EDITOR’S FORUM Have a Drink, Build a Brand
At home, we’ve gotten hooked on this show called Bar Rescue. Yes,
By Solomon Daniels Editor-in-Chief
One of my favorite shows takes broken bars to booming businesses. But its lessons work for us as well.
it’s sort
of reality TV, and though I can’t stand the format in general (I mean, really—who wants to sit around watching rich housewives deal with their friendship issues? Oh yeah ... my wife), I watch it because it deals with retail business. In the show, bar expert Jon Taffer totally humiliates and demoralizes owners of failing bars for not taking responsibility for the condition of their businesses, before building them back up … not to mention giving them tens of thousands of dollars in new sponsored equipment and upgrades in the process.
Despite the reality aspect, the show does delve into the science of retail, determining the
surrounding customer base, nearest
competitors and highest volume traffic. On the inside, Taffer covers optimizing customer flow and interaction based on the placement of fixtures and equipment. Of course, in every iteration, these steps yield different results, but there is one thing Taffer does in every episode to revive the failing business: he changes the name. Let’s apply our own retail experience to this
strategy. A lot of retailers think that changing the name is the main step in changing a brand. And as we’ve talked about all year, we know that our retail brand is more important than the brand names we sell, and is the determining factor in being able to grow our businesses from repeat customers and referrals. But how many times have you gone by a business and saw the sign, ‘Under New Management’ or “Fully Remodeled?’ These signs are worthless because all they imply is the place was either poorly run or poorly maintained in the first place, not to mention they only “talk” to old customers and mean nothing to potential customers. What they don’t imply is what a visitor to the business can expect now. A new business name by itself serves the same empty purpose. Bars are different from car stereo shops because we sell a long-term product experience as opposed to a bar’s short-term one. But in terms of building a strong brand, there are two
6 Mobile Electronics November 2012
steps that apply to every retail business: 1. Create an environment that relates to its clientele. It’s just like having a conversation with a stranger. You won’t get anywhere if you just walk up and start taking about what happened to you on the way to work. People need a point of relation; something that says you identify with some aspect of their own experience: “You take this bus? So do I.” Businesses create this point of relation by understanding who their customers are and creating the structure to cater to them, then creating the message to talk to them. Knowing disposable income, primary job types, work and recreational schedules help you determine the right products and services to sell, what price points to hit and when your availability needs to match that of your clientele. 2. Build a “Buy-motivated” experience within the ideal environment. We’re not talking sales pressure here; we’re thinking long term. The buy-motivated experience means customers will want to buy from you over your store’s lifetime. The four elements that make up the buy-motivating experience are: Your people – are they properly trained to interact with customers in a positive manner? Did you hire the right people who not only know their stuff, but can relay that knowledge to the customer? Your presentation – Is it a welcoming
environment? Is it exciting without being overcrowded? Is it clean? Are products properly marketed based on placement in the store? Your policies – Do they encourage customer confidence in your brand? Do they extend beyond the sale? Your promotion – What methods do you use to talk to customers, before and after the sale/ Is your message positive and consistent? These two steps are what most affect the perception of a business, and how the business
is perceived is the true brand
builder. For Jon Taffer, changing the name is not about changing the brand. It’s about telling people there’s something new in the package. But it’s the connection with customers and comfortable environment that really deliver on the promise. n
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