What's yellow and black, buzzes, and likes flowers?

Coffee Shop Art Project - "The Bees"

My 8-year-old coworker and I worked from Summit Coffee in Birkdale Village yesterday morning. Schools were closed AGAIN so we are adapting and he was learning how to write "engaging email subject lines".

He came up with this one. What do you think? There's still some work to do, but since he's getting on-the-job training, it got me thinking.

What do your employees know about your marketing - is it prepared and presented in a way that's easy enough for an 8-year-old to understand?

It doesn't have to be complicated, but do they know what promotions and specials you have? Upcoming events? ​

Do they truly understand your brand, mission, and who your ideal audience is?

HOW do you communicate that to your team?

Marketing isn't just advertising or social media, or your email newsletter, it's everything you do to attract, communicate with, and retain customers.

When employees of a small business understand what's going on and what goes into marketing, this creates alignment, consistency, deeper understanding of the business and ultimately, better customer experiences.

I've worked places where communication was unbelievably bad (but not for lack of trying). Some employees would read emails, some refused to check emails, others loved Slack, but then others refused to even download the app.

There are lots of directions to take with this conversation, but in regard to marketing, let's think of it this way.

Employees don't always have to know how the sausage is made, but how you communicate with them about marketing and what you're doing to drive traffic and consistent sales to your business, can:

• Build trust among team members (gives a better feeling of job security)

• Provide messaging that is more consistent across the board

• Allow clients and customers to feel more confident

• Avoid losing sales (since clients CAN feel the misalignment between the back and front of house)

  
  

So, here's your actionable step for today that will help move the needle for your business:

As you execute upcoming events, promotions, and further develop your marketing strategy, consider how you communicate everything to your team.

• Explain the Why

  
  

• Clarify how marketing helps attract and retain customers.

  
  

• Emphasize that everyone plays a part in delivering the brand experience.

  
  

• Share What’s Happening

  
  

• Brief the team on current promotions, events, and marketing efforts.

  
  

• Show examples of what’s live (social posts, emails, signage).

  
  

• Give Talking Points

  
  

• Provide simple phrases or details to share with customers.

  
  

• Align what’s said in-store with what’s being said online.

  
  

• Ask for Input

  
  

• Encourage team feedback from customer interactions.

  
  

• Invite ideas or stories to use in future content.

  
  

• Keep It Fresh

  
  

• Do a quick weekly update

  
  

• Celebrate wins and recognize team contributions.

Is there anything else you'd add to this? How do you communicate to your team?