CATER – H4

Catering Management
CHAPTER 4
Choosing your Client

Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
✓ Explain how a caterer can build a solid customer base using specific prospecting strategies.
✓ Explain the details of a catering proposal.
✓ Explain why the planned growth of a catering company is achieved through a conscientious
building of satisfied customers and the accomplishment of a caterer’s financial objectives.
✓ Explain why a caterer may refuse to work for a particular client.
✓ Define the difference between a client’s needs, wants, and demands.

Recipe for Success

Ingredients:
10. “Customer satisfaction grows your business.”
11. “Understand why the customer has selected the caterer – what are the expectations?”
12. “To establish a long-term relationship with a customer and work, as frequently as possible,
with each client one-on-one.”
13. “Presentations are important – create special, unusual, personable, and impressive
competitive proposals.”

Creating a Customer Base

• Creating a solid customer base and attracting new customers is a continuous building process
for the caterer.
• There are many good customers available in the market to build a solid base of support,
however caterers must understand their capabilities:
➢ Production capacity of the kitchen
➢ Current skill level of the employees
➢ Strictly adhere to the financial goals of the organization
➢ Accommodate the menu requirements
▪ Low-scale or upscale menu
▪ Social or corporate events
▪ On-premise or off-premise functions

1. Prospecting Strategies
• Begin by formulating a prospecting plan to complement the goals of the organization.
• Fully understand how skills are used to meet and exceed customer’s expectations.

2. Need, Wants, and Demands

Needs – feeling of deprivation for something.
Wants – are defined by the level of sophistication of the client.
Demands – a client’s wants become a client’s demands when they are backed by financial
resources and buying power.

The real challenge is to translate their idea – the needs, wants, and demands – into a
package. The caterer will bundle a package of complementary tangible products and
intangible services to execute based on the client’s budget.

Successful caterers LISTEN, LISTEN, and LISTEN.

3. Customer Contact
• In providing a general atmosphere conducive to sales of special functions, the prospective buyer
must be put in a positive frame of mind.
• One key is having a professional-looking office with comfortable furniture.
• Common courtesy is to offer a cup of coffee, tea, or soft drink.
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4. Customer Solicitation
• The basic idea for behind the call (customer solicitation) is to make the initial contact, offer the
service, and make an appointment for the prospect to visit the facility to discuss the details.

5. Reputation
• Relationships and the emergence of trust become important.
• Trust and reputation imply a level of quality the customer knows the caterer can deliver.

6. Current Customers
• When a satisfied guest is pleased with the menu, food, and service, this customer becomes a
prospect as a future catering customers.
• These customers enjoy the menu selections and signature items exclusively prepared and
served by the caterer at their event.

7. Service Organizations
• Membership in many of the community service organizations is a great way to meet people in
the community, it provides great networking opportunities. This is another strategy for a caterer
to meet potential clients.

8. Making New Customers

• Can be find by:
• News announcements describing future community events, reunions, and engagements

Life Cycle of Customer Events

- A client’s lifetime may include events such as bridal showers, wedding receptions,
anniversaries, birthdays, baptisms, proms. sports banquets, graduations, college, marriage, and the
cycle will repeat.
- It is even common for loyal customers to request the caterer to prepare the food served at
their funerals.

9. Food Tasting Events

• Create an opportunity to speak one-on-one with the customers and potential clients during your
slower sales periods.
• Invite them to attend a customer recognition dinner or a special taste-testing event to sample
foods and signature items on featured on the catering menu.

10. Publicity
• Free media exposure.
• A caterer may exchange catering functions for free air time on the radio or television, or ad
space in news papers and magazines.
• Donations, special fund-raising activities, and community service (Public Relations).

11. Advertising
• A caterer will pay to have information placed into the media.

12. Closing the Sale

• Before closing a sale, the good catering manager always ensures that the prospect is completely
satisfied with the arrangements as outlined.
• Checklist to track the preparation of the event
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MANAGER’S CHECK LIST

(check when action is completed)

Advance Preparations
_____ Contract and scheduling of meeting
_____ Staffing and scheduling of employees
_____ Special functions sheet filled out
_____ Department instruction sheet
_____ Time of meeting
_____ Special setup instructions
_____ Meeting room ready
_____ Setup team ready

Logistics
_____ Tables and seating space
_____ Platform for speakers, tables and chairs
_____ Visual aids and accessories
_____ Tables for handouts and demonstrations
_____ Coffee break schedule
_____ Location and equipment for coffee break
_____ Billing for coffee break
_____ Luncheon arrangements
_____ Billing for luncheon
_____ Pre-registration needs
_____ Cocktail party billing
_____ Coat room arrangements
_____ Lighting, heat, and air conditioning
_____ Greeting of guests
_____ Receipt of advance shipping material-storage area
_____ Information for incoming guests

During the Meeting

_____ Employee skills and attitudes
_____ Delegation of tasks
_____ Quality of service

13. Business Card

• Distribute the organization’s business cards to all interested guests attending a function if
approved by the client.

14. Portfolio
• The use of an attractive, professionally designed and maintained portfolio will communicate a
strong visual message.

15. Telephone Directory and Yellow Pages

• Many people in need of food and service will first search the local yellow pages to find a caterer
in the area.

16. Professional Sales Staff

• To have a direct connection with the market, to help recognize potential clientele.
• Their task is to unlock new business doors.
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Never Stop Learning

• Continuous research of the market place provides the caterer with a flow of new information on
the rapidly evolving industry.
• As trends emerge and create continuous change, the successful caterer must adapt to those
changes.
Example: Innovative menu

Upgrading the Event

• The enhancement of food and service by tweaking the plan originally suggested by the client.
• A caterer suggests specific bridal shops, florists, limousine companies, photographers, and
others who can help professionalize the event.

How the Caterer Provides Protection

Undesirables
• It is important to complete a background check before accepting a client as a customer, to
determine if the prospective client has the ability to meet the financial obligations. Caterers
must know if their clients are financially stable.
• A group may be historically unruly and a caterer may simply refuse business with this client after
the first bad experience.

Proposals
• Proposal is a communication tool used to effectively inform and educate the prospective client
of everything the caterer can do for them during the particular event.
• The proposal is a detailed document. It must list everything the caterer will do. From the
beginning of the event to its concluding activity.
• The proposal communicates to the client a first-impression image of the caterer, and
information it provides is used by the customer when choosing a caterer.

1. Length and Complexity

The format may be a standard form or can be personally designed and written for each client.
However, before creating a proposal or present to the prospective client, the caterer must know the
needs, desires, and special requests of the client.

2. Basic Proposal
Will spell out in detail everything to be done by the caterer.
Proposal basic information (fig. 4.8 p85) will help a caterer prepare a well-written, descriptive
proposal.
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3. Submitting a Proposal
To empress the prospective client, a caterer should personally hand deliver the proposal.
Creativity and imagination will help deliver a competitive edge when presenting a proposal.
Invite a committee to sample food
Having professional video available to communicate the mission of the caterer