Internal marketing is the overlooked driver of successful change

When we think of marketing, our instinct is to picture external campaigns – customer engagement, advertising spend, digital content, and sales pipelines. But some of the most powerful and overlooked marketing work any organisation can do is not directed outward at all. It is aimed inward.

Internal marketing applies the mindset and disciplines of marketing to your employees. If customers are the audience for your brand and products, then staff are the audience for your vision, plans, and change programmes. A strategy may look brilliant in the boardroom, but without buy-in from the people delivering it, execution falters.

According to established marketing thinking, there are three dimensions to marketing:

External marketing – engaging customers with your brand, products and services
Internal marketing – ensuring employees understand and support the strategy
Interactive marketing – the frontline relationship between staff and customers

Too often, leaders obsess about the first and overlook the second. Yet we live in an environment of constant change, and it is internal marketing that makes the difference between a plan that lives or dies.

What internal marketing means

Business leaders often treat communication as the final stage of a strategy. Once the plan is signed off, HR or corporate comms “tells” the workforce what will happen. That approach is outdated and ineffective. Staff may hear the message, but hearing is not the same as owning.

Implementation is the graveyard of many strategies. McKinsey research shows that 70% of change programmes fail to achieve their objectives, mainly because of employee resistance and lack of management support. Put bluntly, people do not do, or will frustrate, what they do not buy into.

Internal marketing reframes staff as customers of change. Instead of making decisions unilaterally, leaders must persuade, involve, and co-create. By using marketing tools such as segmentation, audience insight, value propositions, and two-way communication, managers turn strategy into something people believe in.

The benefits are significant:

Higher engagement – Gallup data shows that engaged employees are 21% more productive than disengaged peers
Faster adoption – when people understand “what’s in it for me,” change embeds more quickly
Stronger culture – internal marketing signals respect, inclusion, and trust

Think of it this way. If you wouldn’t launch a new product without market research, positioning, and messaging, why would you launch a major internal initiative without the same rigour?

Why internal marketing matters

There are two common scenarios where internal marketing becomes invaluable.

Change programmes

Relocations, restructures, new technology systems, or shifts in working practices can cause uncertainty and resistance. By applying marketing principles, leaders make communication clearer, reduce anxiety, and secure alignment. In the UK, for instance, the widespread shift to hybrid working has forced organisations to reposition not just office space but culture. Internal marketing ensures that hybrid policies are understood, supported and lived day to day rather than left as an unused document on the intranet.

Functional and project teams

Departments such as Finance or HR often struggle with perception. Colleagues see them as “back office” rather than value-adding partners. When these teams apply marketing thinking to how they serve the rest of the business, they transform their reputation. For example, an HR team introducing a new wellbeing programme can segment employees (frontline, remote, office-based), tailor messages, and “launch” the initiative like a campaign, rather than burying it in an all-staff email.

In both scenarios, internal marketing bridges the gap between a written plan and lived action.

How businesses put internal marketing into practice

Like any marketing campaign, successful internal marketing follows a structured process.

Audit the starting point

Begin with research. Gather employee perspectives, concerns and motivations. Initial research may involve surveys, focus groups, or informal listening sessions. Just as marketers build buyer personas, leaders should understand staff personas about the change.

Segment the internal market

Employees are not a monolith. Long-serving staff may resist change more strongly, teams in affected locations may feel threatened, and early-career employees may be enthusiastic but need clarity. Segmenting by likely attitudes (supporters, neutrals, opposers) allows leaders to tailor their approach.

Define the value exchange

In external marketing, the customer weighs price against value. The same is true internally. What is the price employees must pay (new skills, new routines, uncertainty), and what is the value they gain (career development, flexibility, security)? Leaders must make this exchange explicit.

Craft the message and channels

Different groups respond to various formats. Some prefer detailed documents, others want or need visuals or videos, and others prefer face-to-face discussion. A strong internal marketing plan mirrors multi-channel campaigns externally – intranet, town halls, workshops, line manager briefings, and digital platforms all play a role.

Ensure two-way communication

A command-and-control approach, simply telling staff the decision, rarely works. Consultation, dialogue and feedback loops build ownership. For example, inviting employee input before finalising a new benefits scheme signals respect and increases uptake.

Measure and adapt

Marketers do not stop at launch. They track KPIs and optimise. Internal marketing needs the same discipline. Pulse surveys, feedback, and adoption metrics provide data to refine the campaign.

Why this matters now in the UK

In the UK, the importance of internal marketing is particularly acute.

Hybrid working: According to the Office for National Statistics, around 40% of UK workers continue to work from home at least some of the time. Embedding hybrid models requires deliberate internal marketing to ensure staff understand expectations and feel connected.
Employee disengagement: CIPD reports that only 66% of UK employees feel engaged at work, leaving a third disengaged. Internal marketing can close that gap by making staff feel involved rather than dictated to.
Skills transitions: With the rapid rise of AI and automation, UK businesses face reskilling challenges. Employees need to understand not just what is changing, but why and how they benefit. Internal marketing provides that narrative.

Beyond communication, building culture and trust

Internal marketing is not just about messaging. Done well, it builds culture. Engaging employees as stakeholders demonstrates that leadership values inclusion, transparency and trust.

This cultural dimension is critical. Edelman’s UK Trust Barometer shows that 69% of employees expect CEOs to take the lead on change rather than waiting for the government. If leaders want credibility, they must communicate effectively with their people first.

Moreover, internal marketing reduces the “say-do” gap. It ensures the promises leaders make externally are supported by staff internally. Nothing undermines a brand faster than employees who do not believe in the message they are asked to deliver.

The leadership challenge

The temptation for executives is to focus outward – markets, competitors, customers. Yet the hard truth remains. If your people are not on board, your strategy will stall.

Internal marketing is the discipline that turns a plan into action. It ensures that the vision written in the boardroom is lived in the corridors, Zoom calls, and customer interactions.

In a business environment defined by uncertainty, disruption and constant change, leaders cannot afford to neglect their most important audience – their employees.

If you are serious about strategy execution, make internal marketing a priority. Start small – listen to your people, segment your audiences, and frame the value exchange clearly. The investment pays back in trust, speed, and resilience. Above all, remember: your employees are not just an internal audience, they are your most powerful ambassadors. Engage them well, and every external message you send will land stronger.