How many brands are you aware of that you don’t choose to purchase?

Exactly. Brand awareness is pretty much worthless.

Most companies aim for brand preference. Better but not great. I can always substitute one brand I prefer for a similar brand I also prefer. Brand preferences can be interchangeable.

The goal, as my wise colleague Nido Qubein, President of High Point University, points out is brand insistence. Brand insistence means the customer will accept no substitutes. It isn’t about being “a” choice but being “the only” choice.

Brand insistence comes from giving an encore performance that makes people want more of you, your products and/or services. It isn’t about being excellent or great;  it is about being distinctive in a way that customers truly value.  My pal Joe Calloway calls it being a category of one.

What category do you fall into? Brand awareness, preference or insistence?

New Belgium Brewing has a great little bar and grille at Denver International Airport. The food is good and the beer is better, but a bartender who goes by the name “Meatloaf” is best of all.

Meatloaf is an original. While he reminds me of other good bartenders and service professionals, he adds his own spin. He enthusiastically greets everyone who sits down at the bar, introduces himself, gets their name and then introduces them to every other patron at the bar. He goes down the line introducing everyone by first name. Then has asks for a big “woo!” at the end to welcome the latest addition. If everyone participates and does a good job on the “woo” Meatloaf will comment on the “big woo-age.”

Meatloaf appropriately flatters the women regardless of age or marital status. He makes good conversation and is very helpful in selecting the right brew. He explains how the glaze on the sweet potato fries makes them the best you’ve ever eaten. He is an artist and some of his work is hung in the bar and restaurant area. He’s perceptive about who wants to talk and who wants to drink and eat in silence. And when you leave, he says goodbye in a way that convinces you he is truly sad to see you go.

You can go back for the beer or the food but I’m guessing lots of travelers go back for Meatloaf. He is an encore performer, the kind of person you’d like working for you regardless the business that you are in.

So here’s big woo-age to everyone’s friend Meatloaf.

Jewely Del Duca is an elementary teacher for Littleton Public Schools. In general, I believe teachers are remarkable people, but Jewely even more so. She has stage 4 cancer, and despite the pain, continues to teach her students each day. She wants to impart important lessons not just about academics but about life. For her remarkable story, click here.