There’s a lot that goes into making a catering business a success. Aside from having delicious food, you need to have clear avenues for growth and be able to market your company to the masses. Here, we break down a few of the key ingredients you’ll need to reach more customers: an understanding of your target market, a truly unique selling point, and an engaging digital presence.
Understanding Your Customer
Some large catering companies are particularly adaptable, with an ability to serve at weddings, conferences, parties, and other social and corporate events. However, for a small catering business just starting out, obtaining the resources necessary to cater to such a wide variety of customers can be tricky. Targeting a specific type of consumer can help you to strategize accordingly and solidify your business’ place in the market.
Market research is a necessity for catering companies at the beginning of their journey. For small businesses looking to expand, a single customer view (SCV) can act as an incredibly useful, comprehensive tool to better understand your customers’ needs. To create one, you’ll need to compile all the customer data you’ve gathered – such as from sales records and loyalty programs – which can then be analyzed for key consumer insights. Equipped with this information, you can begin to tailor your offerings and marketing to suit your customers’ changing needs and interests.
Identifying Your USP
Your catering business will never stand out from the competition unless it has a unique selling proposition (USP). This is everything you have to offer that’s different from other catering services operating in the same market – perhaps it’s an ability to cater to a specific dietary requirement, a certain visual aesthetic, or simply an energy or standard of service that your team brings to the table that others don’t.
Refer to your single customer view to truly understand what your consumers want and what they’re currently missing. Then, position your business to fill that gap in the market. Keep it niche, and remember that your USP is the thing that makes your business different, valuable, and desirable.
Utilizing Digital Platforms
Almost every successful business today uses social media as a tool for marketing – both in the catering space and other industries. In a world where the vast majority of us do our shopping online and utilize search engines as a way to engage with new services, small catering businesses have a lot to gain from setting up engaging social media profiles and an attractive, user-friendly website.
You can set up and run these parts of your business yourself, but if you’re not familiar with how to grow a presence online, it’s best to leave your digital content strategy to the experts. Be sure to optimize your profiles to tell the story of your company in a way that is engaging and aesthetically pleasing – this is your chance to give your customers a window into your world, so you’ll want to share lots of photos and engage with your audience as much as possible.
Attract Customers and Achieve Success
Running a catering business is a challenging but rewarding pursuit. No matter where you are in your journey, or where you aspire to be, these three tips will help you to attract more customers and propel your small business towards success.
