“Know Who You Are”: Branding Lessons from Tara Clever, CRO at MarginEdge

“Know Who You Are”:  Branding Lessons from Tara Clever, CRO at MarginEdge

From back-of-house authenticity to AI with empathy, how this fast-growing restaurant platform keeps it real.

In a world of fast content and faster tech, Tara Clever offers a reminder. Brands grow when they stay true to who they are.

In this BrandSnack episode, Tara, Chief Revenue Officer at MarginEdge, joins Emmanuel Trenche to share what it means to build a brand with depth, consistency, and clarity.

This is how she thinks about branding, culture, AI, and the heartbeat of a company serving over 11,000 restaurant operators across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Brand is about consistency.

“The first thing was the consistency… the fact that every time I had a Fruit Roll-Up, it didn’t matter the flavor. It was a consistent experience.”

Using childhood snacks as a metaphor for brand building, Tara compared a great brand to a reliable memory. It’s something you look forward to because it delivers again and again. That consistency, she explains, is a big part of why people come back to brands they trust.

We’re here to connect with our end users.

“The most important thing we’re doing is trying to connect to our end users.”MarginEdge was built for restaurant operators. Tara leads the brand with that focus in mind.

From product design to content voice, the goal is to make operators feel seen and understood. The company’s co-founders still run restaurants. New features are tested in a real location first. Their tone is grounded in hospitality.

If MarginEdge were a person, they’d have fully tattooed sleeves.

“They have style, they have edge, they are comfortable in their own skin. They’re not afraid to take some risks.”

That’s how Tara describes the brand personality. It is not safe or sterile. It is bold and authentic. The goal isn’t to look like every other SaaS company. It is to feel like the industry they serve. Vibrant, messy, and real.

Brand voice starts with who you hire.

“She makes a mean pot roast.”

That’s what caught Tara’s attention on the resume of Rachel Markus, who now leads content at MarginEdge. It wasn’t about keywords. It was about connection.

“This is someone who is very talented… but also not afraid to take risks, not afraid to be funny, not afraid to push the edge.”

Tara’s hiring philosophy is clear. First, understand your brand’s heartbeat. Then, hire people who naturally embody it. Finally, let them express it across every channel.

“Me” is at the center of the brand. Literally.

“We want to make sure that it’s never something that feels like you’re getting lost in a vanilla brand or vanilla experience.”

MarginEdge’s logo tells that story. The brackets around “me” aren’t just clever design. They signal that the customer is central to everything they do.  Whether it’s a Michelin-starred restaurant or a 20-unit smoothie shop, the message is the same. This is for you.

Back of house is where the story starts.

“If we showed a picture of the back office, they’re like, ‘That’s me.’”

When Tara first ran A/B tests on photography, polished front-of-house visuals didn’t perform. But gritty, real photos from the kitchen did.

“We don’t want something overproduced. That was a directive from Rachel and that was a directive from me.”

Their approach is simple. Tell the story from the perspective of the operator. That’s who they serve.

AI should shine a light on what makes us human.

“Our goal is to say… AI can shine a bigger and bigger spotlight on the thing that makes us special — which is our people.”

Tara sees AI as a tool, not a replacement. It should support human-to-human connection, not erase it. They use AI to offload repetitive tasks. That gives teams more time to focus on empathy and service.

Our heartbeat hasn’t changed.

“We are here to empower operators. That has been true and will be true.”

Despite growing fast, MarginEdge’s mission stays the same. Help restaurants run better. Stay human. Even as the product evolves, the people remain central.

We win together.

“It’s not ‘not my job.’ It’s 25 people sprinting at a problem.”

The company culture is built around shared wins. That spirit is in their walls, Slack channels, and team habits. And as Tara puts it:

“As everything is moving so, so fast… the slow is going to matter more.”

Key Takeaways from Tara Clever

• Consistency builds trust
• Real stories beat polished ones
• The brand lives in your people
• Know your audience
• Use AI to enhance humanity

Want to explore what this could look like for your brand?

If Tara’s approach resonated and you’re thinking about how to bring more clarity, consistency, and connection into your content. We’re happy to chat.
Book a Discovery Call with Trifactor
Let’s talk about what’s working, what’s missing, and how video can play a more strategic role in your growth story.