Growing a catering business is more than serving good food. It’s about working on your offers, building strong relationships, and marketing your services effectively. If you already have a catering business and want to take it to the next level, this guide is for you. We’ll talk about strengthening your brand, expanding your offers, upgrading your marketing strategy, using marketing automation, and more. Let’s dive in.
Analyze Your Current Business Performance
Before you take your first steps, understand where your business stands currently. Review your sales numbers, most popular event types, customer feedback, and best offers. Identify what’s working right now for you and what needs improvement. If you find out that corporate events bring you the most revenue, you may want to focus on that niche moving forward.
Expand Your Offers or Sharpen Your Niche
Sometimes, growth comes with expansion. Other times, it comes by making your existing offers even better. What you can do is expand your offerings and offer added services like dessert tables or event planning. Research suggests that businesses that specialize in a specific field charge up to 30% more for their services.
Strengthen Your Branding
Good branding is all about consistency. Make sure your logo, website icon, social media pages, and all digital assets have the same feel and colors. Take photographs of your events and food, and upload them to your social media pages and website to build credibility. Also, make sure to clearly state what you offer and how people should choose you over your competitors.
Upgrade Your Marketing Strategy
The most cost-effective way to grow as a catering business is through digital marketing. But if your current marketing strategy isn’t bringing you constant leads, things might need to change. Here are the most important elements of a digital marketing strategy for a catering service and how to get the most out of them.
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Optimize Your GBP
One of the first things you should be doing is creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile. Why? Because it can help rank your business among the top three businesses on the Google Map Pack.
According to data, businesses with complete GBP listings are 2.7 times more reputable. GBP optimization means accurately filling out every possible detail. Make sure your business information, especially the NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), remains consistent all across the internet. Add images of your business and food to GBP to make your profile more attractive. Lastly, get as many positive reviews on your Google Profile as possible. Reviews may not be a direct local ranking factor, but they can definitely help convert prospects into customers, which can indirectly impact your SEO.
Work on Website SEO
Your website is your catering business’s digital office. It’s where you should put all your business information, build your credibility, and convert visitors into leads (Or customers). Here’s how website SEO works:
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is all about ensuring your web pages are easy to crawl by search engine bots. It includes making sure your website loads fast, has no broken links, is optimized for mobile devices, etc.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO is when you find keywords people are searching for related to catering and include them in all important parts of your website. The goal is to help search engines understand your topic and what keywords you want to appear for.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is when you work on strategies to build backlinks to your website. These links count as votes of confidence and help your website’s authority, which in turn, can help you rank higher on Google. Some effective link-building strategies include guest posting, link insertions, and niche edits.
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Leverage Customer Reviews
People take reviews seriously. 42% of people trust online reviews as personal recommendations. Why? Because they come from real experiences. So, what you want to do is ask for feedback after every event, showcase reviews on your website, and respond to all of them professionally, good or bad.
Partner Up with Local Businesses
One of the best ways to grow a local service business is by partnering up with other businesses. These businesses don’t have to be your competitors, but should have something in overlap. Examples include photographers, event planners, and corporate offices.
Use Marketing Automation
According to statistics, businesses that leverage automation experience a 451% increase in qualified leads. With automation, it’s easier for you to stay consistent with content marketing and leverage other powerful features. For instance, you can:
- Use email marketing drip campaigns
- Schedule social media posts
- Send personalized messages to prospects
- Automate review requests after events
- And more
Consider Investing in Ads
Advertising can give your business a quick boost, allowing you to reach potential customers faster than any other strategy. Your options include, but aren’t limited to:
- Meta Ads targeting local audiences
- Google Ads targeting “Catering services near me” keywords
You want to start with a small budget, perform A/B testing, and scale what works. Plus, have a financial plan. Companies with a financial plan grow 30% faster than ones that don’t.
Related: Meta Ads vs. Google Ads (Which One to Choose?)
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about growing a catering business.
How Do I Get More High-Paying Catering Customers?
Focus on premium branding and offer high-ticket catering services. You can also network or partner with event planners who work with upscale clients.
Should I Expand to a Second Location?
Only after you’ve maxed out on your current capacity. Expansion is necessary for growth, but it can also strain your resources.
What’s the Best Way to Market a Catering Business?
A combination of strong branding, local SEO, and social media marketing works best. Ads can also boost results if used wisely.
Conclusion
Catering is a growing industry with great potential for the near future. Whether you’re an experienced caterer who wants to grow further or starting a new business, you now have a proven path to follow. Local SEO, website optimization, branding, social media marketing, and business partnerships are a great way to maximize your revenue. As your business grows, consider investing in ads. They can help you gain quick traction and target leads with great precision.
References:
- https://www.tsia.com/blog/what-should-you-charge-for-professional-services
- https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/
- https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-must-know-statistics-importance-lead-nurturing-jessica-wiejak/
- https://craftbreweryfinance.com/research-study-companies-with-a-financial-plan-grow-30-faster/
