Narendra Modi Taught us all what we needed to know about Employer Branding

This article is not about politics, Neither I represent BJP or Sangh Parivar, instead, it’s about how organizations can build a powerful employer brand . As an ardent advocate of cross-industry bench-marking (where you discover and adapt best practices from another industry), I recommend that employer branding leaders try to learn from the amazing Branding Strategies of Narendra Modi. With 2019 Elections in sight you will find lot of Brand Building happening and heat is building up. No matter what you might personally think about him, the approach that he used to successfully built his image as a Leader and only choice for next elections is something which needs to be analysed.His approach is full of effective and unique approaches that are seldom even considered, no less used, by conservative and risk-averse corporate employer brand builders.

Valuable Tips to Consider For Strengthening Your Employer Brand Image

The possible lessons that corporate employer branding leaders can learn from the recent Narendra Modi brand building success include:

• Talk Boldly and avoid talking corporate stuff— One thing which is admired about Modi is being bold, From Demonetization to GST Implementation, Making allays across the world and being present in important global event. being bold in your messaging is clearly an attention seeker. Saying bold things stands out because most corporate websites and recruiting ads are painfully dull. Individual job seekers now get as much as 80 percent of what they know about a corporation from outside sources. And that percentage is likely to get higher because they don’t trust what they find on corporate web pages and in recruiting ads. If you want to get noticed say bolder stuff.
• Come across consistent and coherent:- It isn't just the volume of Modi's messaging. He succeeds in setting the narrative because his message is coherent. After a Modi speech, you know exactly what he was saying, you go home with his message.The impact of this relentless campaigning has been felt across different age groups, geographies and sections of society. I have even heard young children, far removed from such debate, mentioning the word 'NaMo',referring to a sobriquet for Narendra Modi. The carefully crafted moniker also appeals to the traditional Hindus - the BJP's main vote bank - because of its religious connotation, as the Sanskrit word Namo is used as a salutation reserved for the Hindu gods.
• Say memorable things that will be repeated — You can summarize Modi's message in keywords, a sign of coherence. Instead of the alphabet soup of acronyms, he's used simple yet powerful words for his campaigns and schemes: Make In India, Swachh Bharat, Digital India, Mann ki Baat, Mission 272+. Any marketing professional will tell you how clarity of message is the first requirement of successful marketing,saying things that can be easily remembered and that people will likely repeat helps to ensure that you’ll get a lot of attention. Saying quotable things means that your message will be spread virally across social media. Talk on topics that are on everyone’s mind but that few others are addressing. And finally encourage your employees retweet and spread your message on social media.
• Never miss an opportunity to be seen and quoted — There is no space Modi doesn't believe in capturing. He's captured the narrative of caste (he's himself from an OBC community), class (demonetisation), nationalism, religion, gender (Beti Bachao), health (yoga), education (address to students in Mann ki Baat, they are tomorrow's voters) and so on. He even did a masterstroke by nominating Kovind who is dalit leader as next Presidential election candidate. Modi loves the camera because he knows that the media can help to spread his message (for free). In the corporate world, it is critical that, rather than being afraid of being misquoted, executives and managers take every opportunity to blog, write articles, be quoted in the media, and to appear in news videos.
• Personalize the communication — rather than relying exclusively on broad messages, include some personalization, so that the listener/reader feels like the message is “speaking directly to me”. "Mann ki Baat" is a classical example how Modi creates personalized messaging addressing different strata of society.Do your market research to identify what different segments of your target audience are really thinking, and directly address those issues or thoughts like you are personally addressing each individual listener.
• Keep it simple — although some portion of your audience might want detailed answers, much of the audience prefers short, simple, and direct answers. When your audience has a short attention span, make sure that your message fits within their time span. This is Twitter and instagram generation and Branding should move to the platforms most of the Millennials are hooked on to.
• Come across as un-choreographed and avoid scripted materials — whatever you say, make it appear to be straight from the heart. Whether it be a narrative, a talk, or a video, a significant part of any audience doesn’t believe anything that is scripted, rehearsed, or overly controlled. If you want to be considered as authentic, real, genuine, and credible, everything you present can’t be perceived as perfect and pristine.
• Make People feel your passion — Modi created an identity that resonated with far more people and deeper than that of the BJP. Like brands make sense at surface and deeper levels, Modi's discourse on economic development and prosperity intersected at the surface level of consciousness. The Gujarat model threw in words like governance, roads, electricity, women's safety, peace, industry and education, supported by statistics. This satisfied the questioning mind that hankers for reason.many applicants want to work at a place where the employees are passionate about what they do. Make that passion easy to see, feel, and experience by including real employee comments, stories, and by providing a chance to interact with your employees. Employee-made videos showing exciting moments in your workplace excel at revealing the passion that your employees feel every day.
• Don't hold back anything — From a prime minister who spoke very little, India went on to get a prime minister who speaks almost daily, often several times a day. And he is such a good orator that news channels say broadcasting his speeches live gets them good ratings,there is no doubt Modi's good luck that his chief opponent Rahul Gandhi is a terrible orator. Yet there is nobody, in the Congress or any other party, who can match Modi's oratory. Voters say they like to listen to Modi, they feel good listening to him. Modi gives speeches like a skilled batsman with an appropriate shot for every kind of ball.transparency is a trait that many admire. Always appear to be forthcoming, so that the audience thinks that you are revealing everything and holding nothing back.
• Make it clear that you get things done —The speeches made by Modi were always targeted towards a positive future and towards the growth of countries and nations which is possible when we join hands. Modi personally presented the Bhagavad Gita and Matin luther king jr memorablia to Obama. In UN speech, Modi spoke about security issues and international, and in Madison square garden speech, he spoke about democracy, freedom and future of Indian youth. Everyone seems to be impressed with someone who always gets things done. So when you’re talking about your past successes and future plans, make it clear that your firm does what it promises. Don’t dwell on the many problems that you will face, but instead show confidence and a strong track record of successes. Saying unabashedly that you make a lot of money, that you are a great negotiator, or that you always find a way to win may seem arrogant to some, but many others will take you at your word and admire you for being a doer.
• The look and feel: Thee look and feel is as much a part of the package as the sophistry. The bespoke kurta, the Movado watch, Bvlgari spectacles and the Mont Blanc pen set him quite apart from the ‘regular’ Indian politician. Modi’s obvious delight in dressing well resonates with a section of the electorate that values opportunity and personal growth and progress above divisive politics and chicanery
• Be tough and don’t back down — it might not be a good idea to be perceived as wishy-washy, neutral, or forgiving to your opponents. Being viewed as scrappy and that you fight for what you believe in by directly attacking “your enemies” on their actions will impress many people because most corporations avoid confrontation at any costs. Direct comparisons with your competitors show you have the courage to say that you are better, and many will believe that you are, because you had the courage to say it. When you say or do something bold, don’t back down when it receives the inevitable criticism.

Final Thoughts

I’m not proposing that every corporation completely follow Modi's approach. But even if you are not personally a political supporter of Modi, it’s hard to argue against his approach that has built his name and his brand image of BJP.. And isn’t being talked about one of the major goals of any corporate employer brand campaign? Incidentally, he built his image without running a single ad and without providing many details about most of his proposed solutions. Every corporation can learn from Modi, but if your firm currently has a weak employer brand image, look at his approach, because in the political arena his brand-building approach produces results almost immediately.