On my trip from Houston to San Diego to attend the christening of my new great-niece Reese, I experienced a strong dose of branding. Many of you know I enjoy my cups of healthy green tea almost as much as I enjoy a glass of healthy red wine. You probably don’t know that I have a secret addiction for Starbucks® coffee. One that’s not entirely healthy if I’m not careful to tame it. I don’t get a Starbucks fix on a daily basis, but I manage to fit in two-three cups a week (usually at least one free one) on my morning walks with Tom. So, anytime I hit an airport in the morning (and I tend to fly only in the morning), my internal GPS goes off as soon as I clear security. That GPS will lead Tom and me directly to the airport’s Starbucks for my “red-eye.”
Tom’s favorite part of flying is sitting in Continental Airline’s Presidents Club. It’s all I can do to keep him from getting us to the airport three hours before our flight. He likes the free newspapers and will plow through the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Houston Chronicle and The Financial Times and then jump on the club’s free wireless Internet to blow through his email on his laptop – all before we head to the gate. Even though I’m a president, I’m not crazy about the Presidents Clubs. From my point of view, although the seats are comfortable and the restrooms are clean, there’s no decent food. We usually fly before the bar is open and, here’s my pet peeve, the coffee is terrible.
As part of the process of being married for almost 19 years, we’ve worked out a bargain (one of many). I agree to get to the airport a little early. Tom agrees to go to Starbucks with me for my Starbucks fix. Then we both go to the Presidents Club so Tom can get his “news” fix. That bargain sometimes turns out to be more than Tom expected and a little frustrating for him as our last few flights have gone out of gates 27 or 30 in Terminal C at Houston’s George Bush Airport (IAH) and the closest Starbucks is way over in Terminal E. In fact, it’s so far that I joke with Tom that it’s in another time zone. What makes it frustrating for him is not just that we’ll have to walk one mile across the entire width of the airport, but that we’ll pass by at least two other brands of coffee shops (Peet’s and Einstein Bagels) and any number of fast food joints serving coffee on the way to the Starbucks in Terminal E. Tom loves to drink coffee, but he doesn’t really care that much about the brand. It can be airline coffee, McDonald’s coffee or even the brown water they call coffee in our office. As long as it’s hot, he’s happy. Me, I’m stuck on Starbucks. In fact, I’m so hooked, I go without coffee if I can’t find a Starbucks. Now that’s brand identification!
Let me ask you about your brand as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. Do you provide your attorney-clients with the quality of service that creates that sort of brand identification with you? Will your attorney-clients use only you for their medical-related cases? Are you the first and only legal nurse consultant they think of? If yes, you’ve accomplished what all entrepreneurs strive for. If no, ask yourself what you can do to create the Starbucks experience for your attorney-clients. Make it more than just providing the best CLNC® work product available. Add a little lagniappe (as we say in New Orleans) – something more. In the technology age when everyone emails each other, show up at the door with bagels and a box of Starbucks coffee, deliver a bottle of champagne after your attorney-client wins or settles a big case or send a handwritten thank-you note.
I’d like you to comment and post some of your favorite tips for fostering brand loyalty to your own CLNC® business. While you’re doing that, I’ll have another cup of one of my favorite brands.
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