5 Actions to Make Now to Build Your Hospitality Brand

Brand equity is what really drives loyal customers, the 20% which represents 80% of your business. But brand equity has been destroyed by restaurant closings, the emphasis on pick up and the surge of delivery. Here are 5 actions you can take now to build brand loyalty.  

• First, listen to customers – ignore peers, pundits and poohbahs. Go straight to your customers and listen to them.
• Second, ask the right questions – outdated "scale of 1 to 5" surveys are useless. Ask questions in a format that will get you actionable answers. Drowning in data is still drowning.
• Third, don't second guess the answers! If a large number of your customers tell you parking is important… give them parking. Giving your customers what they want reduces the need to give them coupons and discounts.
• Fourth, divide and conquer! Tailor your message to what each individual group tells you is important to them. The "spray and pray" years are over. Digital media can be surgically precise if you know what you're doing.
• Fifth, keep your finger on the pulse. 2021 is not only going to be really different than 2020 or than 2019, 2021 itself is going to be different from one quarter to another as different areas change their stay-at-home policies. So we recommend follow-up research periodically.

About the Author

Marcelo Salup, co-founder of CEO Analytics and a 35+ year marketing veteran lists five actions that restaurant owners can take today to get their brand back: CEO created a unique customer survey that combines Disassociated Conjoint Analysis and proprietary algorithms to unearth what is really important to customers and what really drives their preferences.