Every brand is built by a community. Not just the community of people inside the company, but its partners, suppliers, investors, customers, non-customers, and even competitors. It’s a complete ecosystem in which there are gives and gets all around. Everyone has a role to play, and everyone should be repaid for their efforts.
Let me illustrate this point with a story.
Most mornings I take my dog for a latté at a local café. The latté is for me—Boodles gets a biscuit. The café is nothing much, just a mom-and-pop retail shop in a strip mall, with bare concrete floors, a row of amateur photos on the wall, some scruffy couches on one side, a big coffee-roasting machine on the other side, and parking in front. The place is run by a nice Middle Eastern couple who keep it humming 365 days a year, except for a half-day off at Christmas.
On my first day there I was confronted with a long line. Yet, surprisingly, the line moved briskly. Not only that, everyone seemed to know everyone else’s name. After a few more visits, I started to catch on. They had a “loyalty program”—a little paper card that gives you 12 drinks for the price of 10. They write your name and your favorite drink on the card, then punch it every time you order.
The result of this system is that everyone gets to know your name, and soon you know everyone else’s name. Not only that, the counter people learn to recognize your car when you pull into the parking lot, so they have your drink ready when you get to the head of the line. Over time, little cliques of customers form and reform to chat with each other—over there on the couch, then at this table, that table, outside on the porch.
The advance team from Starbucks couldn’t help but notice all the activity at the café, and they soon opened a beautifully appointed store on the same block. Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? I do. I was parking my car at the café, just weeks after the new Starbucks opened. Among the thoughts that flashed through my mind: These poor people—between the cultural backlash and the new Starbucks, they’re history. So I resolved to lend my moral support by coming in the next day, rain or shine. When I pulled into the parking lot, my jaw dropped—the line of customers stretched out the door and around the building.
What is it that spawns such loyalty? How could this little place build the type of community that Starbucks only dreams of? Simple. It’s in the gives and gets. The owners work hard so they can make a decent living. Customers come in every day so they can make new friends. The freelance baker makes special pastries so she can have a happy, fast-paying client. The landlord gives the café lower rent so it will attract customers for the other tenants. I get my latté and Boodles gets her biscuit. Meanwhile, Starbucks does only a modest business on the same block.
Could the wine bar profit from similar thinking? What will the customers get from joining the tribe? How about the employees? The wine producers? The neighboring shops at each location? The local cops (who may have to be called from time to time)? The local school system? Community charities? The investors, partners, and suppliers who help build the brand? The wine industry as a whole? To keep the system healthy and growing, everyone needs to contribute, and everyone needs to benefit.
A BRAND IS PART OF AN ECOSYSTEM IN WHICH EACH PARTICIPANT CONTRIBUTES AND EACH PARTICIPANT BENEFITS.
DAVID WAS NOTHING WITHOUT GOLIATH.
