Hospitality: 5 Tips to Improve Your Company Image

Do you want to polish your company image to really take off with your restaurant? Do you feel the need to modernise the image of your establishment a little? Or do you perhaps have the impression that public perception of your bar has suffered somewhat recently? Then you have come to the right place. In this article, the marketing experts at Shoes For Crews have compiled five tips to help improve your company image.

Tip No. 1: Create a Corporate Identity

An absolute must is creating a consistent and clear corporate identity (CI). CI encompasses all the features and characteristics of a company that distinguish it from others and make it unique. This includes not only its appearance, such as the company colour scheme, but also its values and standards as well as communication within and outside the company.

Workwear is particularly well suited to visually communicating your CI externally. As explained in our article “Clothes make the person: Workwear in hospitality”, you can kill several birds with one stone: your employees are safely equipped, they feel connected to the company and, perhaps most importantly, they embody the CI externally, ensuring high brand recognition. That is why, at Shoes For Crews, you can have your work shoes personalised to match your concept. Please contact us if you have any questions about this!

Tip No. 2: Turn Employees into Brand Ambassadors

What could be a better calling card than satisfied employees? Customers can immediately sense whether a venue has a positive, relaxed atmosphere and feel much more comfortable. 

But did you also know that you can use your employees as brand ambassadors to improve your company image? Your staff have much deeper insights into the company than anyone else. This is precisely why many customers perceive recommendations and statements from a company's employees as authentic and trustworthy. A heartfelt recommendation from a waiter—who does not know that?—seems far more convincing to us than any billboard could ever be. Find out more in our article “From Employee to Brand Ambassador: How to Make It Work”.

However, it is essential that your employees are satisfied and enjoy working for your company. You can achieve this through a range of measures: from a pleasant working atmosphere and sufficient breaks to providing suitable work or safety shoes. Take a look at our article on “Strategies for Increasing Employee Satisfaction” or contact us for personalised advice on this topic.

Tip No. 3: Convince Through Performance

Alongside corporate identity and employee satisfaction, one thing above all must be right: performance! You will not be able to improve your company image if the quality of your product, such as your coffee or dishes, is not convincing. Therefore, regularly question the quality of your offering, evaluate potential weaknesses and make improvements wherever possible or necessary.

Also remember that it is not only the impression of end customers that matters, even if this is of course particularly decisive. The opinions of employees and suppliers can also have a significant impact on your company image.

Tip No. 4: Establish Sustainability as a Company Value

At first glance, this may seem somewhat arbitrary. Why should your company image improve by including sustainability in your company values? However, on closer consideration, it is not so far-fetched. Sustainability is of great importance to more and more consumers, as well as employees and potential partner companies, and is a relevant factor considered in all decisions.

So, if you want to keep up with the times and improve your company image, you should definitely consider incorporating ecological and social sustainability into your corporate culture. Do not worry—you do not have to completely turn your establishment upside down. It can start with a small step, such as equipping your employees with our vegan range of work and safety shoes. 

Tip No. 5: Be Open to Criticism

No matter how well thought-out your corporate identity is, how meticulously you check your quality or how great the working atmosphere is in your company: everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Mistakes are not bad per se. What matters is learning from them. A culture that embraces mistakes is now part of every successful company.

Young companies in particular still have a lot to learn at the beginning, need to try new things and make changes. However, those who are open to criticism during this process will learn an incredible amount and grow from every mistake they make. But even experienced professionals among us benefit from remembering that we can all always learn something new. So be open to criticism and see it as an opportunity to move your company forward.

This also applies—or especially applies—to negative reviews online. It is crucial that—and above all, how—you respond to negative reviews online. You should engage openly, kindly and honestly with what has been written. This will improve the company image that the critic has of you, as well as that of everyone else who has read the review.

We hope these five tips can help you improve your company image and really take off with your venue, restaurant or café!