Of course you know that branding and communication are necessary, but what is necessary for the hospitality sector? This sector is unique because it concerns services that can both be considered as vacation/pleasure time and also a key business setting. So, how do you brand your company to captivate the target segments?

First of all, you need to pick a segment. If you want to attract everyone, you will attract no one. People will feel that your firm is too ordinary and is not targeted to them. They will simply opt for your competitors. This goes for both business clients and recreational patrons.

In order to know what you must do in your branding and communication strategy, you must know who you will target. There are obvious differences between business guests and recreational visitors, but there are also differences within each group.

One major difference is that business people act differently if they are executives from a large company or are entrepreneurs. Even though the trend is going downward with regard to spending, business managers higher in the ranks have a budget they stick to. They will usually get the most they can for their budget. They will not stay in a cheap hotel, eat at a cheap restaurant, or have business meetings in a cheap café if their budget affords them more luxury.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, tend to be more reserved in spending when not hosting meetings with business partners. This is because what they spend has a more profound effect on the bottom line of their company. Entrepreneurs could afford to spend as much or more than business executives to treat themselves, but they tend to opt for investing that extra money back into the company.

If you would rather target recreational individuals or groups, then you have to focus on other points. Again, this group is divided into different subgroups. You can come up with them yourself when devising your own strategy because each approach will be different.

Once you know who you want to attract, then you can begin branding your firm. Branding should be consistent and uniform. Ideally, it should be a part of the Total Consumer Experience (TCE) where everything in the firm is designed to give that little extra feel for quality and attention the client may otherwise miss. Having a consistent, uniform brand will create a good, respectable image and increase your firm’s value.

So, what is necessary when branding your hospitality firm? It is that you must know who you would like to attract. From there, you can perform the branding and communication yourself, but you could also leave it to the experts. It is not to say that if you target one group that these will be the only people you will attract, but it makes one group feel like your hospitality firm caters to them. Being aware of these points when branding is key to a sound strategy.