Back to basics: Branding drives sales

BRANDING IS about much more than expensive advertising and pub chain logos. It's about communicating what makes your business individual and desirable. When you start thinking about your business as a brand it means you're considering what differentiates you in the minds of your customers.

In the case of independent publicans, branding is not about trying to imitate the corporate clones, but about making the most of what sets you apart.

A brand is essentially a promise to deliver a specific customer experience. It's also a risk-reducer for the customer, a way of saying "visit us and we won't let you down".

Understanding what makes up your business "brand" and turning that into well-planned and executed marketing activity can have a powerful influence on whether customers visit and return to your outlet. Many of the tools and techniques that the big chains use can be adapted to suit your business and its individuality - without turning you into an identikit outlet.

It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of a busy pub, but taking the time to step back and look at how your business is perceived can reap huge dividends. It helps to have a goal for how you want your business to be perceived and a strategy to keep you on track to achieve that goal.

So the first thing to do is to stand back and take stock. What is important to your business? What do you believe in? What do you stand for? Why do your customers choose to visit and return to your pub? Are they the customers you want to attract?

See if you can sum up how you'd like to be perceived by your customers in a few emotive words such as "welcoming", "part of the community", "sophisticated", "friendly" or "relaxed".

Perhaps you already have some kind of mission statement. For example: "to be the preferred drinking venue for locals and tourists in our village", or "to be at the heart of our community".

Whatever makes your pub special, different or downright quirky should be reflected here. Taking the time to define and write down your mission statement should serve as some kind of a reminder as to what you were trying to achieve when you first stepped behind the bar.

Next, think about how your customers view your business. What feedback do you receive from customers across the bar, in the press or even via local gossip? Try canvassing the views of a range of customers, ask them what they like and dislike, and run new ideas past them.

It might even be worth investing in a local market research specialist to professionally audit how your business is perceived both by your existing customers and potential customers who have not visited you yet for some reason. You can get details of local research specialists from the Market Research Society at www.mrs.org.uk.

However you choose to research your market it's important to consider the results honestly. If there is a gap between how your business is seen by others and how you'd like it to be perceived it is likely you will need to change how you communicate with your customer base.

Conducting an audit of how customers experience your brand could show where specific changes can be made that will help you get closer to your goal. Customers and suppliers base their perceptions of a business on how it presents itself to the outside world.

First impressions really do count. There should be consistency at every point of customer contact, whether that be external signage, your staff's interaction with customers, menus, chalkboards, your back-bar and any advertising, direct mail or other marketing activity. Use your audit to ensure that every time the customer interacts with your brand they are getting the same positive messages about your business. It's no good having a swanky advertising campaign in the local press promising a cosy, welcoming atmosphere if the customer experience doesn't live up to it.

To make your brand three-dimensional, it's important that your staff are on board. Your brand's personality is reflected in how you expect your team to behave as the public face of your business. Smartly professional or warmly welcoming? Whatever suits your business best, delivering it comes down to ongoing training, communication and recruiting the right people.

The tone of voice with which you speak to your customers to deliver your brand message in both marketing communications and in your outlet is just as important. Are you friendly and relaxed like Virgin? Or corporate and professional like British Airways? Go with whatever feels right and refer back to your mission statement.

Promotional activity such as themed evenings, meal deals and drinks offers should be true to your brand as well. For example, an urban, sophisticated bar would probably shy away from a footie-beer-and-curry night while a community-focused local might not do well with a "fine wines of the world" evening. In the end it comes down to common sense and consistency.

So how do you know when you've achieved your brand goal? It's a continuous process but if you can truly say that you and your customers understand and agree on what your business stands for, what they can expect when they visit you, read about you or hear about you, you're on track.

And if this perception drives new customers to visit and return, then congratulations, you've got a brand!

Brand strategy planning

• Put your mission statement, ideas and plans down in writing with specific actions and goals so you can keep on track and see what works
• Listen to your customers and look at your business from their point of view to discover any inconsistencies in how your brand is delivered
• Audit your marketing materials such as newspaper ads and external signage to make sure you communicate consistent messages
• Ensure your staff understand what your business stands for and how this should be delivered to customers
• Form a strategy with specific goals and refer back to it at regular intervals

Gemma Teed is a strategic planner at Leeds-based marketing communications agency Brahm​