Infomercials are full of lies.
When I was a kid, I was into advertising marketing before I ever really knew what it was. I would read magazines from the back to the front so that I could look at the ads first.
Sometimes, I would wake up in the middle of the night and watch infomercials. I remember how cool I thought Ronco Pocket Fisherman seemed, that was one of my favorites.
So I was a fan of direct marketing, long before I had any clue what it was or how it worked.
But if you watch infomercials, they give out a lot of false information.
The real estate guys will say things like “I got $2,000 at closing!”, or companies will say things like “We generated an additional $100,000 in sales last year!”.
In reality, they had to borrow some or most of that money to get to that point. They make it out to seem like profit, when it's actually just sales. If you have to borrow $8,000 to make $10,000, you've only made $2,000 in profit. It's not rocket science.
It's easy to mislead people if you're not being transparent and up front with your real numbers.
CaterZen is always up front with our catering companies. We don't need to mislead you, because caterers who use CaterZen have experienced a 14% average annual sales growth for three consecutive years across 2016, 2017 and 2018.
DISCLAIMER:
These are averages. Some caterers will see more growth than this, and others will see less. How well our software will work for you depends on not just how much you are utilizing everything it has to offer, but also how hard you are going to work.
If you have a 2-Star Yelp rating and your food sucks, you're not going to see the kinds of results we're talking about. If you don't get up off your ass and work, you're not going to see these results. You can have the greatest golf club in the world, but if you're a terrible golfer, it won't make much of a difference.
Nothing is ever set in stone. We're just giving you all the systems and tools to turn your hard work into more sales growth. We can't make you hustle. That's up to you.
One of our missions is to help successful caterers become more successful. If you're not working hard, providing good food, trying new ideas, expanding your target marketing or utilizing reports to improve your business strategies, then you're not going to be successful.
There's no such thing as a silver bullet, and there's no such thing as a substitute for hard work.
Catering Software Features to Grow Your Sales
In my last blog post, we looked at how CaterZen's automated marketing reminders have significantly helped our catering companies grow their sales. In today's post, we're reviewing three popular software features that are helping our caterers impress their clients, resulting in additional catering business.
Delivery Manager
Average annual sales growth from feature usage: 16.7%
One of the most useful benefits you can give your catering clients is eliminating anxiety about the orders they place with you.
Our incredibly intuitive delivery manager software tools and mobile app takes the stress off your catering clients by giving them a breakdown of exactly who their driver will be, their expected time of delivery, as well as any additional delivery instructions attached to the order.
Plus, thanks to our Google Maps and Waze integration features, your clients can track the order from the moment it leaves your restaurant or facility until it arrives on their doorstep. Drivers get updated traffic and construction updates through their route maps, so you never have to worry about them being late for their deliveries.
And you can also add multiple routes and destinations for your drivers, so everything stays organized, even during the busiest times of the year.
Loyalty Program
Average annual sales growth from feature usage: 13.1%
We've talked a couple of times in recent weeks about the value of building customer loyalty. It's much easier and cheaper to retain and rebook existing clients than trying to bring in new ones.
CaterZen has a couple of different options available to help you build customer loyalty. From offering coupons and discounts for rebooking clients, to Loyalty Gift Certificates you can issue as a bonus for clients after completing their job, there are lots of ways for you to give your clients back a little extra.
And when it comes to bonuses, especially the unexpected ones, a little can go a long way.
As well, CaterZen recently partnered with Tango Card, which allows your catering clients to start saving up points when they choose you to fulfill their catering needs.
These points can be saved up to purchase gift certificates for a wide array of retail businesses, online stores, and other restaurants. How your clients choose to redeem their points is up to them, but giving them that freedom is an amazing way to build a strong, long-term relationship.
Learn more about CaterZen's loyalty program options.
Thank You Letters
Average annual sales growth from feature usage: 12.2%
Speaking of building loyalty, it's not just about giving the customer something as a reward for choosing you to cater their event.
Sometimes, it's about just telling them you appreciate their business.
We all want to feel appreciated. It's part of human nature. We all want to know when we spend our money, even if we're getting something out of it, that the businesses we support value us as consumers.
CaterZen's thank you program allows you to send your clients a thank you letter, which can automatically be printed and mailed via our web-based mailing service.
Or you can pull up reports of clients from finished jobs and do direct call-backs to thank them for their business.
However you choose to thank your catering clients, you're guaranteed to build stronger bonds with them, which will have them coming back to you again and again.
There's no substitute for making your clients feel appreciated. A small gesture of thanks can have a huge impact on your clients' future decisions.
How Much Will Your Catering Sales Grow With CaterZen?
Try our Catering Sales Growth Calendar to see how your catering sales can grow if you’re our average customer!
CaterZen values all of our caterers, which is why we are always working towards improving our software, adding new features and continuing to provide you with the most all-inclusive, easy-to-use and time-saving catering software on the market.
If you haven't tried out our software yet, why not sign up for a free 30-day trial? It doesn't require a credit card, so it's risk-free.
Or you can give us a call at 1-888-997-3433 and talk with one of our CaterZen experts about how our software can help take your catering business to the next level.
Want a little more hands-on assistance? No problem! Sign up for a free personalized product demo and sit down with Nell Herman, our Director of Enterprise Sales, who will walk you through any of the features you'd like to learn more about.
If growing your sales is part of your game plan, then CaterZen has the systems and tools that can get you there. You just need to be brave enough to take the leap and ready to put in the work.
