Breathing life into our client’s brands is what we love to do. So it feels kind of strange to do it with our own brand. Giving an 11-year-old company a fresh paint job has been fun and interesting. But underneath the fresh coat of paint, what’s actually changed?
Over the last 15 years as a media design and communication training consultant, my focus was typically more on the marketing, branding, and design side. That has changed quite a bit over the last several years.
I found crafting communication structures and training to be as creative as any marketing, branding, or design project. So while our unique value-add has always been the mix of marketing and communication training — leveraging over 25 years of communication and sales training experience — we finally made the decision to shift the main company focus to training. Why?
How often do we hear groans when someone says:
“So I had to call <insert company here> customer service this morning…”
When did “customer service” become such a cringe-worthy phrase? I can’t stand to watch clients make huge branding and marketing investments only to have the customer relationship destroyed from the moment they hear an indifferent, “Can I help you?” (which, by the way, should be, “How can I help you?”)
So while we will continue to be a valuable resource with our unique blend of branding and training, the primary focus on building communication structures ensures that we continue to help our clients… build brands from the inside out.
Perhaps the biggest change is for Allison Strauss. A 28+ year veteran of the restaurant industry, Allison has worked in every area of the business from high-end fine dining to country clubs. After spending 14 years as a GM with Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse — a Chicago restaurant institution and one of the most successful, fine dining restaurant groups in the country — Allison made the decision to move to full-time restaurant consulting 2 years ago.
Bringing her wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise with building teams, Allison is helping both new and existing restaurants with every aspect of the restaurant business. From training staff and management on guest communication and service standards, to inventory, forecasting, P&L, and marketing, she’s able to position restaurants for continued success in an what can be a volatile industry.
What’s Next?
As a national, Chicago-based consulting company, we are able to travel anywhere to help companies succeed. Watch this space for communication skills and tips to help a variety of industries and feel free to drop us a note to discuss how we can help build your brand!
