Whether you’re already running an established catering business, or you’re a restaurant owner looking to branch out into the catering space, growing sales and revenue in such a competitive industry can be challenging.
Finding and securing high-quality catering clients will require a lot of hard work and dedication, though you’ll likely find that your client base begins to grow in line with your reputation, so your initial marketing efforts will ultimately pay off in the long run if you allocate a little time and effort.
For restaurateurs and entrepreneurs interested in expanding their businesses into the world of professional catering, this guide will cover a number of actionable tips for increasing sales and extending your marketing reach. Here’s how to get catering clients and grow sales & revenue.
The importance of brand identity
First and foremost, it’s essential that any new catering business finds and maintains an obvious niche. Though it may be tempting to market your services to a wide range of clients, doing so will typically lead to your brand becoming lost amongst similarly positioned catering companies.
Consider your specific skill set and the dishes on your menu that best utilise your abilities, use this as a starting point when crafting your brand identity. Think about restricting your marketing to appeal to a specific target audience, such as hotels, weddings, dinner parties or events, and equally consider whether there’s a local demand for specialised foods like vegan or keto menus.
Further ways to solidify your brand identity include presentation and communication. Presenting your menu items as decorative arrangements using jars, platters and hampers can help your work to stand out from the crowd, and may even lead to clients sharing your offerings online. In addition, make sure to respond to emails and requests swiftly to establish a positive reputation.
Contact local venues
According to recently published data, both corporate events and weddings represent the largest areas of growth within the catering industry. 48% of caterers claim corporate bookings were the largest area of growth in recent years, with 35% stating weddings drove the most sales growth.
While marketing directly to individual businesses and wedding clients may help you to secure a few bookings, it often makes more sense to cut out the middle-man by nurturing a professional relationship with venue owners themselves. Venues also usually devote considerable resources to marketing and promotion, giving your catering services a boost if an agreement can be made.
Take some time to research local venues before reaching out in search of establishments that fit your brand identity. You may wish to prioritise new venues, as it’s less likely they’ll have a prior catering deal in place, though even if a venue has preferred vendors it’s still worth pitching your services to try and strike a deal.
When researching local venues, consider the following:
- How often do they host events?
- What kind of events do they book?
- Do they have additional sites?
- Do they have an existing in-house caterer?
- Do they have a list of preferred caterers?
- Do they host seasonal events?
- Do they have a good physical security system?
Reach out to real-estate developers
Whilst contacting newly-opened and established venues will likely lead to more immediate work, preliminary catering contracts can often be discussed with developers looking to open new sites in the future. If you notice a new site being built in your city, or an older property in the process of being renovated, it’s worth investigating what that site is earmarked to become in the future.
Ask the developers whether the space will be used to host events, find out which companies are planning to operate out of the property, and ask whether an on-site kitchen will be present in the final development. If it seems like events related to your niche are to be hosted, reach out to the future tenants and try to negotiate a deal, doing so might give you a leg up on your competitors.
Embrace digital marketing
Digital marketing is a huge component of running a successful modern catering business, with an estimated 135,000 searches for catering services recorded by Google Trends every month, and 94% of US diners claiming to alter their catering decisions in response to online reviews.
In order to increase traffic to your website and make sure your marketing efforts are reaching the right audience, catering business owners will need to understand and follow a number of digital marketing best practices, alongside effectively utilising a variety of digital marketing tools.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO helps to guide potential clients to your services by making sure your catering business is at the top of the list when specific search queries are made. Ensure that the content on your site features keywords and phrases commonly searched for by clients in your area. There are a few tools you can use to simplify this task, like Google Trends and other similar keyword trackers.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
PPC works in conjunction with SEO to help your catering company target specific searches. You can choose a selection of particular keywords, such as the name of your city, certain events like “wedding catering” or any specific key phrases you’ve noticed whilst researching search trends, then pay a fee to ensure that your website will be placed higher in any future online searches.
Social media marketing
Though only 5% of caterers claim social media to be a primary source of leads, an active social media presence has become increasingly important for connecting with clients to validate your legitimacy as a catering company, as well as to build ongoing client relationships. Make sure to post high-quality images, excerpts from menus and important updates regarding your catering business. Short videos are also great for engagement, popular with 41% of younger consumers.
Consider a loyalty program
An effective way to retain customers and facilitate future growth is to implement some form of loyalty program for returning clients. 84% of consumers claim they’re more likely to stick with brands that offer loyalty programs, so choosing to implement rewards like discounts for orders over a certain amount, free additional products and customisation options can influence growth.
Demonstrating a commitment to loyal clients may also lead to your catering business being recommended amongst new groups of consumers, helping to build your reputation as a trusted and professional catering company that looks out for its clients and understands their needs.
Get involved in your community
Modern catering businesses can benefit hugely from nurturing a strong online community and investing in digital marketing campaigns, however, traditional word-of-mouth marketing remains one of the most effective ways to gain new clients and grow sales. Caterers should get involved in their communities by joining local event planning organisations and similar associations.
You may consider pitching a stall at a local market to tempt potential clients with samples and limited-time offers, or pitch your services to local clubs and meeting groups to branch out into new audiences. In-person word-of-mouth can also be extended to your digital marketing efforts by joining local social media groups to gain a better understanding of community matters.
Summary
Gaining new clients and increasing sales as a catering company can be quite challenging, with plenty of competition from similarly positioned businesses keeping entrepreneurs on their toes. However, by developing a strong brand identity, taking the initiative to build relationships with venues and utilising digital marketing to target specific audiences, both new and established businesses should be well-positioned to secure catering clients and grow sales & revenue.
