A perspective on where our water comes from.

Okay, you’re wondering what the heck how water tastes has to do with marketing your business, and it’s a good question.  The answer will be revealed.

Water should taste the same, right?  It’s a clear liquid without additives, so it should have a uniform texture, consistency, and refreshing appeal to the palate.

Every business is the same, right?  There’s a reason for existence, a leadership team, incorporation, sales team, products and/or services, and marketing to reach the audience.

The answer to the question about every business is obviously false.  Now, some non-business people may believe every business is greedy and therefore evil, but what they fail to realize is that a business would be unable to provide them with a product or service if it was unable to make a reasonable profit.  Even non-profit organizations need to have money to operate.  Even franchise operations are different.

As a marketing professional, I prefer to avoid reference to particular franchises (unless it’s a client and we’ve been given permission), but let’s consider one whose logo features certain-colored arches.  There is a level of consistency one expects from this franchise, wherever one of the company’s stores may be located.  That premise implies that each of the fast food stores under that umbrella is the same.  Wrong!

The variables range from location (inner city vs. highway exit) to management, staff,  volume of traffic, and the make-up of the surrounding neighborhood.  Patrons frequent one store over another for quality of food, speed of service, cleanliness, friendliness, price, and convenience, among other factors.

Let’s flip back to the variables that have an impact on water.  Think where the water comes from in the first place.  It’s absorbed into clouds and comes back to earth as rain, which then filters through the ground into an aquifer or runs off into a stream, river, lake or other body of water.  As the natural rinsing agent it is, water brings along minerals, dirt, pesticides, and other “stuff” into whatever container it flows.  Unless we extract it ourselves from a lake or stream, water is usually processed through a filtration system and pumped into a water tower or other pressure tank to flow into our homes so it’s there when we turn on the tap.  Some municipalities treat the water with fluoride or other chemicals and some leave elements such as certain levels of iron in the water.

So, the bottom line is water can taste different depending on where it comes from, especially in terms of what container holds it.  Water in plastic bottles all seems to taste the same, but it depends on if it was bottled at a spring or through a municipal or business processing system.  Some of us can drink tap water and love the taste, where others may find the iron content too high or dislike the city water’s flavor.

Personally, I have grown accustomed to drinking water from a stainless steel bottle, which reminds me of drinking cold water from a stainless scoop dipped into a milk can from my days working on a farm.  I try to avoid filling the landfill with plastic bottles, even if they are recyclable, but if it’s my only choice, plastic fits the bill.

The point of this is that your hamburger, product, or service is going to taste different to every consumer.  In the case of the burger, it could be the quality of meat, percentage of fat, how it’s cooked, or the accompaniments such as the bun, condiments, vegetables, and whatever else someone likes on their concoction.  You need to know, as much as you can, what your customers want and deliver it in such a way that differentiates you and your business from the competition … and build loyalty to your brand!

That means you need to know what your brand is.

Is it tap water?  Well water?  River water?  Spring water?  Or run-off?

When you need help finding the source of your water, contact Brand Irons for guidance.