry like construction or agriculture – notoriously dangerous sectors – this could be a deciding factor for prospective workers.
When it comes to safety, your company has control of the situation. It should ensure it’s doing everything it can to make all employees as safe as possible all the time. Doing so can have unintended – but highly welcome – consequences for both your workforce and your marketing and wider industry presence.
