Your BRAND is your image and reputation in the community. It is imperative that you build a unique brand and keep people thinking positively about it. A brand is about more than a logo or items on your menu, its a story about what greater values your restaurant represents.

The perfect example of successful branding is Starbucks. Starbucks is about more than just coffee, they’re seen as a force of good in the world. When you see their logo or read their name you think of things other than coffee, such as charity work, global initiatives, and fair-sourced ingredients. This is how they are able to keep customers of all classes and ideological views coming in again and again despite higher prices and long lines. Having a Starbucks coffee is not just tasty, it creates an aura of “coolness” and “hipness” around you. You don’t have to spend millions to emulate many of the successful strategies that companies like Starbucks use to create a loyal customer base and keep people thinking positively about them.

When deciding on your unique brand you’ll want to consider your targeted customer base and what appeals to them. For a more family or community-oriented crowd maybe you’ll consider using locally sourced ingredients and promoting the “freshness” of your food, or selling yourself as a promoter of the local economy. If you want a younger crowd maybe you’ll allow a famous graffiti artist to paint your building so you are seen as a cool, new-age establishment. There are infinite ways to modify your restaurant, and you have to decide your own path based on your specific community and customer base.

You want an underlying message behind your restaurant’s mission that will appeal to certain values. Create a story behind your brand about how your particular establishment differs from everyone else, and focus on a particular value that distinguishes you. Some examples are commitment to community, freshness, fairness, innovation, and aesthetics. You’ll want this to separate you from any potential competitors and convince locals that your restaurant is more in-line with what they actual want in a dining experience.

And most importantly, once you create a brand make sure to do everything in your power to keep its message resonating. Reputation is everything! One bad customer experience or bad review can completely ruin a brand you’ve worked hard to build. Make sure customers are happy. And use profits to invest in causes that help promote your brand’s message, such as local charities, little league sports, or farmers markets.Remember that people are often attracted to a certain businesses because of their core values and overarching message rather than any particular menu item.

More Examples of Branding: