You must first go over some broad concepts if you want to know how to write a marketing plan for a catering company. For the next activity, those who have already produced their own company plans will already have that information at their disposal. Follow these steps if you don’t have a business plan or if you know that your present one might not be up to date.

1. Assign Marketing Objectives

For catering companies, visibility is essential. However, if you’re not currently using an intelligent business management software, it can be challenging to gauge exposure. Rather, concentrate your marketing objectives on things that are simple to document, track, and evaluate.

According to this theory, the majority of catering companies effectively employ sales targets to establish their marketing objectives. Determine your current weekly income, on average. To obtain a precise image, go back as far as you can. Next, establish short- and long-term revenue objectives. These objectives should assist direct your plan, provided that you maintain them in a realistic range.

2. Identify Your Goal Readership

Food is liked by all, right? Although it is largely accurate, a catering company needs to exercise caution in how they allocate their marketing funds. Using your marketing to try to appeal to everyone is a surefire way to squander your limited resources.

Defining your ideal consumer as precisely as you can is an alternative to this strategy. Whatever kind of catering you prefer—private or corporate, on-site or remote, gluten-free or soul food—what you sell and how you spread the word will ultimately depend on your target demographic.

There are numerous approaches to choosing the appropriate audience. Establish a spreadsheet to gather the following data about every single customer:

In order to truly stand out, there are a few important categories you can pick from, especially for catering businesses:

an original point of sale. Do you provide delivery to homes? Or is your catering company a covert pop-up that visitors can only discover on Instagram? Promote that angle in your marketing, whatever it is that you do well.

inventive methodology. Creative methods of preparing food come to mind; consider hiring hibachi chefs or inviting hydrogen ice cream artisans. Developing an inventive method could also entail figuring out how to prepare the same cuisine more quickly, efficiently, and affordably than other caterers.

a thin margin. Even if your company and you are the target of some of the greatest marketing techniques, this one area depends on comparing yourself to the competition. If your competitors’ catering services only provide the following three options, is there any chance you might add a fourth? or enhance what is currently available?

It need not even be connected to eating. Your target market may be begging for a seamless and orderly reservation, menu-making, and billing procedure.

4. Examine regional advertising

Small business entrepreneurs should always think about the clients they can serve in their own communities. We refer to both offline and digital marketing initiatives when we talk about local marketing. Though there are many inventive methods to promote your catering company locally, here are some suggestions to get you going:

• Make sure to incorporate location-based keywords into the SEO of your website.
• Establish strategic alliances with companies that complement your own, such as convention facilities or art studios.
• Organize get-togethers for the community to give the locals a taste of your cuisine and maybe even a discount on their initial purchase for showing up.
• Your front door is surrounded by an enormous array of choices that may surprise you. However long you’ve been in business, building your network through local marketing can still be a cost-effective strategy.

5. Your Brand for Catering

If your catering company has been operating for some time, it may be time to reevaluate your brand. It’s possible that in the past, specific messaging has dominated your entire image. On the other hand, your branding needs to change now that your catering company has expanded and improved.

Take a second look at things like your logo, brand colors, online presence (such as your website and social media accounts), and any other location where your company name appears.

Does it meet the criteria set by the industry today? Does it help you stand out from the crowd? Does it reflect the direction, not the origin, of your catering business? Asking yourself these and other questions will aid you when you revamp your brand.

Here are some ideas for revitalizing your brand:

• Employ a nearby graphic designer to revamp your brand.
• Revisit your webpage.
• Include seasonal foods on your meal.
• Create a package with a theme if you can.
• Go over your mission statement again. Rewrite your company’s history to reflect this iteration’s authenticity.

You may even discover that you really appreciate your branding and think it captures the essence of your company right now. Should that be the case, make no changes at all! Just keep in mind to plan frequent times for brand check-ins to ensure you’re always current.

6. Create a Budget for Marketing

How much money ought you to invest on marketing? It’s a difficult decision for caterers and other small business owners. Your marketing budget needs to account for both long-term efforts and ongoing advertising (such as sponsored social media posts).

The average catering company should allocate 7-8% of its annual sales into marketing. Additionally, if you’re just getting started, bear in mind that this % also accounts for expenses related to creating sales collateral and websites.

There are numerous inventive strategies to market your catering service, regardless of the final amount you decide to spend. These are a few of our top picks.