Catering Adverising Question

[buckscent]

Hey guy's how do you all advertise your catering???  Other than the word of mouth thing.  I have done a few here and there but want to ramp it up.  I do alot of side of the road selling and some festivals but want to do more catering.  Thanks

 

[scarbelly]

I guess a lot will depend on whether or not you have a license to cater. If not - I would be very careful or the health department will be on you in a heartbeat. 

If you do - I would go to larger offices in your area and ask the receptionist for the name of the person who arranges for lunches. Don't leave a flyer, it will never get there. Ask the receptionist for the name and email explaining that you are hosting an event and want to send this person an invite to the event. Even if you dont hold the event you now have a name and email. I would offer via email to drop off a sample of your work on a specific date. This way you could do a single smoke and drop off several on the same day cutting your work load down to single event.

Good luck  

 

[chadinclw]

 Put up a simple web page. I was amazed at the calls I got from a secondary page on a buddy's competition site. There are lots of options for hosting that are pretty cheap. Keep it simple with some pics and sample prices. Make sure your phone number is readily available.

Good luck.

 

[masterofmymeat]

There are lots of ways to get the word out there. Two very good examples already given.

I'm not sure where you live, but if you're going to go the website route, you'll want to choose

a domain name (Website name) that is based on locality.

Rather than "Buckscent's BBQ", go with www.bbqcateringtoledo.com, or where ever you're from.

Make sure your site is keyword rich on the subject of location, catering, bbq'ing, etc. Make sure your images are keyword opted as well. Google is all about relevancy. Make sure you secure your google places page and optimize it as well, it'll help you get on page one.

Other than that, I would also get to SCORE and talk with one of those folks as they have a ton

of connections and most times will let you give presentations at workshops, even give you a

workshop of your own. If that happens, you're going to be very busy.

In the infamous words of Paul Stanly and Gene Simmons, "Shout it out loud"!

I wish you the very best of success...James

 

[oldschoolbbq]

   Buckscent,as the others stated,unless you have money to burn,stick with friends and neighbors.Tell them you're closer than that halfa$$ed place they call a BBQ place(unless you live in an area that have them.I,of course would get a smoker to play with even if I lived in Texas again.

   When we moved from Texas to ohiO,I brought my trusty NBRR with me,thank God

. Everyone either burns thier food,boils it and adds a thick sauce or bakes it ,not knowing the difference or having not tried good BBQ.

   I am just a BYC ,as far as BBQ goes,but have cooked as a chef and line cook for years,and have ,as I said moved to ohiO 12yrs. ago.Now the Family won't let me go anywhere,I'm hostage to them and enjoy it emensly.

Have fun and...

 

[mballi3011]

You could design and use a website. Now it can costly with a quickness too. A few dollars a month here then if you want to have it posted here it's a few more and then a few more here and there. Before you know it your up there and thats every month.  I did but the word of mouth has been the best so far. So think about it long and hard because they aren't a month by month thing.