Need New Catering Clients? Try These 3 Easy Methods

Now that the summer food truck season is coming to a close and you’ve started your looking at you fall schedule with the kids back in school, are you ready to get going to increase of new catering clients for your food truck business?

Well, if you’d like to get new catering clients right away, here are three tips that might help.

3 Tips To Gain New Catering Clients

Ask

The first of our catering marketing ideas is to simply ask. Take your list of all of all of your food truck customers and call or e-mail them. Ask them if they know of anyone seeking catering services right now, and if they can give you a personal referral.

Then, contact the referrals they give you and see what happens. People are more likely to hear business pitches from referrals from people they know. You may be surprised at how many new catering clients you can get this way.

Offer a Free Sample

If you’ve ever wondered how to get corporate catering clients, all you need to do is let them taste a sample of your food.  Approach potential, new catering clients and tell them that you’ll provide a free sample of your catering services to show off your menu. Depending on how you set it up (department business lunch, small party, etc.), they can find out how good your menu and catering service is.

By seeing your catering service in action and how you work, potential catering clients are more likely to hire you, especially if you provide them with a great meal.

Upsell

If you have new catering menu items or services to offer, don’t forget your current clients. Review their order history, and figure out how you can help them with your catering services. If there are certain catering options they haven’t used (office catering, wedding catering, personal catering, etc.) make sure you approach them with your catering options. This could be done with something as simple as a catering client questionnaire sent to existing clients.

Be creative and figure out ways you can help your existing clients. You can often find new catering clients with your current clients if you take the time to look for them.

RELATED: Food Truck Upselling Tips That Won’t Turn Off Customers

The Bottom Line

If you are looking for new catering clients, take a moment to develop a plan of action. Reach out to your list of contacts for referrals, pursue your new clients with test projects, and don’t forget to look at how you can add catering work with your current clients.

This takes time and creativity. But your efforts can lead to a significant increase in sales for your food truck business; without spending a fortune on marketing.

How have you gotten new catering clients for your food truck? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Share them in the comment section our food truck forum or social media. Facebook | Twitter