In 2012 Scott Moore lost his job in a restructuring. Moore decided to turn his crisis into an opportunity by starting a restaurant with his friend Gus Evans in Jacksonville, Florida. They called it The Maple Street Biscuit Company and offered what they refer to as “comfort food with a modern twist.”
Moore invested a chunk of his life savings in the first restaurant, and it was a success. The second store worked well too. Then a third. Emboldened by their early results, Moore wrote a business plan for a massive expansion, which called for building 25 locations across the southeastern United States in just 18 months.
To fund the growth, he put his house up as collateral on a bank loan and personally signed a guarantee that, had Moore failed, it would have left him penniless. As it turns out, the gamble paid off when the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel acquired Maple Street in November 2019 for $36 million in an all-cash transaction.
Maple Street had created a durable competitive advantage because of its brand, which was defined by Moore’s careful choice of words. One way to build the value of your brand — and your business — is to own the vocabulary used to describe it:
- Own Your Product Names: Maple Street started with creative names for the biscuits they served. Instead of a generic fried chicken biscuit you could get from any old fast-food chain, they offered “The Squawking Goat.” Instead of generic-sounding vegetarian biscuit, Maple Street offers “The Iron Goat” (think spinach and goat cheese on a biscuit).
- Own Your Employee Titles: the people in charge of bringing the Maple Street brand to life are the employees, but Moore was careful not to call them that. He refers to employees as “family members” and customers as “guests.” In a nod to the vision Moore had for making his stores a community hub, he refers to store managers as “community leaders.”
- Own the Words Describing the Way You Do Things: at Maple Street, Moore talks about “gracious service,” which is about treating customers with grace. Restaurant businesses have back-office people who order food and pay invoices, but instead of referring to headquarters in a generic way, Moore calls it “The Family Support Team.”
… to create a powerful customer experience with the “wow” factor.
What is the “wow” factor in your business?
Contact Kirk W. McLaren, CEO, MBA, CPA, IFM, and Georgetown University lecturer at kirk@foresightcfo.com to learn how the eight drivers help you grow with clarity.