Manager at Family-Style Restaurant Knows The Importance Of Building Brand Integrity

Posted on May 23, 2007
Filed Under Brand Building, Brand Elements, Brand Integrity, Branding, Christopher Kirk, Internal Branding, Jim Howard |

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I am always interested in discovering how businesses maintain the brand they have worked so hard to establish. Often when I am out, I will stir up conversations with the people who are ‘just doing their job’ by assisting me. Whether I am in a department store like Wal-Mart, or at a restaurant having a meal, there is always an opportunity to watch, listen and learn how a company’s brand is being portrayed by the way their employees fulfill or fail to fulfill the company’s brand promises.

Just the other day, I went to our local Cracker Barrel with my family for dinner. The assistant manager was an old acquaintance. He stopped by our table to say hi and catch up a bit. Heather and I were able to share what was happening with our family and with Branded For Success. He wanted to know more about the company and how we help small businesses and entrepreneurs become properly branded. As we talked, I could see in his reaction that he knew the importance of having a brand and maintaining its integrity.

He told us that it was of the utmost importance to him that everything from the atmosphere of his restaurant to the quality and presentation of his entrees, which are his products, must be just right. His restaurant was decorated like the typical Cracker Barrel with the old Coca-Cola signs and more. He had all the signature entrees that every Cracker Barrel has, and they are served to the customers like any other Cracker Barrel would serve them.

When I asked him why it was so important for his store to have the same look and feel as all the other Cracker Barrel restaurants in America, he brought a smile to my face when he gave me the right answer. He said, “It’s because the customers who come into my restaurant have certain expectations when they arrive, and it is my job to make sure that the customer is never disappointed.” He knows that if the customer is taken off guard because of disregard to brand integrity, he will lose business.

You see, even though the manager of our local Cracker Barrel restaurant has no input on the company logo, tagline, or other visual brand elements, the company’s brand integrity with consistent customer experience was vital for the success of his restaurant. Products, service and overall experience are all part of the successful Cracker Barrel brand. Maintaining brand integrity ensures that his clients, who know, love, and trust Cracker Barrel, will keep coming back and will bring others with them.

When you take the time to create, establish and promote your company’s brand, why on earth would you want to do anything to throw it off kilter? We can all learn a lesson from the assistant manager of our local Cracker Barrel. Being branded for success means more than simply creating your brand and having that brand promoted to the point of recognition by your market. Being branded for success is also about protecting the integrity — the reputation, if you will — of the brand that you have worked so hard to establish.

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