How to deal with the competition

Q: Our hotel is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and we get a lot of tourists; we opted to set up our ‘tea-room with a view’ a few years ago and it really helps our turnover! Now, there’s a new one opened up nearby and even though they don’t have a view like us, we seem to be losing passing and loyal trade. What should we do?

A: Marketing is as much about the product as it is about the promotion; with passing trade, it’s probably even more important you look enticing than it is that you promote yourself. Take a step back and review your business and why not get a focus group of critical friends and family together to give you feedback? Are you doing what you have always done? What is it that is pulling your customers away from you and making the new place look more inviting? You should also pop across to their place and inconspicuously try out the competition; be objective and see what attracts you personally, seeing what you can draw on and adopt for your own business.

A really common pitfall for hospitality businesses is standing still; like your favourite pair of slippers, things get comfortable and while a ‘home away from home’ has a certain appeal, you’re in danger of losing business by not innovating. You’ve already identified that passing trade is a big one for you, so unlike other markets, you’ll struggle to promote in advance; instead, your property becomes your billboard and it says a lot about you. Has your façade become old and tired instead of quaint and cute; are your offerings still on trend, or are you stuck in the past? At the moment, there’s a lot of support for real, proper coffee, lovingly blended and brewed, speciality teas with unusual and exotic flavours, and indulgent but light cakes and biscuits that taste fab at the same time evoking a nostalgic emotion.

If you’ve got these covered, then perhaps it’s your footfall drivers; tea boards with ‘today’s cake special’, inviting but highly visible signage, and ‘origin’ boards detailing the ‘locally sourced ingredients’ or your other USPs, are a must. You can also look at ways to promote to passing trade when they’re predestined to be there, so work with the local Tourist Information Centre, tour operators who organise trips and even local tourist attractions which don’t have their own provision, setting up deals, meal deals and lunchtime tea offerings.

Basically, you need to fight back, but in a good way. Look at what makes you special and play it up. See if there are local, regional or national awards you can enter to raise your profile, particularly if they relate to your food, gaining recognition for homemade local produce or the perfect jam. For example, in Gloucestershire, we have the ‘Taste of Gloucestershire’ awards, highlighting exemplary local food producers and food businesses, giving them recognition for their culinary delights. I know that under the Visit England brand, most regions also have a ‘Taste’ branch, assessing and accrediting food providers in recognition of their foods.

Don’t forget the loyal locals though; recognise your loyal trade, even if it’s unlikely the passing ones will be back, running a loyalty scheme. Pop into your local urban town and look at what Starbucks, Costa or Caffé Nero do – they each have a similar offering to the others, but all thrive and all have a loyal customer base. Don’t forget, all ideas have a slightly different interpretation, so it’s about reengineering good ideas into ones that suit you.

Something lovely I saw locally to me not that long ago was a café whose chef had a love of meringue; every month they ran a ‘make your own meringue’ workshop, encouraging people to come and learn, and including afternoon tea in the price. By teaching people to make the perfect meringues, he’s not undermining his own trade, but he is reminding people of his existence. Do it well and an offering like this could become an attraction in its own right to local people and tourists alike, particularly if it indulges your passion. The Great British Bake-Off also gains rave reviews each year, so cake baking lessons to ‘recreate the showstoppers’ would be a topical example you could build on.

Most importantly, don’t be scared! A little competition can be good, particularly if it helps you to improve and is used to remind people why they love you. Get your staff on board too and make sure they’re fully trained, feel engaged with and excited about the products and most importantly feel like they are contributing; they’ll probably come up with seasonal ideas to keep you fresh too, like cake and Pimms in summer and hot apple drinks or mulled wine for winter.

By Angie Petkovic. This article first appeared in the May 2015 issue of Hotel Owner