Three Keys to Exceptional Branding

There’s nothing remarkable about the location for this Italian restaurant on Craven Road in London, save for the name, “Bizzarro,” on the outside of the building. The pasta here is good, but not exceptional. Their housemade pies wouldn’t win awards in Naples, nor their desserts. The prices are fair (for London!), but not cheap by most standards.

Oh, and their visual branding is wonderfully dated, and the website is definitely not mobile-friendly. (Don’t click the “menu” unless you want to download a .pdf file of their menu to your phone)

And yet, while the neighboring eateries are trying to cater to the mid-week diners with drink specials and other gimmicks, this small restaurant consistently keeps their seats filled with smiling diners because of how the experience makes their customers feel.

The interior is warmed by the waiters jesting with each other in Italian, sounds of flame and food prepared in the open kitchen, and the ever-attentive owner chatting with each patron, ensuring that every customer feels cared for. This Italian eatery isn’t just another restaurant near Paddington, it’s become a beloved brand for locals and visitors alike.

Good branding is making a promise to your customer and keeping it.
Simple, sure, but not easy.

Great branding is a promise to your people that’s fulfilled in ways that create emotional connections with your customers.

These promises can be made through the images and symbols your brand uses, or even just taste or fragrance. Sometimes the greatest fulfillment of a brand’s promise is silently enacted leaving the customer to feel like they truly matter.

 

Great Brands:

  1. Create the right expectation for your people.
  2. Deliver an experience that matches this expectation.
  3. Continue building an emotional connection that keeps these customers wanting to repeat the experience again.Or better yet, they want to share the feeling with people whom they trust.

 

That’s exactly what Bizzarro is doing.

From the moment you step up to their menu off of the street welcomed by the staff, you’re able to see, hear, and smell the joy they’re cooking in their restaurant.

Great branding doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to be the right experience for your favorite people.