A declining sales trajectory, low ROI (return on investment), and below-par customer engagement are a business nightmare and a genuine backlash.
Say you have a hospitality business at stake and several challenges at hand. From diminishing sales to customer numbers and poor reviews to reduced bookings, each is more concerning than the other. The most detrimental thing you can do during a business stagnation period is ignore it or take no steps.
Remember, a complete turnaround and transformation are possible with the ideal measures. In this article, we will discuss how to turn your business towards success. We will focus on strategies to increase sales, cost control measures, and performance boosts.
When business transformation and growth are challenged, there are several steps you can take. Let’s explore.
Why You Must Focus on Business Transformation and Turnaround?
Irrespective of the type of hospitality business you have, if you have a customer-oriented brand, stagnation looks the same. However, business performance may struggle for innumerable reasons. It can be a lack of qualified staff, poor customer engagement, competition, or ineffective marketing.
Tackling these challenges head-on helps curb the damage, mitigate the downfall and create avenues for success. Furthermore, you may never know what transformation can lead to increased performance and revenue.
6 Strategies for a Complete Business Turnaround
Unlocking the unique challenges and opportunities is at the core of a complete hospitality business turnaround and transformation. Things that can be altered must be altered, what stagnates must be resolved, and opportunities must be welcomed.
The initial steps will be daunting and sometimes scary, but the key is keep moving forwards.
Let’s talk about some strategies that will help your business elevate sales and strengthen the brand name –
1. Discover the Struggles with a Business Audit
The first step in a business turnaround strategy is discovering the problems and challenges. The plan is to start with an audit. Some of the most common causes of business failure are hidden at the root. From outdated business strategies to poor management, each contributes to the downturn.
Conduct an in-depth business audit that includes operations analysis, financial study, and adaptive measures aligned with the trends. Each industry has something going on for improvement. Are you implementing those? There are multiple things to assess in a business audit and understand what is truly impacting.
2. Review The Sales Process and Business Operations
To review the sales process and business operations for a hospitality venue, look at how customers find, book, and experience your service. Check how staff handle bookings, upsells, and complaints.
Review marketing efforts and how well they turn into sales. Watch daily operations like service speed, food quality and staff performance. Make sure all rules and safety standards are followed. Compare your financial results to industry averages. Ask customers and staff for feedback to find ways to improve.
Take a closer look at your business operations. What is hindering the sales process?
3. Team Improvement
Focus first on building a strong, motivated team. Start by setting clear expectations and goals for service, sales, and teamwork. Provide training to improve skills in customer service, upselling, and problem-solving. Recognise and reward good performance to boost morale.
Improve communication through regular team meetings and one-on-one check-ins. Make sure managers lead by example, showing professionalism and a positive attitude. Review staffing levels to ensure the right people are in the right roles.
Encourage staff to share ideas for improving the customer experience. Create a culture of accountability where everyone takes ownership of their role. Support your team with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
A strong, engaged team is key to delivering better service, creating happier customers, and driving better business results.
4. Learn Why Customers Are Not Coming Back
Is it poor customer service? Is the business not meeting the standards? Are the sales tactics too bland or aggressive?
A customer audit is crucial since trends evolve in the blink of an eye. Keep a steady tab on what people seek or what the high-performing competitors offer.
Start by asking for honest feedback through surveys, online reviews, or casual conversations. Review customer complaints and look for common themes, such as food quality, service speed, pricing, or atmosphere.
Secret shop your own café or ask friends to do so and report their experience. Monitor online reviews and social media for patterns in customer comments. Check if your menu, pricing, or service has changed recently and if competitors are offering something better.
Look at the cleanliness, comfort, and overall vibe of your café — small issues can make a big difference. Review staff performance and customer interactions to ensure service is friendly and efficient.
Make it easy for customers to share feedback, and act quickly on what you learn. Understanding and fixing the real problems will help bring your customers back.
5. Cost Reduction Strategies and Embracing Technologies
We know it is a tough call. However, the entire mechanism is designed to reverse a loss and provide profitability.
Economic downtime and turbulences are natural. And during grave times, cost reduction can be a game changer. The process analyses whether your monetary gains are higher than your investments. If not, it must be time for some cost-cutting.
It includes rostering changes, employee reductions, facility reductions, supply chain streamlining and more importantly scrutinising you P & L.
Embracing new technology effectively contributes to the process. For instance, if a particular technology can better equip your team performance and contribute to better sales, it is an improvement.
However, too much cost-cutting can be hazardous if and when the business counters the loss. The process demands smart implementation and expert help.
6. SWOT Analysis and Brand Appeal Enhancement
SWOT analysis and brand appeal enhancement must not be limited to struggling businesses. The basis of SWOT analysis is understanding a business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Strength and weakness are internal factors, and you can strive to improve it. Opportunities and threats are identifiable through competitor and market analysis.
Each of these contributes to a unique and conversion-friendly brand appeal. Ensure that you perform the steps from time to time to keep your business aligned with market needs and trends.
At Sixth Sense Consulting, we provide expert-led hospitality consulting services, driving business transformation and end-to-end brand growth. Consult today for a comprehensive diagnosis and bespoke strategies to elevate sales.
