Importance of Brand Values in Hospitality

Importance of Brand Values in Hospitality

When you hear the wording ‘brand’ or ‘branding’ we tend to think of the most iconic brands; Coca-Cola, Nike, or Apple. What comes to mind is the strong brand recognition of the logos, colours and fonts. Do we necessarily think about the experience when interacting with these brands? Possibly with a high-value item such as an Apple product. I can’t ever see myself not owning an iPhone for example, but I could easily switch my preference for trainers from Nike to Adidas.

In the hospitality space, having a unique name, logo, or colour scheme won’t necessarily make your business stand out from the competition unless you’re a giant like McDonald’s or Starbucks and even they are in a crowded space. Therefore, it’s crucial to deliver an experience that aligns with your brand. Establishing “brand values” within your business that everyone is engaged with, is the key to fostering brand loyalty. Making these standards relevant and applicable to your operations team through “standard operating procedures” is the key to delivering against these brand values and will benefit your business in numerous ways.

Ensures quality of the guest experience

Ensuring a consistently exceptional guest experience can be achieved through implementing robust brand standards. This can take the shape of a handbook, training sessions, or ongoing coaching. Putting these procedures into place and then measuring against them is crucial to achieving and maintaining the guest experience.

Uniquely You

When establishing brand standards, it’s essential to ensure they accurately represent your brand. This is a great opportunity to highlight your unique selling points to your guests. Embrace the chance to define what sets your restaurant, café, or drinking venue apart from others, and use this to create a memorable guest experience that differentiates you from your competitors.

May The Best Person Win

Creating a clear set of brand guidelines and standard procedures can be really helpful for your team. It helps everyone understand what’s expected of them, which is great for identifying areas where you can improve the process or recognise exceptional individuals. For example, you could set some goals for your front-of-house team and offer incentives for meeting them. This can create a friendly sense of competition and help everyone stay focused on their tasks.

Repeated Revists

For hospitality brands, loyalty can be measured by repeat visits. Data shows that the more guests visit a venue, the higher they score on NPS. Not delivering on the brand standards at any point can disrupt this and certainly by not wowing first timers you run the risk of never seeing that guest again.