Tonight I took my girls to the new neighborhood self-serve yogurt joint. The place was clean and white with splashes of bright greens and pinks. A wall of cool vintage candies greeted us when we walked in. We got our yogurt and sat down on a cool kids table that was also a vintage video game. I ate my yogurt.
And it was good.
Yet I couldn’t help thinking about how much more I’d rather have Luv-it’s Frozen Custard. This yogurt wasn’t half as good as Luv-it’s. And I thought about how the yogurt machines are all the same – Yogurtland, Uswirl, I heart yogurt, Yogo-Yum, The Golden Spoon, etc. etc. etc. It’s all the same yogurt. I’ve been to all of them and they all taste the same.
But Luv-its… Ahh Luv-its. Something is definitely different over there. They have a unique high quality product.
Yet Luv-it’s is in the dumpiest, scariest part of town in Las Vegas. It’s right behind a strip club. You can’t even go inside. In fact, it doesn’t even have a drive up window. It’s a walk-up window. Yet I will go out of my way to drive there, just for the amazing custard. I will risk my life quite literally to satisfy my craving of their banana fudge crumble.
They have something that no one else has. Seriously, have you seen all the self-serve yogurt shops around? It’s trendy, right? But they’re all the same. Do you see where I’m going with this? Have you seen all the moms who like to take pictures so they decide to be in business without skills or experience? It’s trendy, right? What separates me from everyone else? What separates you from everyone else?
Here’s why I think Luv-its is successful:
They don’t change what isn’t broken.
They consistently have an outstanding product. Their quality has not diminished one bit in the 14 years or so I’ve been consuming it.
They don’t join current fads or trends. Occasionally they will add a new menu item. But they stick with what they do best, and watch the other ice cream/yogurt shops rise and fall with the trends.
They don’t have a fancy, pretty location. I asked them once why they didn’t make a franchise and build Luv-its all over the city. The owner replied that he doesn’t need to – customers flock to him like white on rice. They know the product. They love the product, and know it will be fantastic every time. And because of this, they are perfectly happy to spend time and money to get it.
I get it. I don’t need a fancy website and/or logo and/or packaging etc. If I have those, great! If I don’t and can’t afford it, what’s the point of stressing about it? Some of my favorite logos are the simple text logos.
What I need is a consistently great product and/or service. That’s how you get people coming back. That’s how you get people talking about you. Think about it. How many people are out there hiring inexperienced photographers because they’re cheap and plentiful only because they don’t know there might be something better?
Stuff to check out:
I love the Brand Camp Blog. Written by Kristen, a Philadelphia children’s photographer. She deals with the business side of photography in her endearing, witty posts.
Professional Photographer Magazine. Seriously good stuff in here about branding, promotions, everything!
Amen sister!
mmmmhmmmm… thank you, Amy! good stuff to chew on.
forget being a Liker on FB, girl, i’m a total fan! love this article and your work is so great. xoxo
The wonderful, talented person who runs this website is my little girl all grown up. I am so proud of her. And I love her.
Dad