BRANDING YOUR VENUE: Staying On Brand

Why Should You Be Staying On Brand?

A brand represents people’s perception of a company’s customer service, reputation, advertising and Logo.

 

When all of these parts of the business are working well together, the overall brand tends to be healthy.

 

Staying on brand is something that all the biggest and best companies know how to do well. That’s one of the reasons why these companies have become the biggest and most recognizable in the world.

 

Businesses really need to make sure that they stay on-brand at all times. Failing to do this will lead to confusion and an inability to grow the business smoothly.

 

Below is some rules of thumb to help you understanding branding your venue and staying on track a little more.

 

CUSTOMERS RECOGNIZE AND REMEMBER CONSISTENT BRANDS

The main reason why we need to stay on brand is to win over more customers.

 

We can only do this if we remain consistent at all times. People will be much more likely to remember our business if the brand is identifiable. It can only be identifiable and recognizable if we make sure that we stay on-brand at all times.

 

The most successful brands around are the ones that understand all of this.

 

ALWAYS USE THE SAME LOGO AND IMAGERY

Your business logo and imagery is used consistently throughout all avenues of communication to customers.

 

You should purposely keep things like photos, themes, fonts and colours consistent as they possibly can be.

 

This is really the only way to ensure that your brand and its identity remain easily recognizable to the wider public.

 

CONSISTENCY: Just because you are in a different mood, don’t change the boundaries.

YOUR MESSAGE SHOULD NEVER CHANGE

The message that your business delivers has to really hit people and stay with them. It’ll only confuse people if it changes all the time.

 

We should be constantly making sure that our message is coherent and consistent.

 

This means solidifying the messages that you want people to associate with the brand.

 

People won’t remember what the business’s MESSAGE and PURPOSE (which we will get into soon) are if it isn’t consistent at all times.

 

REPUTATION-BUILDING BECOMES SIMPLER

Building a business’s reputation is one of the biggest challenges any business can have.

 

You can only grow a business if you have a consistent message. It’s much easier to grow a reputation if people can easily recognize your brand.

 

By consistently delivering the same fun, attentive customer service day in day out, wearing the same branded T-shirt, people will automatically build a positive mental image and associate that T-shirt with good customer service.

 

People associate every positive thing they hear about our business with the company when they recognize
it.

 

You want the name, branding and reputation of the business to be completely integrated with one
another.

 

REPEAT SIMPLE MESSAGES

Our businesses have a few simple messages that can be repeated over and over again. This simply hammers
home our customer promise & vision.

 

Think about how big businesses have a few messages that you hear over and over.

 

Nike: Just Do It

McDonalds: I’m Loving It

 

You might think that they sound annoying. But the fact that you remember them and they stick in your mind proves that they work and are doing their job.

 

START ON THE FRONT LINE

In order to make sure our brand ideals and vision is stuck to at all times we need to aim for this level of
consistency in every aspect of the workplace.

 

We can only succeed in staying on brand if everybody that represents the brand has the same idea and principle.

 

From barback to bartender, cleaner to kitchen and apprentice to managing director. all the people who work for the business should understand the importance of staying on brand.

 

Things like social media post guidelines, document templates, cocktail and food specs, customer service, specific and correct glassware for branded drinks can all help make the brand as consistent as possible.

 

CONSUMERS TRUST BRANDS THEY RECOGNIZE

Brand recognition is not just about getting our name out there.

 

It’s about helping consumers get to know our brand on a personal level. It’s a long-standing concept that purchasing is more an emotional decision than a practical one.

 

Brand consistency is part of building trust. Why do you always buy the same brand Lager or the same
brand of crisps? Because it’s predictable. You know what to expect and you know you will like the outcome.

 

It’s the same with our business, if customers want a guaranteed fun packed night with quality beers and
cocktails, they feel they can trust our brand to provide it.

 

Developing a seamless look for your brand across our website, social media channels, customer service and products on offer will make customers feel more comfortable with our brand, and will make them more likely to return again and again.

 

Right, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

 

BRANDING YOUR VENUE: How To Build Your Own Brand

GRAB A PEN AND PAPER OR OPEN A DOC…

 

A brand identity, to me, is made up of what our brand says, what our values are, how we communicate our concepts, and the emotions we want our consumers to feel when they interact with our business. Essentially, our brand identity is the personality of our business and a promise to our consumers. Or, to put it simply, as I say….

 

 “Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” 

 

A well-developed brand identity will….

 

*Improve recognition by giving your business a “face” and a personality.

 

*Create credibility and trust.

 

*Create impressions through advertising.

 

*Guarantee future business, which builds financial value.

 

*Define your venues mission (to both consumers and employees).

 

*Generate new customers, and delight current ones.

 

STEP ONE – Vision Statement 

*What are your most important products and services? 

 

*What products and services will you never offer? 

 

*What is unique about doing business with your brand?

 

*How would your customers describe your brand? 

 

*Where do you want your company to be in five years? 

 

With the above In mind, fill out the blanks in the below

Vision = “Your Venue” is dedicated to __________ through ________ ”

STEP TWO – Mission Statement 

This is the end result that you want from your venue.

 

*Do you want to be the number one dog cafe in the northern hemisphere? Do you want to be the most lucrative high-end venue in London?

 

*How you are going to get there

 

*This is your statement of intent financially and professionally.

 

“Your venues” objective is to be the _______ in the ______ space. Continually offering it’s guests the very best in _______ experiences. The company’s primary financial goals are to _________.”

STEP THREE – “Essence” 

 

The essence of your venue speaks to the intangible emotions you want your customers to feel when they experience the brand. A brand’s essence is the representation of your venues heart, soul, and spirit. We must try and describe it in one word

 

What would you say?

 

Friendly? Fun? Helpful?

 

Get your essence down to one word and write that down.

 

STEP FOUR – Personality

 

What personality do you want to put forth when people experience your brand?

 

Good examples are,

 

*Apple is young and cool

 

*Whereas IBM is mature and set in its ways.

 

So what are you? 

 

“_______& _______”

STEP 5 – Position or Value Proposition

A value proposition, is a one- or two-sentence statement that clearly articulates your product or service’s unique value, and how it benefits customers.

 

It must define the audience, define the category in which the brand exists, cite a clear product or service benefit, set your brand apart from our competitors, and instil confidence the brand will deliver on its promise.

 

Basically, it is where we position your Brand

 

What would you say?

 

“Your Venue” is ____________. Our objective was to ____________. Leading the way for____________”

 

Translating all this into actual marketing and processes – The important part!

 

These are the questions that we should ask ourselves with every decision that we make to make sure we are keeping to the brand values I have already outlined. Treat it as a checklist…

 

Be A Better Bartenders Super Duper Branding Checklist – Print out to stay on brand.

1) What is this effort expected to accomplish?

What is the goal of this particular project or process we are doing? What do we want to happen after the intended audience sees this? What action do we want people to take?

 

2) Whom are we talking to?

A clear description of the intended audience, which should include demographics, as well as how the audience currently thinks and feels about the brand or product in question and if we are trying to change perceptions then what are we trying to change – does that conflict with the brand identity?

 

3) What’s our message?

This is derived from our brand position and should include a statement that encapsulates the single most persuasive or compelling product or process change benefit that furthers our brand position in this specific instance. 

 

4) What do we want them to think or feel?

This is derived from the “Essence” step and should describe the emotion we want our audience to feel after seeing this work. Does it fit the brand?

 

5) What justification are we providing as support with each decision?

Explain why the audience should believe our claims. Here, we can detail the benefits of our products or our process changes, why our offering is better than our competitors, and how these benefits substitute the claims we made in our message.

 

6) How is that different from other brands’ messaging?

Here we want to set ourselves apart from the competition by clearly pointing out why our offering better serves the needs of our audience. If it doesn’t, don’t do it.

 

7) How does this contribute to the brand’s positioning?

Every piece of communication or process change we create must tie back to our brand identity. Here we can explain how this singular effort supports the greater brand promise. Very important!

 

8) Which practical considerations or restrictions are there?

The nuts and bolts of our campaign or process change should be explained here. If it’s a video, are there length preferences? Are there words or phrases that must be said? Are there things that you absolutely can’t say? Are there cost considerations or time constraints?

Conclusion

Brand building can be one of the most significant things you can do for your new or existing business.

 

A solid brand building process can transform your business from a small player into a successful competitor.

You’ll discover that your customers will develop a deeper level of trust for your brand, and be more likely to
purchase what you are selling and enjoying your venue more as they become more comfortable with the brand.

 

Develop a consistent message and visual identity to reinforce your mission.

Integrate your brand into every aspect of customer experience: from your storefront to your website, to
your personal interactions!

 

Here’s what i want you to do…

 

*Go out there and take 20 mins to go through the steps outlined.

 

*Take 10 mins to look through how you are currently communicating with your customers.

 

*Use the checklist questions to make sure that your communications are in line with what you have written out in the steps.

 

*Let us know your findings.

 

Further reading: Your Ultimate Guide To Marketing Your Bar For Free

Further Reading: How To Develop Your Wow Factors