Carey Bringle, owner of Peg Leg Porker Restaurant, Bringle’s Smoking Oasis, Pig Star and Peg Leg Porker Bourbon & Lifestyle Brand.
The Covid-19 pandemic spurred on challenges within the hospitality industry that are slowly beginning to rectify. Food service, in particular, has seen long-lasting effects, including widespread labor shortages, rising food costs and consumers cutting back on spending. As noted in BU Today, many of these structural challenges were already in effect to some degree but were further accelerated by the pandemic.
Global and industry-wide events like the pandemic can be difficult to face as a business owner, but there are ways to weather the storm to help ensure you come out on the other side. This is done by building a resilient brand that can withstand all types of challenges. By building a resilient brand, you set yourself and your brand up to recover more easily from hard times while maintaining customer trust—whether the hospitality industry is facing inflation, structural setbacks, customer drop-off or labor shortages.
The good news is that the hospitality industry is slowly beginning to get back on its feet. The industry has always been known for its rapid pace of change. And in the wake of the pandemic, that still holds true. Resilient brands in the industry can withstand the pressure that challenges bring. Understanding how to build a resilient brand is the first step to ensuring you can emerge from uncertain times with a clear path forward.
As the owner of a resilient brand myself, here are some key tips I’ve used over the years that can help you build your hospitality brand’s resilience.
1. Keep communication open and transparent.
Open communication and transparency are key to building a resilient brand. They allow your customers to thoroughly understand your business’ current state and exactly how things need to operate. By communicating transparently with your customer base at all times, you can build trust and loyalty, which are vital to seeing your business through.
A transparent approach to communication can be achieved in several ways, including:
• Keep your website and social media up to date and accurate. Provide information, including pricing and menu options on your website, and be sure to share news regarding upcoming events or ongoing crisis situations that your brand is facing in relevant formats.
• Actively seek customer feedback when appropriate. This can be done through surveys, social media conversations and encouraging customer reviews.
• Share business progress and initiatives. Especially in challenging times, sharing need-to-know business information can be a simple, effective way to offer transparency and provide your brand with a unique storytelling opportunity all in one.
The essential point to remember about transparent communication is that it’s the pathway to building strong customer relationships. Skepticism around brand communication is growing among consumers—making transparent communication efforts more important than ever. By being clear and open with your customers, you can connect with them and set yourself up for long-term resilience.
2. Invest in building and maintaining customer loyalty.
All brands rely on their customer base to be successful. And all resilient hospitality brands need to take time to invest in building and maintaining their customer loyalty—through good and challenging times alike.
I’ve learned that building and maintaining customer loyalty requires a two-pronged approach. You’ll need to connect with your customer base both online and in person to really focus your efforts appropriately.
Luckily, building customer loyalty can be done in a number of easily customizable ways. This can start with your business and staff providing top-notch customer service. For example, at my restaurants, my team is focused on offering great customer service and food that helps us stand out from the crowd. Consistent customer service goes a long way to creating a positive experience for customers and helps them feel valued.
Other methods you can use to build customer loyalty include:
• Connect with your customers where they spend time online—be that directly through your brand website or on social platforms. This helps establish a sense of community around your brand.
• Consider customer loyalty offers. Offers can be as simple as special discounts to repeat customers or a more developed loyalty program. For example, I’ve taken the newsletter approach with my restaurant, where we offer exclusive recipes and giveaways to subscribers.
Customer loyalty is an invaluable asset for any hospitality brand that wants to build resilience. Focus on building and maintaining customer loyalty in the ways that make the most sense for you and your clientele. For my business, we do this by offering good food and spirits to patrons at a fair cost. Our philosophy is that we have a seat for everyone at the table, and it’s affordable—which offers a valuable service to our customers.
3. Build flexibility into the makeup of your brand and business.
Remaining flexible will provide you the space to adapt to any type of situation that comes your way. Whether your brand is facing a lull in customers due to the off-season, cost increases or even an unexpected global health crisis, flexibility is critical to embrace.
Flexibility sets your hospitality brand up to effectively respond to all challenges—especially those with a slow recovery period, like talent shortages. A 2023 Deloitte report found that hospitality employers were finding it difficult to fill vacant roles. This was partly due to workers being reluctant to return to work after being let go during the pandemic or moving into other careers.
Labor shortages are a common issue in the hospitality space, but by incorporating flexibility into your brand, you can tackle this kind of challenge with ease. For example, a flexible staffing model can help address talent shortages; this gives a business the option to employ seasonal or part-time staff.
Building a resilient hospitality brand is crucial for long-term success and survival. Taking the time to lay a strong foundation for your brand, whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been in business for years, will help ensure that your business can thrive under any circumstances. Be proactive in building a resilient brand at all times so your company can adapt and evolve no matter the circumstances.
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