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Recent reports by CBS News and The Bloomberg Report rave about the performance that KFC restaurants have had in China. With over 3200 stores there now, the chain is outselling McDonald’s and the other US fast food chains significantly. While domestic performance isn’t as great, my trip to KFC’s first restaurant in Corbin, KY, gave me a clue as to why the chain is one of the strongest brands in the business.

Over the door inside of the original Sanders Café is a sign that defines Good Will as “The Disposition of a Well-Pleased Customer to Return to the Place where he has been well Treated.” This is identified as the definition by the US Supreme Court, but it certainly is also the benchmark of successful brands who deal directly with their customers. It’s interesting that KFC is doing so well in China when the experience here does not always live up to the above definition. However, when you read more into the reports and learn how not only has KFC’s parent YUM Brands made a practice of hiring local managers for their stores and operations, but also the restaurants have catered to their customers by having local favorites to the menus and added design and architecture to make it feel like they are at home and not in an American icon in a strange place.

Marshall Field, the department store pioneer, best described Good Will as the only asset that a store’s competition can neither duplicate or destroy. It is, in fact, the basis for a long-term relationship that also defines a successful brand. While Colonel Sanders built his brand on his secret batter recipe (which the company still keeps securely locked up in Louisville), he also understood the importance of treating his customers with a smile and with respect. The original café displays a lot of evidence that the reflect a respect for the customer and the warmth of family place to dine. On the same trip, we stopped at a McDonald’s in Lima, OH, that was designed with fixtures and accessories that made it feel not just like an upscale restaurant but gave it a warm, homey atmosphere as well. (The mocha frappe was as good as ever, too.)

As I look at stores and restaurants that are struggling recently, I think it would be good for them to take note of the Colonel’s adherence to building good will by building a brand that resonates with their buying style and keeps them coming back to a place “where they are well treated”.

To learn more about how to make your brand more successful, watch for our new book: “BrainBranding. Activate the Brain—Stimulate the Brand.” Co-authored by Robyn Winters and myself, the book will be available on Amazon and Kindle later this month. Watch for our announcement soon.