Aligning your internal and external communication is simply the habit of ensuring the story you tell inside your company matches the story you tell the world. Your website, brochures, sales presentations and other marketing materials only represent your brand on the surface. The rest comes from your people.

How? From the way they speak about your company. The way they describe your values. The way they answer everyday questions.

But when internal and external messages don’t align, customers become confused. One moment they read one thing, the next they hear something different. And here’s the problem: Confusion is the enemy of trust.

And when there is no trust… well, who wants to buy or collaborate with someone they don’t trust? No one. That’s why alignment between internal and external communication is so important.

So how do you figure out whether there’s a mismatch between your internal and external communication? Look no further – we’ve gathered a quick self-audit you can run yourself right here 👇

1. Pick 3-5 colleagues from sales and/or support.
2. Ask them:
   • “What are customers asking about now that they didn’t ask 6 months ago?”
   • “Which benefits or features make customers react positively?”
   • “What objections appear most often – and how do you answer them?”
3. Write down what they say.

ONGOING ALIGNMENT

Exercise 4: Create a shared message cheat sheet

To make sure that everyone is on the same page internally, a shared message cheat sheet is the way to go. But pause a second before you turn your heel on this – assuming it involves looong and boring branding documents. It doesn’t!

A message cheat sheet is a simple tool your team can use every day to stay consistent. It’s short and to the point to ensure it’s actually useful for your team.

Here are some suggestions on what to include in your message cheat sheet:

• A one-sentence core message.
• A short elevator pitch.
• The 3-5 benefits customers care most about.
• A simple terminology list.
• Updated phrasing for products, services or solutions.

Share it with the whole team and take 5 minutes to walk through it in a meeting. This cheat sheet helps everyone describe your organization in the same way – without scripting or restricting them.

Tips for keeping it alive:

• Use it as part of onboarding new colleagues.
• Keep it to one page.
• Put it somewhere everyone can find (not buried in folders).
• Refresh it every time you update your materials or priorities.

Exercise 5: Build alignment into your monthly workflow

This step can make a world of a difference (so don’t skip it). This is where you turn a one-off project into an ongoing alignment habit. And it makes your job of keeping things aligned so much easier.

Set up these simple monthly routines:

• Add a 5-minute “message sync” to your team meetings.
• Encourage teams to flag mismatches as they spot them.
• Ask sales once a month: “What are customers saying lately?”
• Update colleagues when marketing materials change.
• Review one piece of material each month instead of waiting a year.

These micro-routines prevent small drifts from becoming big inconsistencies – and save you from a ton of work down the line.

Start strengthening your brand from the inside

There you have it. Hands-on tips for getting your internal and external communication alignment ducks in a row (so to speak).

Once you make this part of your routine, you’ll realize just how simple alignment really is. You just have to make sure that the story you tell internally matches the story you tell externally. And when your team and your materials reinforce the same message, customers feel it.

And yes, that’s when trust grows faster.