BRAND STRATEGY

Using Brand Experience To Deliver Brand Promise.

How do you design a Brand Experience that neatly ties into the Brand Promise? Considering that experiences can create that altogether important differentiator, I take one of my favourite food joints - 'Bombay Salad Co.' as an example to suggest how they could use technology to remove a perceptible glitch in the brand journey - so that it brings on smiles among customers. And create a stronger brand experience in the bargain.

I must admit I've been a sworn addict of 'Bombay Salad Co.' in Mumbai. This Salad restaurant is a standalone unit in Bandra that churns out some of the best salads I've had anywhere in the world. In all my interactions with Karan, the Co-Founder, he has strongly shrugged off the idea to expand the Brand into a larger chain - perhaps a franchise operation, even. And his reasoning is simple. He cannot be present everywhere to ensure the consistency in quality in the salads, wraps, sandwiches, smoothies, juices and healthy desserts he churns out to a rather loyal customer base around the year with innovative culinary ideas rolling out at a steady clip. That's his Brand Promise - to make healthy tasty. And he already has a buy-in from customers who keep thronging his little restaurant daily.

So that's a good thing going. What's the problem?

Bombay Salad Co's Brand Journey (experiences that Customers go through at different touch-points) is somewhat thwarted at the time of finding a table. Yes, the restaurant IS small and it has limited seating capacity. And they don't take reservations. Hence a consumer like me often ends up waiting for a long time to be served. Anyone who runs a brand - and a restaurant in particular - know how one negative experience can take such a heavy toll on the total number of positive ones. But here lies the possibility of a simple Digital Brand Experience - an App - that could open up an opportunity to address a 'functional' need of a Customer and make the Brand Journey that much better.

If there is an App, a customer could register and seamlessly log on to the Bombay Salad Co App and find out how many customers are waiting ahead of him / her for a table before even arriving at the Restaurant. Currently this information is scribbled on bits paper by the staff. And the wait for a table can be excruciating when the weather is warm and a customer like me is hit by hunger pangs. The same information that the staff currently takes down on paper can be updated real time on to the App so that customers can plan their arrival better. And while they're on the App a customer could also choose items from the menu so that the time spent in waiting at the table for a server to come and take the order is further reduced. The order gets activated as soon as the table is allotted. That's efficient table management resulting in savings for the Restaurant. And it's a simple way for the Brand to express itself exponentially at a moment that matters.

In case the customer decides not to wait for a table and take a parcel instead, then the switch option would make the customer journey even smoother. Though a simple digital idea, this would be a blessing for those who understand the fast-paced nature of a bustling city that has rather limited quick and healthy eating options. Cutting down the time waiting for healthy food is an important moment that matters too. A Brand that values a Customer's time is bound to be valued by the Customer in turn.

And how do you connect the Brand Purpose with a Valuable Experience?

Like I said the Bombay Salad Co Brand Purpose is 'to shake the notion that healthy food is not tasty'. Once its database of loyal customers hits critical mass, the Restaurant can throw open a Challenge on the App that could be cross-marketed on other social media like Facebook and Instagram. It could be called the 'Healthy Is Tasty Challenge'. A customer registered on the App would be challenged to bring in someone who is not into Healthy food. Remember, a customer is most likely to share an experience with others if he/she has already found it of value.

So in this case the challenge is to 'convert' someone who has not experienced the Brand with the Restaurant's healthy-tasty food offerings. And success is gauged if that person 'stamps' the 'Yes, healthy is tasty' tab with a face picture and a line about the dish that 'converted' him/her on the App. The reward is a free salad credit to both of them (the 'loyal customer' and the 'convert') for their subsequent visit to the Restaurant.

For a Brand, thinking about each of the customer's touch-points and connecting them with the Brand Promise can potentially change fortunes. For a Brand, the question should always be - how do I take less and give more.