How Can a Catering Company Reach More People to Get More Weekday Clients?

Hi Tawanna,

Easy answer: Keep guessing. It may waste time and money but it makes some business owners feel good, hopefully not you. Most people responding will be guessing for you. Or you can keep guessing instead of growing the business.

Best answer: A System of getting customers. Requires some research and effort, possibly even money, but will pay you back for several years. Will also avoid wasting money and time (like social media) in places where your customers AREN'T.

I would fail as a caterer. My expertise is marketing. So I hire expertise in the catering industry when I need it.

You are an excellent caterer. You probably have little to no marketing training or expertise. You should consider investing in a marketing consultant (NOT me, I require clients to have a budget to work with me). The marketing consultant should help you devise a plan that also covers the 5 essential steps of advertising to ensure you stop wasting time and money. You definitely DO NOT need a marketing or advertising agency until you have a sound plan that identifies your ideal client, message, and other factors.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Hi Tawanna, Have you ever thought of Joint Venturing with related businesses. An example would be if you approach a banquette hall you can work a deal with them to cater their weekday events. Also you could capture your existing contact info and offer them deals throughout the week. Just a few ideas. I hope this helps.

My first thought is to go after businesses because they're your target for lunch. You need to hook up with companies that host lunch and learns in the area to become the preferred vendor.

Also, have you run any ads targeting office managers? Maybe they can print your menu out and leave it in the lunch room. Consider providing them with an incentive to help you out.

Do you collect any contact information of current customers? Do you send email ads?

Lots of ideas! Let's connect if you want.

Maybe you are not doing the right social media strategies, a lot of my clients get sales through Facebook and no pushy selling at all. Do you have a social media presence and easy to navigate website?

There are three ways to let people know how good you are at what you do....

1. You can tell them - this is what advertising is basically doing. You are telling people what you can do for them. In this world there is a great deal of skepticism about what people say about themselves.

2. Other people can tell them what you can do for them. These sorts of testimonials are much more powerful than telling them yourself, but skeptics still question the veracity of the testimonial and often the reviews on sites such as Yelp.

3. You can show them. THis is by far the most powerful way.

So how does a catering company show people what they can do?

They team up with radio stations, car dealerships, charity events...and provide samples of their product at events put on by these folk. A radio station having an open air event in front of the local Lowes...be the provider of finger food there. Sponsor food for a charity event...a new veicle launch at the local dealership.

None of this has to be expensive, but you will be leveraging other sources of PR and maybe some free advertising if you do it well.

I suspect the results could be far better than asking people on facebook to trust you to cater their event!

Randy

Try targeting a specific group... ie: Real Estate .. a lot of real estate offices have sponsored lunch weekly by different vendors like home warranty companies, security companies etc. Also, Dr Offices have sponsored lunch two or three times a week by different companies. The office manager will usually handle the calendar and the sponsors. In addition you could try websites (if in your area) like Thumbtack and Angieslist.. Thumbtack is a pay per quote site but only allows 4 quotes per client.. just read the quotes to make sure it fits you perfectly before bidding.

Best Regards,

Chef Keith

something really low-key and profitable would be investing in a food truck. You would get the business of festivals and other community events which gives you exposure, networking opportunities, and quick cash. Food trucks make anywhere from 1000- 10k + at music festivals, alone. If you can simplify your menu, its worth the initial investment.

Take Samples to corporate accounts, hair salons, get with event coordinators to see if you can work with them on corporate catering. You have to advertise and I always prefer to advertise with product that I know is great and gets a return than "paper" advertising.

Social media is only one channel. You need to try different ones and see which one will give you the best leads and sales. But you won't know until you try them all. The 80/20 rule applies here :).

It's not a one size fits all.

Perhaps additional clients are not available to you within your market and at that time period. study patterns and adjust your efforts accordingly.

advertising is useless if it doesn't reach anyone.

above all, stay positive and focus on quality!

Good Luck!!!