Catering companies don’t always get the attention they deserve. When the event is over, people praise the hosts, the decorations, the band, and even the food. But never the caterer. Still, it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right catering marketing ideas, your business will become the talk of the town.
There’s no shortage of competition in the catering industry. In such a situation, you must come out of the sidelines.
If you keep serving food without making a name for yourself, you might end up leaving money on the table. Marketing your catering business is the most effective way of bringing it into the public eye.
It’s the master key to acquiring new customers, retaining old ones, and ultimately generating more revenue. So, let’s discover some of the best marketing ideas that will make your catering business irresistible.
Working of a Catering Business: How Does Marketing Help It?
Before jumping onto marketing any business, it’s important to understand its nature and working. If you skip this step, you might end up creating ineffective marketing strategies, resulting in lost money and time.
Therefore, let’s first discuss the workings of a catering business. It prepares and provides food to remote locations such as hotels, events, concerts, etc. The client list also spans restaurants that outsource their food to catering businesses.
In fact, partnering with restaurants is an effective way of promoting your business. When you serve their guests, you’re not just feeding them. You’re introducing them to a taste they might just fall in love with. But make sure the guests know where the food is coming from.
If they do love the taste, they will hire you for their events. Moreover, providing the best customer service is a marketing tactic in itself. Happy customers can’t help sharing their experience with their friends, family, and even on social media.
Do you know what that means for you? It means word of mouth, which sometimes works even better than the campaigns you launch.
Additionally, the more people talk about your business online, the more trust you gain. People now use their phones to search for businesses, and having a good online reputation always pays off.
Besides that, marketing acts as a bridge between you and your customers. You can engage with them, gain feedback, and solve their problems.
The groundwork for a campaign begins long before the idea takes shape. Even the most brilliant marketing ideas can fall flat without the right groundwork. Avoiding such situations requires some things you must do before you even start forming an idea.
- Know your audience: You can’t expect a marketing idea to succeed if you’re talking to the wrong people. If you target anyone and everyone, your campaigns will almost always fail. Therefore, study your customer profile and see what potential clients are looking for before working on an idea.
- Study the competition: Understanding your competition doesn’t mean you have to copy their strategies. In fact, the goal is the opposite here. Look at what they’re doing and think of something unique that sets you apart.
- Decide a budget: Agreeing on a budget beforehand will save you from a lot of trouble in the long run. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars right away, but avoid spending too little. After all, marketing is an investment that can give massive returns if done right.
- Don’t forget the funnel: Customers go through a long journey before making a buying decision. If you’re giving them the same type of content throughout the journey, you’ve already lost them.
5 Best Catering Marketing Ideas Your Audience Won’t Be Able To Say No To
From 2022 to 2027, the Global Catering Services Market will see an exponential growth of $103.28 billion. So, it’s not wrong to say that businesses in this industry will now have to make extra marketing efforts.
However, creating effective marketing strategies is not easy. A lot of research, planning, and creativity goes into it.
To help you with the research, we’ve curated a list of the best catering marketing ideas. Using this list, you’ll be able to judge which method is best for you and some tips on how to implement each.
Advertising on Billboards Will Never Get Old
While billboards may seem outdated, they still work like a charm. People are familiar with this type of advertising, and that’s why they trust brands that put up billboards.
Moreover, your catering business has a diverse audience with various age ranges, and so does the road. You don’t see a particular outdoor area with only one age group, right? So, billboards can help you attract a broader audience.
Even if you don’t put much thought into the design and content of your billboard, people will still notice it.
However, a boring billboard won’t get you many conversions. So, here’s how to make your catering billboards attractive.
Start with an appetizing picture of your food since people trust what they see more than what they hear. Also, you might have a unique selling point, like farm-to-table ingredients. So, let your audience know about it.
However, don’t go for too many design elements because simple always works better.
Moreover, have a single call to action. If you give your viewers too many options, they might get confused and distracted. Plus, people will be viewing your ad from a distance. So, keep the font big and readable.
A Website Will Get You Even More Eyeballs
The second way to market your catering business is by creating a website. If you’re just starting, you don’t have to go all out. Even a basic page with a free website builder will do just fine. Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace are good options.
As your catering business grows, you can jump to the paid versions to add more pages. However, how you create your simple web page can make or break this method’s success.
Firstly, your website should have all the information potential customers might need to make a buying decision.
Display your menu, offerings, and unique selling points at the start of the page. Make the words engaging so that the reader keeps scrolling. Your goal is to make the visitors stay as long as possible so you can later convert them into customers.
Secondly, having a website will spread your reach to the farthest corners of the internet. More people will be able to discover you, provided you have paid attention to search engine optimization. We’ll discuss this in the next section.
Thirdly, people like to buy from a brand they can relate to. This doesn’t mean you should use informal language. Instead, understand your audience’s pain points and tell them how your business solves their issues.
Lastly, it’s a good idea to incorporate a free online ordering system on your catering website. People turn to their phones when they crave food. Having an online catering software will make your website pop up in the results, bringing you more customers.
Focus on Search Engine Optimization To Attract Customers
Making a website and launching it isn’t enough. It should be a favorite of the search engines. Only then you will be able to reap the complete benefits. Creating a blog section is the best way to do this.
Write engaging and informative blog posts about the topics people are searching for in your industry. Releasing such content will also make you a thought leader in the industry. But don’t forget to add links to authoritative websites so search engines and people can trust your words.
Moreover, create strategic partnerships with other businesses and try to acquire backlinks. Nothing can gain you more trust than having other reputed businesses talk about yours.
However, catering is a local business, so it must appear in that special corner of local search results.
For this, create a Google My Business profile and list your business on online catering directories. Another factor that decides your place in the search results is your reviews.
The better rating you have, the higher you’ll appear when people search for catering businesses near them. Therefore, learn to get Google reviews.
Of course, you can’t control what people say about you, but you can give them the best customer service. It is one of the best ways to get positive reviews. Also, don’t shy away from asking for feedback.
Whenever there’s a discussion about marketing strategies for any business, the mention of social media is inevitable. With a phone in every hand and almost everyone with a social media profile, you can’t go wrong here.
So, create tempting marketing campaigns about your food and menu. Accompany pictures with an engaging copy that engages the viewer and encourages them to buy from you. A good strategy here would be to stand out by doing something unique.
Moreover, investing in paid ads would bring you a lot of returns since they reach more people.
But social media marketing isn’t just about posts and ads. You must also hold contests, events, and giveaways to engage your audience. For example, you can hold a tasting event for your menu. There are hundreds of types of events that attract customers. Use them!
Focusing on Presentation Is the Most Creative Marketing Idea for Catering
To put the finishing touches on this list, we have an unconventional but creative marketing idea for catering: food presentation! Many catering businesses ignore this, but making your food presentable can market your business.
Firstly, a good presentation will encourage your customers to share pictures on social media platforms. This way, they’ll indirectly promote your business without you having to spend a single penny.
Secondly, good presentation gives way to good hygiene. When it comes to food, people are always looking for businesses that take care of their customers’ health.
Therefore, use colorful garnishes and make your plate look delicious. Plus, adding vegetables for the sake of decoration also serves the goal of making the dish healthy.
Grasp Catering Marketing Ideas To Make Your Business Thrive
Overall, due to the overflowing competition, your catering marketing ideas need to have a fresh and imaginative touch. However, you have only so many options.
The method you use will depend on your business’s needs, size, and goals. So, do your research and analyze every aspect before making a decision.
If you want to scale your business operation, try out the Beambox WiFi marketing platform. It will help you reach more people by growing your rating on local review sites. Additionally, you can use it for marketing campaigns and for securing your WiFi. Start your free trial now!
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