Many catering businesses are built on passion, but how do you persuade potential customers to get as excited as you are about your food? Marketing is key when it comes to engaging with potential customers, building a following and driving sales.
A common misconception is that marketing is just advertising, but what is the point of advertising if you don’t know who you are selling to, where they are, and what price they can afford to pay? In reality, marketing is the ‘who, what, where, when, why, and how’ for your business.
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If you look marketing up in a textbook, you will see that it is summarised as the ‘4Ps’- Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. However, in reality, marketing is all about common sense. In this guide, we’ll discuss some marketing ideas for catering that could give your business the boost it needs!
The first marketing strategy for a catering business is working out what you’re going to sell to your customer base. This is your food, your menu, your passion, but there is no point in preparing food if no one is going to buy it. Do you know who your audience is and what they are likely to want?Â
Let’s break it down: You’re unlikely to find expensive sushi catering vans outside building sites or in lay-bys –
but they’re likely to thrive in street food markets or town and city centres
It’s important to have a vision of who your ideal customer is and build your menu around that person. Think about how you can secure repeat business from customers with things like daily, weekly and seasonal specials. Consider that your customers will likely pass other mobile catering sites to reach you, so give them a reason to come back!
Your pricing has to match your target audience and be aware of the competition in surrounding areas. There are two ways of looking at pricing:Â
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Customers look for pricing to be fair, but they will also pay a premium for quality food and excellent customer service. To further justify your prices, we’d recommend always keeping your hygiene rating on full display!
Locating the ideal site for your catering business is extremely important. Your ‘pitch’ or ‘site’ is where you’ll interact with your potential customers, so you’ll need to be plotted exactly where your target audience are!
Many sites now require a trader's licence, which will be available from the local council. The site is also likely to be managed by a commercialisation company, so make sure these costs are factored into your outgoings.Â
A number of caterers have reacted to accessibility issues since 2020 and created delivery services from their units to support their customers who couldn’t leave home. This also allowed them to provide a service to local factories and offices with a handy drop-off service.
Make efforts to ensure people actually find out about your catering company and what you offer. There are so many promotional tools to take advantage of, depending on what your budget allows. You might want to consider:
One of the best means of marketing is simply reaching out and connecting with people in your industry! When looking for help and advice, social media can be really useful, with many catering groups set up to support the mobile catering community.
There are many groups that are happy to help caterers find a site - be it the local council, groups looking to fill street food markets, social events and public gatherings, as well as groups who manage shopping centres, retail parks, and industrial estates.Â
Other caterers are more than happy to help with advice from best deals at the wholesalers/local suppliers, best pricing on gas, cleaning regimes, equipment, where to get items repaired and who to speak to at the local authority. Never be afraid of reaching out and joining these groups – many of the other members will have experience of what you are going through. Who knows, maybe one day it will be you dishing out the advice!
Now that you’ve found out Access Point’s marketing ideas for catering, it’s time to get to work on best setting up your business for success. We can help you discover the best mobile catering sites for your company and put you exactly where you need to be to draw in your target audience.
You can learn more about us on our website or contact us for more information by calling 01704 544999 or emailing hello@apuk.net.
Access Point has created a set of help guides to support promoters and mobile caterers especially those new to the industry.
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Marketing is an essential tool for ensuring the success of your business. Yes, passion goes a long way, but there are a range of marketing ideas for small businesses that are certain to get people just as invested in your brand as you are.
