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We hear story after story about operators trying to reinvent themselves, or wondering why they have lost market share. Often times, they are so close to the root challenge that they overlook it and try to advertise or promote their way out of slumping sales. A better approach: look deep to examine and refine your true brand essence and never lose sight of the essential emotional connection your brand must make to each guest or customer.
Over the years, we have accepted the challenge of assessing and developing strategies to both launch and expand market share for operators and suppliers alike. There’s always been a common thread: be true to what made your brand great and never lose sight of what makes you, your product and your service authentic and unique.
When business goes south, the immediate reaction is either to slash proactive marketing expenditures or to try advertising to regain market share. Neither works.
What does work, is having all the principals and all the staff look back at what drove business when expansion was taking place. What products built the company? What did the brand stand for? What made guests and customers come back? With increased competition comes a desire or tendency to “act like the Jones’s,” rather than keeping the focus on a unique and authentic brand story. Long-term success, we have found and suggest, comes with remaining steadfast in delivery of a product that is beyond anyone’s duplication. Every couple of years, good operators will realize the need to take an objective and impartial view of what message their brand is sending – both by operational execution as well as through visual merchandizing in the restaurant.
Our advice to operators in today’s ultra-competitive environment is to examine and refine your core brand. You may be too close to daily operations to see how your original focus has evolved into something that is truly “not you.” Don’t be afraid to call in expert help to look at all that you are doing, internally and externally, to see if you are truly showcasing your authentic core message. Whatever you do, don’t wait until it’s too late, or spend thousands in unfocused advertising dollars.
When you stand back and get assistance in taking a hard look at what truly put you on the map to begin with, you’ll realize that same core brand message and product can take you to new heights as well. Just realize that as you examine your brand and your operations, you need to always be building emotional connections with your guests.
Great brands aren’t reinvented, they are just continually improved and reinforced. When’s the last time you really took a hard look at how true your operations are to your brand promise? Now would be a good time!
Tom Kelley and Rick Wolf are Partners at Concept Group USA, Strategic Brand Consulting in Washington, DC and New England. They work with small and large restaurant, hospitality and retail clients - and related trade associations - to sharpen brand awareness, operations, marketing and connections to communities where they do business.
They can be reached on the web at: www.conceptgroupusa.com
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General Business 
