Consistent excellence is the route to success

I remember at the turn of the millennium that lots of people claimed they had pub brands — and that they could be rolled out across the country.

There was Litten Tree, Bar Med, Toad, Hogshead, Square, Rat & Parrot, Norwegian Blue to name only a small number. All gone — or nearly gone — now. What went wrong? Does their demise indicate that pub branding is inherently wrong? That customers much prefer individuality in their pub?

I think it’s more complicated than that — and is an important debate because it’s about how you succeed in the hospitality business.

I think every single pub needs consistent and unique quality attributes that have positive connotations with their customers to be successful. If those attributes resonate with a broad demographic, then the success level is likely to ratchet up several notches, although it’s perfectly possible to be successful within a quite tightly defined customer target group.

At our Pub Retail Summit last week, Spirit deputy chief executive Mike Tye told delegates that he thought that the Bull’s Head in Repton, Derbyshire, the award-winning pub run by Richard and Loren Pope, is a brand.

Tye was using the word brand in a loose but sensible way. He was suggesting that the Bull’s Head has so many points of difference and distinctive pieces of quality retailing that it creates a unique and distinct impression on its customers.

The Bull’s Head offers great value even though it’s not particularly cheap because it offers a consistent and reliable level of excellence.

You get a variety of approaches. Harvester is, essentially, the same offer replicated across 200 sites. You don’t get to this sort of size unless your customers think you’re offering consistent good value at its prevailing price points.

JD Wetherspoon is also obviously a brand because its customers know exactly what they can expect. They also like the minor concessions made to individuality in the form of their names and the pictures on the walls.

When it comes to unique attributes, pubs have been in a pretty good position for generations — an unbranded brand recognised around the world. And at one stage quite recently it was enough, mostly, to serve good quality beer in a characterful environment to fill tills. And you still see quite a lot of these. Greene King’s Eagle in Cambridge was packed to the rafters with drinkers enjoying good quality ale in an historic hostelry when I visited last week.

But the majority of pubs need to dig deeper now. Do you set yourself apart from others by offering enough that’s really distinctive and great value? Or are you a lot like every other pub in your vicinity?

Great pubs conjure up their own memories linked to a high quality and reliable experience. They brand themselves upon their customers.