A few weeks ago, I had a very bad customer service experience.  I’ve known the owner of this restaurant since he was a kid helping his parents in their Deli.  Six weeks ago he opened his restaurant.  I’ve been there nine (9 ) times already with at least 6 people in our party.  

I’ve also recommended his restaurant to at least 100 other individuals.  In fact, when I spoke in front of an audience of 250 local business individuals, I mentioned how great the food was at this restaurant and that the audience should try it.

I’m usually the first of our party to arrive and normally I get a table and wait for the others to arrive.  This time I was told that their new policy “was to not seat anyone until all of the party arrives.” When I asked to speak to Antonio (name changed for privacy), the owner, I was told he was too busy in the kitchen. She said this without even checking to see if indeed he was busy in the kitchen.

When the others arrived 10 minutes later, I went to the hostess and said we were all here, and her response was, “Since the others were late they had to give our table away to someone else, and we’ll have to wait until another table opens up.”

Is this a way to Get Customers to Call, Buy and Beg for More?  Of course not!  But if the owner doesn’t inspect what he expects, his business will go downhill very quickly.  He is in an area where people vacation in the summer and is currently booked solid.  But after the vacation season, he will wish he had his constant patrons.

He is focused on efficiency instead of customer retention; on the quick buck without brand building for the long-term; on delegating without customer service in mind.

I expect him to be out of business within 1 year if he continues to operate his restaurant in this way.

Tell me what you think.

Technorati Tags: brand building, Customer Retention, customer service, local business, marketing brand, restaurant

I’m often asked the question, “How do I build my Brand?”  My response often is, “What are you Building?” This really takes some thought.

You want your customers to remember the essence of your company, not just the image you give with your public face.  For example the brand Coca Cola has a definite public image, but I often ask myself what is its essence. 

Essence, I find, must come from inside a company.  This oftentimes is expressed in your business and its core purpose.

You are building your brand on a daily basis whenever you interact with a customer, prospect, or in your networking.

When someone asks you, “What business are you in?” what do you say? Do you say “real estate”, the “insurance business”, or “I’m in retail sales?”

To illustrate, let me go over these three.  Massage these to fit your business.

Real Estate:  “I’m in the business of helping individuals build (find) their dream homes with creative financing.”

Insurance:  “I’m in the business of protecting people’s life styles…for them and their family.  I’m a Dream Doctor…I also protect their dreams.”

Retail Sales:  “I create gourmet gift baskets that make people memorable when they give them.”

I can go on and on.

What business are you in?

Don’t define your purpose only by the products or services you offer.  Rather, consider defining your company’s purpose in terms of what customer needs and benefits you provide. Answer the question, “What benefits does the customer receive from what you have to offer?  Remember, a customer is always asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?”

When Western Union was founded, it was a telegraph company.  I remember seeing the old ads where they showed miles and miles of poles with lines hanging from one to the other. Why are they thriving as a business today, without telegrams?  Because, around 1980 or so, it started understanding itself as a “Money transfer” service.

Creating your brand may sound easy.  It isn’t.  It takes an awful lot of concentrated and continued effort.  But done right, it’s worth it.

Technorati Tags: brand, brand building, building your brand