© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Continuous building process for the caterer:
– Creating a solid customer base
– Attracting new customers
• Caterers must understand their own capabilities.
– The production capacity of the kitchen
– The current skill level of the employees
– The financial goals of the organization
• They must accommodate menu requirements.
– Low-scale or upscale menu
– Social or corporate events
– On-premise or off-premise functions
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Needs
– Human feeling of deprivation for something
– Prestige, recognition and self-expression
• Wants
– Always evolving
– Defined by level of sophistication of the client
• Demands
– Wants that are backed by financial resources and buying power
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Needs, Wants and
Demands
• Customer Contact
• Customer Solicitation
• Reputation
• Current Customers
• Service Organizations
• Making New Customers
• Food-Tasting Events
• Publicity
• Advertising
• Business Cards
• Portfolio
• Professional Sales Staff
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Event planners act as creative visionaries for clients.
– Communicate client’s needs to caterer
– Maintain order and organization
– Negotiate prices, budget and timelines
• Role in catering
– Central point of communication for the catering team
– Acts as intermediary between caterer and client
• Trends and the future
– Environmentally-friendly alternatives
– Non-traditional family structures and roles
– Integration of social media
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Professional suggestions enhance a client’s perception of value.
• Enhance food and service by tweaking the client’s original plan.
• Professionalize the event with specific shops, photographers, etc.
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Caterers have the option to decline work.
– Ask for references or do a background check.
– Know income level of the client.
• Protect the profit margin.
– Look for the next niche up.
– Research the market.
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

• Communication tools used to inform and educate prospective clients
• State what the caterer can do for them during the event to exceed their needs
• A basic proposal:
– Spells out every detail to be done by the caterer
– Fixed costs, food costs and labor costs
• Creativity and imagination will help deliver a competitive edge when presenting a proposal.
© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.