Starting a catering business is no easy task. However, with the competitive landscape of the food and beverage industry, it is essential to have the right tools and strategies to stand out from competitors.
Key Takeaway - Learning how to advertise your catering business is integral to increasing your sales, scaling up, and expanding your business. While there are several types of catering businesses, the same marketing and growth strategies will apply to each.
Let’s look at some of the best strategies to grow catering business.
7 Tips to Promote Catering Business
Here are seven tips on how to market a small catering business:
- Draw Your Marketing Budget
The first thing you want to do is draw an eCommerce marketing strategy and set your marketing budget. Drawing a plan will help you develop your marketing goals and know how much your marketing budget will be. Include this budget in your catering business plan.
When planning your budget, consider short-term marketing campaigns. For instance, what will it cost to run a paid advertising campaign to promote a seasonal menu on social media?
You should also think about the cost of long-term advertising campaigns. For example, the cost of maintaining your catering website, creating social media content, and paying your marketing team.
Marketing campaigns can get expensive if you don’t have a well-thought-out plan. Being realistic with your budget is crucial to achieving your marketing goals. In addition, make sure you set measurable eCommerce KPIs to track your success.
- Get Creative With Marketing
The truth is that nine out of every ten catering businesses have already implemented the marketing strategies you plan to use. Yes, they already use print media, great visuals on their website, a massive following on social media, and list their business on marketplace online.
Thinking outside the box and getting creative with your marketing campaigns will set you apart from your competition. From using a different sustainable eCommerce packaging material to stylizing your menu, adding authenticity to your catering brand will help your niche market notice you faster.
- Build a Website
Besides traditional marketing like print media, local directories, and flyers, the internet is one of the best ways to reach a wider audience. You can get your business on the internet through a website.
A catering website is a great way to advertise your catering business ideas. Your website can become a powerful sales magnet and marketing tool with the right strategies. A website can make a difference in your marketing approach, from having the perfect layout to creating the best call-to-actions.
You can share excellent catering tips on your blog, post great recipes and menu ideas, and test a new product or service. Building the best eCommerce website is not as difficult as you might think.
There are several eCommerce website hosting platforms you can use for your website. You can also work with a catering eCommerce website builder. Choosing the best eCommerce website design is essential.
Another thing to consider when building a catering website is functionality and user experience. Visitors must be able to navigate through your website and get what they need quickly. Besides this, having great content on your website will be the key to attracting visitors.
Using video content with great visuals is a great way to appeal to your customers. For example, you can add high-definition pictures to your blog and publish video tutorials or behind-the-scenes moments. This will help your target audience relate to your catering brand better.
Your catering website can feature self-service options like mobile ordering, a digital catalog, and contactless payment solutions. In addition, the website can integrate easy payment options like subscription billing payments, recurring billing payments, automated billing, and invoice processing methods.
Integrating catering management software and an all-in-one eCommerce solution like BlueCart with your website will improve customer satisfaction and promote your catering business. Features like automated order confirmation, speedy quotations, and invoice template downloads can significantly enhance customer satisfaction.
Simple order management and customization, menu updates, and the quick availability of new menu items are all possible. In addition, your sales operations, including customer online order input, can be automated.
- Implement Digital Marketing Strategies
Implementing digital marketing strategies is a great way to use the internet for advertising your catering business. Exploring digital marketing for your catering business will help you reach more audiences in the digital space.
Digital marketing can help you drive the right traffic to your catering website. You can also put the right lead conversion strategies to convert this traffic into sales-qualified leads.
There are several digital marketing strategies that you can use to grow catering business. Here are some:
- Social media marketing: Social media is one of the best places to find your customers. You can share photos and videos of your menu. These will also serve as eCommerce videos for advertisements. Sharing social proof and customer reviews is another way to advertise your catering business. You can also run paid social media marketing campaigns.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): eCommerce SEO strategy is a great way to drive traffic to your website. eCommerce keyword research will help you get the best keywords for the catering industry. You can then create relevant content for your website and industry.
- Pay-per-click (PPC): eCommerce PPC marketing enables you to target particular search results. You can promote local searches (like "Catering New York") as well as events (like "Christmas Catering," "Office Catering in Brooklyn," and "Wedding Catering").
- Local SEO: Use local SEO to draw in your website's regional, local, and language-specific traffic. You may aim for "Indianapolis buffet catering" or “family-style catering in Chicago.”
- Integrate Automation Software
Restaurant technologies make it easier to run businesses. Using automated software to run your catering business will improve your productivity and increase customer satisfaction overall.
Eliminating manual methods of order processing, order fulfillment, and delivery will leave a great impression on your customers. You can also use restaurant management software to automate and streamline your business process flow and restaurant operations.
Payment processing software like BlueCart can help you accept payments online and manage your eCommerce accounting processes. You only need to sync your best banks. In addition, cloud-based software can help you keep track of customers’ billing and account information. As a result, you are making it easy for customers to make payments online securely.
Warehouse inventory management systems and wholesale distribution management software will help you keep track of your inventory and restaurant supplies. Using POS software and a mobile point of sale system will also simplify your operations.
- Use Digital Catalogs
Digital catalogs are interactive menus that can enhance customer experience. Using a digital catalog and e-menu will make it easier for customers to interact with your meals on the go.
Customers can simply scan a restaurant QR code with their mobile device and get a list of your menu. This digital menu can be synced with your order management software so that you can receive and process orders as soon as they are placed.
You can even give customers the chance to choose what they want in their meals. Your digital catalog can be added to your website or display screen in your store. If you opt for a QR code menu, make sure it’s easy to scan.
- Offer Referral Programs
Customers love being rewarded for being loyal to a brand. Running loyalty and referral programs is a great way to get repeat customers and new customers for your catering business. There are various loyalty programs you can implement for your catering business.
However, it is essential to offer excellent customer service and leave a lasting impression in the hearts of your customers to get a referral. You can give discounts on their subsequent purchases in exchange for the referral.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Advertise Your Catering Business
Marketing is a daunting task without the right strategies. An eCommerce marketing tool like BlueCart will help you streamline your marketing operations and manage your catering business. Let’s answer some frequently asked questions about how to advertise your catering business.
What to Post on Catering?
You can post several pieces of content on your catering website or social media. Here are some content ideas for catering businesses:
- Menu items
- Catering events
- Catering updates
- Venue decoration tips
- Event ideas
- Food television commentary
- Seasonal menu ideas
- Cultural dishes
- Behind-the-scenes moment
- Customer reviews
How Do I Expand My Catering Business?
Here are some tips on how to expand your catering business:
- Draw a marketing budget
- Create a marketing plan
- Build a great website
- Optimize your website
- Implement digital marketing strategies
- Offer great customer service
- Launch a loyalty program
- Try traditional marketing
- List your catering business on local and online directories
- Streamline your business with technology
Who is a Professional Caterer?
A professional caterer is a person that plans, prepares, and delivers food and drinks to clients at events or remote locations. In addition, the caterer is responsible for handling meals at social events and cleaning up after the event. There are various types of catering services and caterers depending on the occasion.
Promote Catering Business Like a Pro
Growing your catering business depends on the marketing and growth strategies you adopt. Some of the methods in this guide are relatively simple and easy to implement. However, as with all marketing strategies, consistency is critical.
It doesn’t matter if you spend millions of dollars on marketing campaigns. Staying consistent is very important to getting results. Remember to track your achievements and eCommerce metrics.
Monitoring your KPIs will help you know which strategy is working best. Focus on what works for your brand and stop what does not. This will save the cost and energy spent running those campaigns.