"New" - The Most Important Marketing Word

Catering as a business is like most businesses in that it follows a path from beginning to end. The business “life cycle” for caterers usually starts with a dream... which moves into the launch ... followed by growth ... reaching a plateau... which is often the beginning of the decline.

One of my observations is that many caterers seem to think about or plan their strategies over a very short term. They might plan on a day to day, weekend to weekend, week to week, or month to month basis. But, I believe I’m pretty safe in saying that very few caterers plan or think about their businesses in longer terms than a month. The simple truth is that catering is a business of putting out fires, which makes it difficult to find the time to plan for the future.

If you are one of those who does longer term planning that I congratulate you! If you fall into the category of “let’s get through this weekend” category then my views below may be of interest. However, first you need to make some attempt to decide where you fall in the catering “life cycle” path.

When you read the last sentence didn’t it become immediately clear to you that you really hadn’t thought about the launch, growth, or plateau phases of your business’s life cycle? Take a moment. Where are you - launch, dream, decline, plateau, or growth?

Here’s the good news. It really doesn’t matter much which of the phases a catering company is in. In catering, and in the minds of most of your clients, you’re only as good as your last production. In my view, this is why so many caterers continue on with their “growth” and “plateau” phases for many years. Clients simply fall in love with their caterers and stick with them.

I know what some of you are thinking. Why then do caterers suffer declines in their business and/or close their doors? The answer doesn’t lie in the caterer’s production or presentation. The enemy for any caterer is the perception of “old”. The path to decline is simply “the same old same old”. Or the way to keep your company growing is “fresh” and “new”.

One of the best ways to cheat the decline phase is to begin again! Create a new division, a new concept, a new company, a new logo, a new department, a new service motto or anything else that will bring you face to face with what your customer is seeking – to work with an “up-to-date” and an “in” caterer.

In catering “status quo” is out. Your clients are expecting a continuous offering of new themes, menus, foods, service ideas, pricing concepts, display equipment, and guarantees from your company. The caterer’s job is to learn about everything new in order to keep their business on the growth path. It really isn’t that difficult to offer new, once you realize that the answer lies in the simplicity of not worrying so much about putting out fires in your business as much as lighting one under you.