3 ways to enhance your catering offering

By Bob Andersen, president of The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill

It's hard to ignore the benefits of developing a strong catering program alongside your restaurant's dine-in service. The revenue is purely incremental, with minimal labor and overhead expense, which profoundly impacts unit profitability. It's done great things at The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill; our location in Shelby Township, Michigan, for instance, has increased sales by 30% over last year.

Much of that success can be attributed to the team's commitment to growing its catering business. But at all of our locations, we've learned that success in catering requires dedicated outreach to the local community and, in addition, promotions targeted at decision-makers and special event opportunities.

If you're hesitating to make that commitment, consider that for The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, at least, the stiffest competition isn't coming from catering businesses but from other restaurants that offer catering. Dedicated caterers still get large events like weddings, but restaurant catering is a convenient offer that can earn your dine-in guests' loyalty. The more opportunities you provide to enjoy your food and service, the stronger your bond with customers. Catering packages also help you make an emotional connection that translates into loyalty; when you cater their special events, like birthday, graduation and retirement parties, you become part of the celebration (a small part, but still a part).

Once you decide to add this healthy slice of revenue to your restaurant's profit, here are three critical considerations to keep in mind:
1. Evaluate the menu
Just like dine-in, catering is all about the food. No matter what else you do, the food has to match the quality of what you serve in your dining room. But to keep the quality consistent, you can't just duplicate your dine-in menu; a catering order is not just a larger takeout meal. Although the two menus should be similar, not every item works in both offerings. Some items won't travel well. It's essential to understand both the preparation time and the consumption time for each dish; will menu items keep their integrity if they are not eaten right away? A few items will likely not make the cut, and that's okay. Operationally, special attention should be given to food prep and holding.

2. Get Creative with promotion
One of the greatest mistakes restaurants make in building their catering program is not crafting a strategic marketing effort. Promotion should always start with employees and managers at the unit level. In addition, the marketing team can promote catering in the restaurant with menus, brochures and promotional posters.

Your current restaurant customers are loyal, so they are a built-in tool for promoting your catering menu and services. You can expand this base with a well-designed and executed catering program that potentially attracts new customers and re-engages those who have not visited your restaurant in a while.
Social media can play a valuable role and should be part of the marketing strategy.

An essential part of launching and growing a successful catering program is timely follow-up with customers. These engagements will provide insights for opportunities to grow as well as areas that need to be improved.

3. Meeting and minimizing challenges
Most of the pitfalls of growing a robust catering business lie in planning. Proper planning should be done with experienced professionals alongside your marketing and operations teams. If you're part of a larger restaurant company, take advantage of any support services that the leadership team offers. The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, for instance, offers a full range of support for catering programs by providing franchisees with well-developed systems to market, sell and execute catering orders.
No matter how well planned your business, you'll still need to execute well. On the service side, delivery logistics are easy to underestimate and could end your whole program if not handled correctly.

The most critical concern is wisely assigning accountability for the catering program's sales, procurement, food execution and delivery to the customer. Missing a simple component such as knowing when the customer is picking up their order can have serious consequences for repeat business (or the lack of it).
Your Takeaway

Assembling a capable team that's passionate, knowledgeable and committed to working together — and aligned with building a great catering business — is first and foremost the key to your success. Next, ensure that the endpoint consumer of the food has the same delicious experience as your customers dining on-site at your restaurant.

And don't forget the final course: following up. Ask your catering customers to fill out a brief comment card or — better yet— write an online review. Plan to respond as soon as the reviews appear, either to thank them for compliments or address negative comments. This is one of the most critical determinants of success in any restaurant service. The more you understand about your customer's journey with you, the easier it will be to provide a satisfying experience.