Catering marketing in Montreal

Catering marketing: what shapes this market?

The realities of this industry shape targeting, messaging and how marketing work is measured.

• The shortlist is built months ahead

  Catering clients start early and compare carefully, often shortlisting a few names months before they commit. Social Influence works on what an event planner or a couple finds at that stage, and on the material that keeps you on the list.

• Corporate, wedding and gala work are three businesses

  Corporate lunches, weddings and large galas have three different buyers, three different lead times and three different budgets. One generic page asking all of them to recognise themselves does none of them justice.

• Quote requests arrive unqualified

  An enquiry with no date, no headcount and no budget takes as long to answer as a real one. A request form that asks the right questions in the right order gives the kitchen back a considerable amount of time.

• Seasons swing harder than in most trades

  Wedding season, the corporate year-end stretch and the quiet weeks between them are predictable, and caterers still market as though every month is the same. Campaigns that move with the calendar catch demand while it exists.

• Planners compare on proof, not promises

  An event planner choosing a caterer wants to see the setup, the plating and the scale you have actually handled. Photography, real menus and named references do more than any description of your standards.

• The competition includes venues and restaurants

  A client weighing a caterer is often also weighing a venue package and a restaurant buyout. Being clear about what you do that they cannot is the whole argument, and it rarely appears on a caterer's site.