Chobani的交会ret to Making Customers Feel Like FamilyBranding your business starts from the inside out. Here are four ways to build a brand your customers will love.

ByMelanie Spring

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The following is the second in the series "Live Your Brand" in which branding expert Melanie Spring takes us along on her three-week road trip across the country to meet innovative entrepreneurs whose experiences offer lessons learned to businesses big and small.

In 2005, Hamdi Ulukaya noticed a classified ad for a yogurt plant in Upstate New York that was recently shut down by Kraft. At first, he threw the ad away, then had a gut feeling and decided to fish it out of the trash. He visited the plant that same day and bought it on the spot.

Related:How to Be The Brand You Always Wanted to Be

Hamdi was disappointed that Americans were happily eating sugar-filled yogurt. He wanted a better product and brought his friend Mustafa from Turkey to the U.S. to work on perfecting the recipe for Chobani. It hitretailshelves 18 months later. To this day, Mustafa is the yogurt master of Chobani.

推动产品的大型零售商,哈姆迪wanting to give everyone access to it. By 2012, Chobani had a factory in Australia and was in the midst of building a production facility in Idaho. They were planning for new products and new packaging, testing ways to be available to people with allergies and planning to enter new markets across the globe.

Few companies as large as Chobani live their brand, but even mom and pop shops can learn something from this company.

1. Create a family culture at work.This is a top priority for Hamdi. Chobani's offices feel like home. All of them have open-air layouts and room for collaboration, including a long kitchen table for eating together. The comfortable space and ability to collaborate gives them an incentive to be there.

Related:5 Branding Tips to Supercharge Your Sales

Chobani hires talent for a culture-fit. Stressing work/life balance and a flexible work environment allowemployeesto stay focused. Other perks of working for Chobani include a discounted corporate gym membership, team-building events and Apple products. The unending supply of yogurt doesn't hurt either.

2. Live by your core values.Chobani lives by their core values. They are present in every aspect of the business from internal communications andsocial mediaoutlets to the hugs the boss gives his employees.

These core values led them to sponsor the Olympics. They had a huge celebration in Upstate NY inviting the entire community near their plant, their farmers, and their employees. They constructed a huge screen, handed out yogurt, and connected the community around them.

3. Forge relationships, not business deals.Chobani's favorite marketing campaign was Real Love Stories where fans shared their love for the product. One man biked miles and miles to the plant just to see where his yogurt was made and documented it. Their latest effort was to open Chobani SoHo to meet their fans in real life.

The company does business with people and Hamdi believes that being transparent and real are top priorities. For example, when people tweet Chobani, they receive a personal response back from someone at the company.

4. Make yourself known to customers.领导is the most important part of growing a business. Hamdi is involved in every aspect of the business. He spends time outside the SoHo store in order to listen to his customers and makes sure to visit every office.

Related:How To Brand Yourself To Live a Happier Life

Melanie Spring

Chief Inspiration Officer of Sisarina

As the Chief Inspiration Officer ofSisarina, a D.C.-based branding firm, Spring built her business with a strong content marketing strategy. With an innate sense for social media, connecting with her customers, and building a culture around her brand, she teaches businesses and non-profits how to rock their brand. She also recently toured the U.S. on the Live Your Brand Tour collecting stories from businesses living their brand.

Related Topics

领导

5 Books That Will Change The Way You Think About Being an Effective Leader

Want to improve the way you lead? Learn from those who blazed the trails you hope to follow.

Living

Unleash Unshakable Confidence in 7 Days: The Neuroscience-Backed Blueprint

In the cut-throat business world, self-doubt can be the difference between success and failure, costing you everything.

Business News

Knaus Berry Farm Will Reopen on Halloween, 8 Months After Brutal Attack on Co-Owners

The reopening is marked by tragedy, as the co-owners, Herbert and Rachel Grafe, were victims of a vicious assault in February, resulting in Rachel's passing.

Business News

Meta Spent $27.1 Million on 'Other Compensation' for Mark Zuckerberg in 2022 Including Security Costs and Private Plane

While the Meta CEO is paid a humble annual salary of $1, his security costs have racked up quite a tab.

Business News

'Stupid Idea Overall': McDonald's Is Making a Major Change to the Beloved McFlurry

The sweet treat has been a staple at the fast-food chain for decades.