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Client Selection

Customer base is a solid foundation consisting of current and potential clients upon which a caterer
continuously builds to support the catering business now and in the future. It is one of the most important
business tasks a caterer must faithfully perform. This task is a natural extension flowing from the caterer’s
established mission statement

Creating a Customer Base

A number of considerations must be examined when building a solid customer base. How can the caterer best
accomplish the task of building a sustainable customer base? The caterer can begin formulating a prospecting
plan to complement the goals of the organization. Based on this plan, a caterer can derive assorted prospecting
strategies to communicate information to potential clients. Prospecting strategies are methodologies used by
a caterer to introduce himself or herself to a prospective client with the purpose of building a sustainable
customer base.

Customer needs can be very complex. A human need is a feeling of deprivation of something. Basic human
physical needs include food, clothing, and safety. The caterer must recognize that the client has social and
esteem needs as well. Clients will package their basic needs into wants. These wants are evolving and are
defined by the level of sophistication of the client. The caterer then needs to offer a combination of food and
service to solve the client’s basic issue. When clients approach a caterer, they will have unlimited wants, but
their budget and limited resources will constrain them. Client’s’ wants become clients’ demands when they
are backed by financial resources and buying power.

The customer is the most important individual to the organization as they are providing the funds for the
service. Satisfying customers is the basic goal of any caterer. Many caterers are successful because they know
how to exceed the explicit and implied needs, wants, and demands of their customers. They understand who
the customer is and the characteristics of the target market by completing a market analysis.

Understanding the Customer

• Demographics – age, level of income, gender, marital status, family composition, ethnic background,
education level
• Lifestyle – family status, media preferences, professional and personal organizational affiliations,
political affiliation
• Geographic Area – location; urban, suburban, rural, city. Region or neighborhood; residential,
business, downtown
• Behavior – status-seeking, trend-setting, liberal, conservative
• Buying Considerations – price, quality, brand name, reputation, location, specialty
Sources of Market Data
• Up-to-date census data
• Current popularity trends
• Regional or county planning commissions
• Banks and newspapers
Sources of New Customer Prospects
• Customers – direct contact
• Phone books (local)
• Employee survey – pre-planned, regularly scheduled, conducted often, short and to the point,
summarized, and evaluated by management

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Understanding the customer’s needs, wants, and demands enables the caterer to recommend to each client
a winning combination of service and food. Careful listening to the customer is the first step. Translating a
customer’s message is vital. It is important to know a client’s needs or be able to make suggestions. Each client
has an idea as to what the caterer should be able to reproduce.

Customer Contact and Making New Customers

In providing a general atmosphere conducive to sales of special functions, one (1) important thing to
remember is that the prospective buyer must be put in a positive state of mind. This will help elicit a positive
attitude from the prospect. One (1) key is having a professional-looking office with comfortable furniture.

The total sales atmosphere must be one in which the prospect feels s/he is being helped. The caterer must
convey that the decisions being made are in the best interests of the function and the guests. However, the
customer may not always be right. Few people fully understand the logistics of planning an event. This is where
the professional caterer must make the buyer feel his or her interests are paramount to the success of the
event.

Personal attention and interaction with a prospective client is another positive strategy to build a customer
base. A caterer can find new customers by reading the local newspaper – paying careful attention to articles
and announcements. News announcements describing future community events, reunions, and engagements
are excellent leads to new business. With the right strategies used, a caterer can service a life cycle of customer
events (the cycle of lifetime celebrations: bridal shower, wedding reception, anniversary, birthday, baby
shower, baptism, prom, sporting banquet, college graduation, marriage, and death that requires the services
of a caterer and the cycle will repeat itself).

Service Organizations
Membership in many of the community service organizations is a great way to meet people in the community.
Becoming a member in community service organizations such as the local Chamber of Commerce, the Lion’s
Club, or Rotary Club provides great networking opportunities. This is another strategy for a caterer to meet
potential clients.

Food-Tasting Events
Create opportunities 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 food
and signature items featured on the catering menu. Customers appreciate such types of event as they are able
to sample their favorite foods and are afforded the opportunity to sample new or exotic items being first
introduced or field tested for possible inclusion on the menu.

Advertising and Publicity

Advertising means a caterer will pay to have information placed into the media. Publicity is a free media
exposure. A caterer may exchange catering functions for free air time on the radio or television or ad space in
newspapers and magazines. Donations, special fund-raising activities, and community service may work as a
press release to gain free publicity with the appropriate news media.
The obvious way to publicize catering services is through the menu. Tasteful arrangement of menu selections
on durable, yet colorful stock, printed legible and relating directly to the type of function it is meant to
supplement or to the general theme of the event, will do much to influence the decisions of the potential
buyer. Posters and flyers placed in strategic locations may serve as a communication tool to remind potential
clients of additional services that are available.

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It requires a considerably larger expenditure of funds and should be budgeted in advance. A caterer should
allocate a portion of the operating capital specifically for the purpose of promoting and soliciting business.

Implementation of a professional sales staff is another method used by a caterer to achieve these business
objectives

Closing the Sale, Business Cards, and Portfolio

A mutual agreement between buyer and seller must be consummated. For the protection of both parties, a
detailed document signifying this accord must be drawn up and signed by the caterer and the client. Managers
then use a checklist to track the preparation of the event.

The use of business cards by the caterer and the staff is another effective prospecting strategy. Employees
should be instructed to distribute the organization’s business cards to all, especially the interested guests
attending a function, if approved by the client.

The use of attractive, professionally designed and maintained portfolio will communicate a strong visual
message. The caterer may make arrangements to offer food and related services to the professional
photographer covering the function in return for taking pictures of the food, layout, decorations, and
employees. Many potential clients enjoy the opportunity to see previous catering functions executed by the
caterer.

Event Planner’s Role in Catering

The event planner is one of the most varied roles in the hospitality industry. As the client’s most trusted
professional contact, the event planner has a relationship that is unique compared to traditional catering or
banquet managers. S/he acts as the central point of communication for the catering team.

At any event, be it a wedding, birthday party, or business retreat, the entire event is structured around food.
In our society, food and beverage are associated with nearly every holiday or gathering. The catering aspect
often receives the most attention from clients and the largest portion of their budgets. For this reason, a strong
relationship between the event planner and the caterer is essential to the overall success of an event.

Proposals
A 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 communicates
to the client a first-impression image of the caterer, and information it provides is used by the customer when
choosing a caterer. Creativity and imagination will help deliver a competitive edge when presenting a proposal
through basket presentations, food sampling, and usage of professional video.

Functions of Catering

The functions of management for any catering operation, small or large, are basically the activities which a
manager performs to get people to work harmoniously towards organizational goals. These functions are
distinctly different from the activities involved in the actual production and service of food in a catering
establishment.

• First Function: Planning. This is the process of detailing and outlining all tasks required to accomplish
the objective. The plan helps the caterer identify objectives derived from the mission statement. The
plan is a blueprint that leads everyone towards a common goal.

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• Second Function: Executing Operational Tasks. This is the process of listing the tasks and steps before
executing the plan. It also includes assigning tasks to employees for execution.
• Third Function: Organizing. This is the process of forming the organization so each assigned task can
achieve the stated objective.
• Fourth Function: Selecting Equipment. These are based on the menu, service requirements, type and
location of event, and special needs of the client.
• Fifth Function: Implementing. This is the process of using effective communication skills to put the
plan into action.
• Sixth Function: Controlling. It ensures the effective and efficient use of the caterer’s resources in
providing service to accomplish goals.
• Seventh Function: Understanding Risk Management, Insurance, and Legal Issues. It ensures the basics
are covered to protect one’s livelihood. This includes creation of team to do routine safety checks of
the staff, equipment, and procedures to ensure proper compliance with Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points (HACCP) standards.

Catering Plan

Elements of a Catering Plan

1. Budget. This is a financial, tactical, single-use plan to set the parameters for each event.
2. Menu. This is the list of can-be-prepared dishes made available to a client. Sometimes, clients may ask
for a different one that a caterer should also look into at. This is the most important factor in the
catering plan and built around the client needs and wants, availability of products, and caterer’s
financial objectives and capabilities.
3. Location. This is the place where the event will take place.
4. Number of Guests. These are the number of attendees at the event.
5. Labor Requirements. These are the number of manpower and level of skill involved in the overall
catering event.

Formulating a Catering Plan

The caterer transforms the initial catering proposal into a multitude of objectives or benchmarks that give life
to the proposal as a plan emerges. Benchmarks pertain to competitor’s best practice against which the
caterer’s own performance is compared and measured against. The main purpose of an objective is to guide
the caterer through the process.

Financial objectives. This is setting a target based on the financial goals responsive to the needs of the
client.
Customer-satisfaction objectives. These are developed by the caterer specifically to the client’s needs
and wants; goal is to exceed these objectives.

The Menu: A Tactical Plan

The menu is the single most important factor contained in the overall catering plan. Caterers must create
budgetary objectives based on the menu. They construct menus with special attention to satisfying perceived
client need, staff skills, seasonal availability of food, quality and relative cost of food, cost of labor,
predetermined profit margins, nutritional needs of the client, presentation and service style, and kitchen
production capabilities.

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Standardized menus are created by caterers to offer a variety of food, beverages, and service styles. These
menus may be presented to each client regardless of the client’s specific needs. A caterer can use a standard
menu format to penetrate the low-end market niche.

Caterers can also use another method of menu planning. Master menu is a standard list offering a variety of
both entrees and the side dishes based on the caterer’s skill level from which a client selects to create his or
her own menu based on individual needs and budgetary requirements.

Planning for a Catering Event

To formulate a successful plan, all caterers must identify objectives, which are derived from identified
customer needs and wants. The caterer must know what the customers expect by discussing events with them.
A caterer can do little things beyond the customer’s expectations to increase the success rate of an event.

Objectives are translated into operational tasks which are those singular activities that must be expected to
accomplish an objective. All common tasks should be bundled to create a job. Putting the plan into action, the
process of implementing each piece of the plan into the day-to-day activities, becomes the next step for the
caterer. A key catering management task is the careful coordination of the front-of-the-house and back-of-
the-house activities.

Barriers to Planning

1. Operational Barriers. These are barriers that disrupt the physical elements of an event.
• Human errors • Time constraints
• Accidents • Natural disasters

2. Human Resource/Communication Barriers. This is a type of barrier caused by a member of the staff
that disrupts the element of a catering event.
• Human errors
• Lack of communication
• Deviation from standard operating procedures

References
Catchillar, e. a. (2009). Banquet & catering procedures: a student’s guide. Mandaluyong: Books Atbp.
Publishing Corp.
Shiring, S. (2014). Professional catering: the modern caterer’s complete guide to success. New York: Delmar,
Cengage Learning.
Principles and functions of catering management (PDF). Retrieved from
http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/000120.pdf. on August 18, 2016

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