We checked in with CEO and owner of Cater Boom, Shaun Kisler, to learn what he valued the most of his experience working with Red Chalk Studios to reposition and strengthen his brand.
Shaun Kisler was frustrated.
He was in medical sales doing a lot of catering and lunch-and-learn events, and needed a faster way to order catering so he could spend more time selling.
So he created it himself.
The result was a business catering marketplace that uses a robust online ordering platform.
Once the idea started gaining traction and he realized it could be a legitimate business, he knew it was time for the next step.
We decided that we needed to really dial in on who we were as a business, how were we going to be able to present ourselves on the national stage, and how were we going to make decisions that fell in line with who we wanted to be as a company,” said Shaun. “At that point, we realized we needed the help of an agency, and we started the interview process.”
What made them choose Red Chalk Studios?
We had done our homework. We had researched the company. We had a defined process with timelines and budget ranges. And we impressed Shaun.
Believe it or not, most of the companies we interviewed had their sales pitch and were very interested in what our budget was; they went through their spiel… It didn’t have anything to do with our business. You guys had done your background research on our company so—from the very get-go—the conversation started from a completely different place and we were able to really have a good discussion about who we were as a company and where we wanted to go.”
Shaun, along with Bev Murray, Cater Boom’s marketing and operations coordinator, participated in our brand foundation development and the collaborative exercises needed to hone in on how to optimally position the company so they not only stood out amongst their competition, but created more value and benefits to their target audiences.
That really opened up our eyes to things that we agreed on and therefore there was a good direction. And then on things that we disagreed on, there was good conversation and debate, and we were able to work through that. The process was really revealing to us. Once we were able to identify our company identity, then we were able to proceed through the process and really determine our brand foundation roadmap (which included renaming our business), our customer avatar, and the mapping of our customer experience,” said Shaun.
When a name change is the right decision.
Speaking of renaming… Shaun came to us as CaterNow, and a name change wasn’t on the table in the beginning.
But after taking the deep dive we needed to, doing a competitor and SWOT analysis, and then going through the brand foundation process, it became more and more clear to all of us that the company name wasn’t as strong as it needed to be.
So with the information revealed through the foundation process, we got to work developing name and tagline solutions. What resonated with Shaun and Bev immediately? Cater Boom!
By changing “now” to “boom,” they have a name that better differentiates them from their competitors, implies success and efficiency, is active, fun to say, and memorable.
Not only does the name Cater Boom capture who they are, it gives them messaging “legs,” more opportunities to make the right impact on the right people at the right time in the right places. Right out of the gate.
Assessing the website and improving the customer experience.
Our work didn’t stop with a new strategic vision and identity system for their brand. We conducted a thorough website audit and success plan to help Shaun and Bev deliver a better, branded user experience. This included strengthening everything from the overall look, functions, key messaging and calls to action through the ordering process.
While our recommendations are being phased in by Cater Boom’s development team, the immediate result is a website that not only reflects their core values and brand promise, it creates a stronger first impression and delivers a much better experience. And that’s a great start!
Shaun has big plans for Cater Boom.
Their growth has been impressive (they’re now in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Tennessee and Pennsylvania) and they’re expanding rapidly.
He sees them going national and believes they “already seem like a franchise,” which he attributes to their strong foundation and branding, and the knowledge they attained through the customer journey mapping and website success planning they did through Red Chalk.
It’s exciting to be a part of a business’s success, and here at Red Chalk, we’re proud to offer services that can make a tremendous difference.
More than that, we so very much appreciate and value the trust Shaun and Bev put in us and their active participation in the collaborative experience. We think they liked us, too…
The process we went through was dead on. And now we’ve got a company that we can be proud of, that can compete in the marketplace, and represent us well on the national scale… Boom!”
