My wife and I live equidistantly between two grocery stores that are owned by the same company, and we shop at one particular location 95% of the time. The other day we decided to spice it up a bit and go to the other store.
It was awful.
First, we couldn’t find anything because the aisles were in a completely different order from our normal store, and certain items were in completely different sections.
Second, we buy tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the produce at this grocery store is awful compared to our regular store.
Third, the layout seemed to create chaos in every direction; everywhere we turned we were running into people or waiting for aisle congestion to dissipate.
Okay, I realize it might seem stupid for me to be complaining about a grocery store, but two valuable lessons can be learned here:
- People are loyal to brands because those brands are familiar. My wife and I are used to our normal grocery store, and I can guarantee that the next time we go grocery shopping, we will return to that location. We are familiar with that store, its products, its procedures, and we just feel more comfortable there.
- If you are not paying attention to how each of your locations, employees or website are consistently delivering your brand, your brand will become out of sync. Remember, these two grocery stores are owned by the same company, but in my mind, one is great and one is mediocre. While this experience solidified my loyalty to one particular location, my loyalty to the overall brand has suffered because now I know that not every location will deliver what I have come to expect from the company.
If you want to know how you are doing at consistently delivering brand familiarity in your business, speak with your customers. If you have multiple locations, ask them what they like about each location and why. If you only have one location, ask them if they prefer visiting your business in the morning versus the evening, or if one receptionist is preferable over another.
Work hard to create a sense of consistent familiarity in all of your products and services and between your employees and locations, because brand familiarity breeds brand loyalty, and brand loyalty creates customers for life.
photo credit: woodleywonderworks
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