Find out who your competition is. You should get sample menus and booking information from all local caterers. Categorize them by price point and menus to see who will offer similar products. [1] X Research source Research the major functions in the area. You should request a list of events from popular venues so you know who to contact to give quotes and samples of your cuisine. Research possible partnerships with other event services. Your ability to build relationships in the industry will improve your chances of success, so learn about event planners, event rental agencies, photographers and more.
Create a website that allows reviews. If someone doesn’t know your brand personally, they’re more likely to trust you if they notice a lot of positive reviews attached to your business. Sign up for 1 to 2 social media accounts. Only sign up for accounts that you will update regularly. For most businesses, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter work well. Pinterest allows you to post a visually attractive bulletin board that can be filled with your own website content and recipes or event ideas from other sources. [3] X Research source Update your Google and other online directory information regularly. You should ensure that you have the correct address, a description of the business and photos that appear on Google’s search functions. Try pay-per-click marketing to increase your presence on search engines. Try Google AdWords and Microsoft AdCenter. Choose keywords like the city name, “catering” and “event planning” to begin with and refine them according to what works best. Start a blog or video blog. You can post on WordPress, on your own website, on YouTube or on Vimeo. Link these accounts regularly with other social media accounts. Post information about recent events, including pictures of your work and reviews. Then, consider doing video cooking tutorials to attract more people to your website.
This will require some telesales. If you have not done cold calling before, practice selling your product with employees and friends. You will need an elevator pitch about your company, a description of services and a friendly, conversational tone.
Incentives do not have to be discounts. You can also go with “value added” benefits, such as adding a free appetizer or some wine. These incentives help to increase value by providing more rather than less.
