I meet with about 100 small business owners a week. Each of one of them are unique. Each one of them believes they are building something special. Truth is, more than half of them will be out of business in 3-5 years. For those that do last, the key to sustainability is gaining and owning market-share. Many business owners think that a big part of this is building a brand. Don’t get me wrong, building a brand is great and when done right, a real asset. But what is most important, in my opinion is having actual customers.
For example, I know of about a dozen restaurants in Cleveland that have great brands but very few customers. Don’t get me wrong, these places serve incredible cuisine. But the thing is, Cleveland is somewhat of a seasonal dining city. People go out year-round, but the bulk of revenue is more than likely earned between May and October. I’m talking fine dining–not some burger joint or pizza place; I’m talking about $22-$38 a plate type places and up. These places are not “let’s swing by X and grab a bite instead of making dinner” kind of places. These specific restaurants are destination places meant to not only provide delicious food but to also indulge the consumer in an experience.
Yet these places fail at introducing new customers to the experience they’ve become known for. Instead, they get their repeat, loyal customers, who probably visit once every 90 days. These people have probably been coming to your restaurant for years, maybe decades but the truth is, they’re not helping you generate any new business. They’re already loyal to you–what you need are more people, just like them, to help you usher in a new generation and wave of clientele.
What’s even funnier is I live on a street where one of these places exists. No names please but this place continues to iterate that their brand is Top Shelf, yet I drive by it every. single. day and hear crickets when I go past. When I offer marketing opportunities, I get “does not match our brand”. I laugh, because I work with Laut and Michelin rated businesses regularly and this particular place does not come close to the brand equity that these other places have in their respected markets.
I guess my point is that branding and brand building, is sort of a waste of time. These days, brands are built on transparency and authenticity and usually by consumers with reviews and the like. Furthermore, not much else has changed from the old days either, social media is pretty much word-of-mouth advertising and if you’re not involved in that conversation then shoot yourself now–you’re pretty much dead.
Bottom line, you might have a “brand” but do you have customers?