There are reasons some businesses are hugely successful, others "get by" and the less fortunate fail. From a marketing perspective it seems quite simple: You must know your customers and what it takes to make them happy.

This is the basis of a great brand. Easy, right? Then why do so many businesses fail to follow this prescription -- particularly those that provide a service, not just a product? And why do we, as customers, often walk away from a store, a restaurant or a phone call frustrated by the way we have been treated or misunderstood? This is the first of two articles on this subject that will look at how some companies delight and others disappoint.

We did not have to look far to find three great examples of entities that are truly customer driven -- Eat'n Park Restaurant Group, Magee-Womens Hospital and Whole Foods.

In each case the business clearly defines the customer, goes to exhaustive means to get continuous feedback on him, engages employees in the cause and constantly evolves to please. The specific practices are unique to each organization, but the values they go by are remarkably similar.

Magee-Womens

In 1918 Christopher Lymon Magee opened up his own home in Pittsburgh to provide a place where all women, regardless of economic, medical or marital status, could give birth in a safe and nurturing haven. From these roots grew a world-class medical facility, that lives and breathes something they call "Womancare." Since 1989, dynamic chief executive Irma Goertzen has kept that focus for Magee.

With a customer definition as broad as "women" Magee could have fallen prey to the misconception that "one size fits all." Instead, it has gone to great lengths to understand and meet the needs of its changing market, from age, education and income to spirituality, sexual orientation and ethnicity.

"Unlike a lot of medical institutions I know, at Magee the P stands for product not just promotion," said director of marketing and communications Diane Lewis. "I visited about 60 to 80 facilities in my former role as a consultant, and most of them wanted to define their brand as an ad campaign or a projected image to attract patients." As Lewis describes it, Magee puts product -- medical care for women -- first and talks about it later. This involves the ability to attract world-class medical talent, a commitment to research, being an advocate for women's health in general and engaging everyone in the facility in continuous improvement.

Eat'n Park

Listening to customers and staff also is a big activity at Eat'n Park, where we spoke with Adam Golomb, marketing director for the privately owned Pittsburgh-based restaurant chain with 77 outlets in three states. The company uses a wide array of tools such as focus groups, large quantitative studies, table-top questionnaires, mall interviews and continuous dialogue with employees to find out how their customers (referred to as "guests") feel about the service and meals they experience at Eat'n Park. Satisfaction is measured across the enterprise at an individual outlet level quarterly.

This information allows the company to constantly evolve its menu and physical premises, fix problems quickly and get a sense of what customers want next.

An observation: Eat'n Park is not having an identity crisis. It is a "hometown neighborhood restaurant and bakery for families" and likes it that way. The outlet in Moon displays photos of local military personnel now serving in Iraq. "It's the local manager who makes those decisions because he knows his customers," Golomb said.

Since part of Eat'n Park's brand image relates to being part of the "hometown," the company takes its community role seriously. Sponsorship dollars and those Smiley cookies are ubiquitous; fundraisers and youth events are run and local causes supported. Top management and employees in each outlet volunteer in the community. Last year the National Restaurant Association named it top chain in the country for community service.

In developing new products, Eat'n Park looks at its menu research and industry trends. New ideas are developed internally before even a limited in-restaurant test is conducted. If a given meal or sandwich makes the grade it is put on the menu.

Like most good brands, Eat'n Park has an even more basic criterion for making changes: Is it "right" for us? Knowing what fits means you probably won't be seeing alcohol at these family oriented restaurants, and chefs will not be flambeing Bananas Foster tableside. But because patrons have described themselves as " busy and starved for time," you will see more Express Cafes such as those introduced last year to allow guests to run in and get a quick sandwich or coffee. And you may see items in Lancaster that aren't in Monroeville because Eat'n Park knows tastes can vary by geography.

Like Magee-Womens Hospital, Eat'n Park understands that customer satisfaction depends on employee satisfaction. This means employee involvement in all aspects of the business, building on teamwork and managers who are rewarded for sales and building clientele. This year Eat'n Park shifted a portion of both marketing decisions and dollars to outlet level to allow managers to better meet customer expectations and grow sales.

Whole Foods

The newest and probably most noticed business we examined was Whole Foods. The national chain with more than 140 stores came to Pittsburgh early this year with a store in East Liberty. The results give new meaning to the idea "If you build it they will come." The first indication is that Whole Foods is a hit, with the exception of space in the parking lot.

Asked to define who the Whole Foods customer, "team leader" Casey Dill said, "People who care about food ... high in quality and safe to eat." Dill's challenge has been keeping foods in stock and finding more selling space. Already the cheese department is bursting at the seams to accommodate customer requests.

Dill cites two factors separating it from competitors: a commitment to marketing the best food and a new concept for employees (team members ) within each store. He talks about almost a "theater effect" in the way food is displayed. They "arrange" the fish and meat cases to entice customers and have seven "teams" competing to "wow customers."

Dill is a veteran of 17 years with Whole Foods in various markets but has roots in Pittsburgh. The "biggest surprise," he says, is how "quickly the Pittsburgh market has responded." Some customers new to the Pittsburgh area said access to quality food was "the one thing that was missing." Whole Foods managers underestimated how many willing customers there were.

Meeting expectations has evolved. As this unit starts to meet its exacting standards for "delighting customers" it is now challenged by these unleashed palates asking for more information and product.

Whole Foods starts in a hiring process, looking for people who smile, talk with customers and help guide them in discovering and choosing food. Almost all employees were in the market and some had extensive knowledge of food.

It is the little things that seem to stand out. Ask for information at the help desk and you will be escorted to the right food section or introduced to a "team leader" to answer your question. Dill said, "The chain knows our employees must enjoy their jobs and be engaged in the success of the store." So the seven teams meet regularly to discuss sales results and reports on items such as labor costs. Monetary bonuses accrue to each department having sales in excess of costs and efforts are made to give workers a sense of ownership.

These three companies "get it" when it comes to knowing the customer: Get beyond the obvious to know who the customer is; go beyond the expected in addressing customer needs; continually improve to meet evolving expectations and change; and take time to develop engaged and accountable employees to deliver the customer experience.

The next column will review some outfits with greater room for improvement.