The holidays are rapidly approaching and most catering businesses are filling up their bookings for the rest of the year. For the food and beverage industry, the holiday season is the busiest time of the year. Implement the following strategies to encourage business growth in your fourth quarter.
Create Specialized Holiday Packages
Caterers can encourage sales by creating special holiday offers. When creating holiday packages, make sure to keep your customers’ needs in mind. Your ideal customer may need catering for a house party, business event or fundraiser. By marketing thoughtful holiday meal packages, you can expect more individuals to book your services.
Market Directly to Existing Customers
When creating your holiday marketing strategy, focus on your existing customers. Since they are already fans of your food, existing customers are more likely to book your services for the holidays or recommend them to a friend.
Use Print & Digital Marketing
Take advantage of both print and digital marketing techniques to share holiday services. First, start with in-store holiday marketing.
Springwood Marketing offers the following services to help restaurants see business growth with seasonal marketing:
- Devote space to showcase holiday offers
- Place table tents, flyers and other holiday print material in your restaurant from November through January
- Create a seasonal catering menu
Next, implement digital marketing strategies to expand your reach:
- Use social media to remind customers of upcoming holiday needs (Tip: create a sense of urgency to encourage customers to book in advance)
- Share high-resolution photos to get followers excited about catering dishes and new holiday menu items
- Embrace email marketing to continue reaching existing customers
Aim to Reach New Customers
Allocating some resources to reaching new customers helps encourage business growth. To successfully book new customers you will need to analyze your current customer segments and focus on marketing to those who reflect the majority of your client base. For example, if most of your bookings for the holiday season are for Christmas office parties, put your effort into gaining more of those customers.
Don’t be afraid to get creative and think of unique ways to encourage sales this holiday season. Keep your eye on community calendars and search for events that might benefit from your services. Our talented team at Springwood Marketing are ready to help you develop a strong seasonal marketing strategy and create marketing materials designed to help you see business growth as we finish the year.