One of my firm’s clients—a regional pizza chain—rarely advertises, never discounts, won’t issue coupons, and doesn’t even deliver. Yet they’re one of the most beloved brands in town. The secret to their success? A powerful, genuine, carefully cultivated culture that recruits, hires, trains, and rewards polite, smiling teenagers who deliver consistently pleasant customer experiences.
The company is careful about whom it hires, how it acculturates new employees, and how it induces them to live up to the brand’s values. As a result, customers are happy to come back again and again—and pay full price. The chain generates sales per store equal to or exceeding those of the world’s biggest, most valuable restaurant brands.
Contrast this with an experience I recently had at one of those big chains. I asked a simple question about how big its soft drinks were—I wanted to know how many ounces were in each size, because these days you never know if what you’re ordering will come in a Dixie Cup or a gallon jug.
Read more about why effective branding begins at home here.
