 It appeared as silently as the surprise attack of Pearl
Harbor. Then, like an explosion, the buzz of “branding” hit our
industry and we’ve been bombarded by the self appointed ambassadors of
the message ever since.
We all willingly agree
that it’s important and that building brand equity is a good thing, but
no one ever really took the time to explain what a brand is and how you
build it. They talk a great game with the nuances of branding,
but not the meaning – which should come first.
Well, I
believe it’s a personal journey; discovering your brand. It is
the worthy exercise of asking yourself important questions and looking
objectively at your own answers.
Do you make and keep
promises with your customers? Are you known in your market place
for the unique attributes that make your company decidedly different
and special? Do customers believe you really will come through on
your promises?
There has been a tremendous amount of hype
the past several years across industries regarding the subject of
branding, and the subject has rooted itself in our industry too.
But what does it really mean? What is a brand, and how do you
strengthen it? What impact will a strong brand have on your top
and bottom line?
Well, just ask Starbucks and Harley Davidson.
In
essence -- and in my often controversial opinion -- your brand is your
promise. It’s the culmination of the experiences and feelings
your customers have when dealing with your company.
The brand arises organically
No
advertising agency will ever tell you this, but the “brand” of
companies arises organically from their business activities — their
products, their business culture and their relationships with vendors
and customers. It was not applied like some metaphysical bumper
sticker, and it’s not something that just happens when you spend
mountains of money advertising. Sorry to disappoint you, fellow
“branding experts.”
The key to branding is to ask
yourself, “What do we want our customers to expect in dealing with our
organization? What is our promise to them?” Once you have
the answer to that, ask “What do our customers currently come to expect
in dealing with our organization? Is there a variance between
what we’d like them to expect and what they actually do expect?”
Note to self, if there is a gap, advertising won’t fix it, but it can
make it worse.
Advertising is a tool [one of many] you can
use to go public with your promise, but it’s not how you deliver on the
brand. Branding and advertising should really be considered two
distinct and separate functions. Branding is achieved solely by
delivering on the promise of your organization.
Do you
promise to be fast? Convenient? Irreverent and
daring? Maybe you’re promise is consistency or pride of
workmanship.
Branding is the promise. Delivering the
promise is brand-building. Brand equity is what you get when your
promise and execution are inextricably connected and people have come
to expect it.
Branding is not the color of your
brochure, style of your logo or the message of your advertising.
These are tools to communicate your brand, not the brand itself.
That may sound simplistic, but many companies try and figure out what
color the brochure should be before they even know what it’s supposed
to do. That’s why average response rates are so dismally
low. And we wonder why.
Starbucks has brand
equity. Nike has brand equity. Jack in the Box had brand
equity. When it had that run of food borne illness, it wrote a
brand check it couldn’t cash and all of its positive brand equity was
replaced with a new brand definition - Jack in the Box means unsafe
food.
Which brings us to positioning (worthy of a whole book and probably done an injustice with just a mention in this article).
While
you’re sifting through the promise of your organization, remember one
critical factor that will impact your overall positioning…YOU ONLY SELL
DIFFERENCES. These days “great food, great service, and fun
atmosphere” are only the price of entry, not a differentiating
idea. What restaurant in the United States would say anything
other than the great food bit?
Positioning is how
you leverage your brand and uniqueness to achieve competitive
advantage. In marketing, you only sell differences, not
similarities. And if you’re really good, heed the word of the
late Jerry Garcia, who said: “You do not merely want to be considered
the best of the best, you want to be considered the only ones who do
what you do.” Boy, now that’s positioning!
So take
time to stop and ponder that last quote. Do you believe it?
And while you’re considering your response, let me leave you with the
names of a few companies brave enough to take a stand and own a unique
position:
• Starbucks – Now the fastest growing take out operation in
history, Starbucks started with a single store in 1971, opened the next
one 16 years later, and now with over 6,000 units, they are one of the
most recognizable brands in the United States. Starbucks spends
more money on training than advertising, and everyone on staff is a
coffee expert. It’s part of their brand, and delivering on it is
exactly why their so successful.
• Charlie Trotters – On the short list of independent
restaurant operators with such wide spread recognition, Charlie Trotter
has a unique promise that has catapulted him to his current level of
fame. The menu has changed every night since the restaurant
opened over a decade ago. Trotter is there himself nearly every
night. My first visit there I wondered why there was no music and
no art. Trotters philosophy was explained to me…if you want
music, go to the opera; if you want art, go to the museum; if you want
world class gourmet cuisine and 5 star service, you come to Charlie
Trotters. They delivered on their promise that night and made it
into my branding hall of fame list.
• Harley Davidson – With a market capitalization that, as a
percentage of sales, far exceeds those of most of the Fortune 500
list, Harley Davidson has a promise that is founded in the image.
As one Harley Davidson executive put it, “we sell the ability for a 43
year old accountant to dress in black leather, drive through towns, and
have people be afraid of him.” They’re one of the most successful
and revered companies in the world today, and they’ve built their
empire without reliance on advertising. They’ve built Harley
Davidson by making a promise and consistently delivering on it at every
customer touchpoint.
What’s interesting is that these
companies have revered brands without advertising. They deliver
on and build the brand with their daily interactions with customers,
employees and stakeholders – not by blasting the airwaves.
They’re
unique, they’re focused, they’re profitable, they’re the darlings of
investors and they’re the envy of their competitors.
Being homogenous works if you’re milk, not if you’re a restaurant.
So
does all of this just boil down to a heap of marketing jargon that does
little to move your sales meter? Well, you have to ask yourself
to what degree you are effectively branding and positioning in your
market place, and to what degree you are achieving consistent top line
sales growth and customer satisfaction.
In the words of
venerable industry consultant, Jim Sullivan, “…you always do what you
always did, you always get what you always got.” This quote is
poignant, and it applies to any failure you have ever
experienced. It does not, however, apply to successes. In
fact, past success can, in many cases, be the surest indicator of
future failure.
Why is success often an indicator of future failure?
Well,
ever notice how so many “men of the year” frequently turn out to be
future profiles on “where are they now?” Or how the companies
that grace the covers of trade publications with force and fervency in
one year, usually end up as roadkill for the closely following
competitor the next year? The reason is simple, organizations
reach a plateau of comfortable success and then attempt to maintain
their position by doing what has worked well for them in the past, but
the formula no longer works. Successful companies constantly
re-invent themselves and make bold moves, at the risk of criticism that
immediately proceeds.
The point of all of this is simply to get you to look at your own situation…
One
thing is for certain, this article will not turn your branding efforts
around and it will not magically make your sales better. It can’t
be done in 1,500 words or less. The humble intent here is simply
to start you asking yourself the important questions that need to be
answered to more effectively market your business and grow your
sales. Lest we forget the sole purpose of marketing and branding
in the first place – selling more stuff to more people more often for
more money more profitably and efficiently.
Branding and
positioning are more than marketing jargon, they are two powerful tools
in growing sales and building sustainable companies. But, as with
any tool, you have to know how to use it. Remember, branding is
not advertising. Your brand is your promise and delivering on
that promise is brand building. So, really think through it…what
is your promise? Are you delivering on it? Do your
customers, employees and stakeholders know your promise? Is it
being clearly communicated to them or is it locked away in someone’s
head, absent from the daily operations?
Lots of questions,
I know. But then again, no one ever said that branding is
easy. If they did, it was probably someone selling advertising
and trying to pass it as branding. Don’t be fooled by these
slippery types. Bring in your team, a qualified facilitator, and
get to the essence of your promise. Also look very closely at
your positioning and ask yourself if you are selling differences or
touting something that is undistinguishable from competitors in the
minds of your customers.
All of this starts with a desire
to be more than you are today. If you want to become a more
skilled competitor, a better partner, a fiercely dominant player, a
more profitable entity, a more stimulating place to work, a legacy –
you have to get your branding and positioning strategy down cold.
It’s not easy, but it’s the foundation for achieving the levels of
success and profitability you’ve always dreamed of reaching.
View samples of our restaurant design work.
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