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Your brand is more than your product or service; it's a permanent first impression that builds on a series of associations, turning fleeting transactions into lasting relationships. In this article, we'll explore a few best practices for crafting a brick-and-mortar brand experience that will help create lasting, scalable bonds with your clients.
1. Begin with the end in mind
With a pen and paper, sit down and write out a pair of 5-star "Rave Reviews" from the respective POVs of two Buyer Personas: the First Timer and the Loyal Customer.
Your first-timer will have the sharpest pair of eyes. Everything will be new and unexpected, judged through a lens of partially informed expectations.
Play to the skeptical end of the spectrum in this review. Ask yourself what elements of the experience would allow a customer to dislike you and how you can address that before it happens. Was your staff rude, or was the physical space untidy? Did the product or service measure up to the hype? Was their time (and money) well spent with you?
Unlike the first-timer, the Loyalist wants to validate their commitment to your brand. Your job is to convince them you deserve a place in their lives. Remember, the client hasn't vowed to stick with you through sickness and health; their loyalty, however sincere, is conditional.
Now place both reviews side by side: How did these two POVs differ? What did they notice? What did they appreciate? What about the experience was satisfying? Looking back, you may be surprised that most of what you wrote did not concern the product or service — but everything else.
That's because customer experience in the real world centers around people and our connections, apprehensions, associations and biases. It's messy, emotional and, at times, irrational, but walking backward from these rave reviews will give you the clues to build a brand experience centered on empathy with a dash of showmanship.
Related: Customer Loyalty Is Your Holy Grail for Success. Here's Why.
2. Simplify, then replicate
Now, strip-mine your Rave Reviews for a list of the core elements that define your "brand experience." Remember to step away from your product or service and focus on the look and feel of your location, the attitude of your staff and the thousand other things that set you apart.
To impact the lives of others, your brand experience must survive and thrive in the real world, teeming with unforeseen circumstances and conditions. If the core elements you've identified are too expensive, complex or convoluted, you won't be able to replicate them 1,000 times across as many locations and operators.
To simplify the essential elements of the brand experience, you'll need to be very honest about what you would or would not be willing to compromise on to streamline operations while still delivering the same experience.
Don't allow perfection to be the enemy of good; you can have high standards while still acknowledging that people are people and, sometimes, we all miss the mark. Your brand essentials should dovetail with your brand's vision and mission statements, as direct, actionable and memorable guidelines for creating a space.
Guiding statements that are succinct enough to fit on a bumper sticker — such as "Treat every guest with dignity and respect," "Cleanliness is next to godliness," and "You Belong" — can be woven through everything from training documentation to marketing campaigns with enduring legibility.
Remember that your task is to ensure that your brand's consistency is possible and pleasing to everyone, staff and customers alike.
Related: How to Use the 5 Senses — Plus a Secret 6th One — to Catapult Your Brand Experience
3. Location, location, location
How does your brand experience speak to the local community?
The franchise industry struggles mightily against the misconception that every location is little more than the drone node of a vast corporate entity. In truth, everything is local. Most of your staff and clientele will most likely be drawn from a 30–40-mile radius of your location, just as the lion's share of the revenue you generate and the wages you pay will probably circulate within the same radius.
Remember: no matter how big your brand becomes, your franchisees operate small businesses that serve and belong to their local communities. Encourage your franchisees to take the time to engage with other community pillars such as schools, hospitals, police and fire departments. Making an effort to sponsor an event, donate to a local charity or even simply tag clients in your social media posts will help bring more community members into your locations, infusing your brand experience with earned authenticity.
4. Evergreen everything
Consistency isn't permanence: things will always change and evolve. The improvisational elements, the variance from one location or community to one another, is a vital part creating an evergreen brand.
Some of the best ideas and brand innovations come from the field, not the boardroom. Be prepared to invite others into the process, especially your top performing franchisees. Their valuable first hand experience can encompass everything from nitty-gritty logistics to big picture brand experience touch-points that either have or have not panned out in the real world.
Empowering top performers to contribute to the brand's development helps deliver on one of the most compelling elements of franchising — that while your franchisees may be in business for themselves, they are not in business by themselves.
Products and promotions come and go. Creating a brand with space to grow and change, with the value of listening at least as much as you talk, ensures a future that everyone can work towards together.
