I’m standing in line with a cart full of groceries while on vacation last week at a beach community in North Carolina. Like most who rent a house for a week or two, soon after arrival you venture to the local supermarket to stock the larder with a carload of groceries. Of course, you walk into the store about the same time as a hoard of others who have just checked-in to their houses, too. You get the idea, it’s crowded.

And, then as I’m standing there, I overhear a checkout associate say to another associate … “I hate this. I absolutely hate this crush of people. They’re all in a hurry to rush back to their precious beach houses. They make me sick.”

As I hear this I look up at a huge sign that read: Welcome! We’re Down Home, Just Down The Street.”

Even though I was doing my best to “disengage” from thinking about work for a few days, I couldn’t help but think about the CMO, his staff and agency that developed the tag line to reflect how they wanted their customers to feel about their shopping experience. Not only was the associate way out of alignment with the brand , she apparently possessed little sense of a customer’s value to her livelihood.

It was a good reminder that for every dollar we spend to market a product or service, we need to consider the resources needed to ensure that those charged with carrying out the brand promise actually do so.

Otherwise, it’s bye-bye ROI.