Catering Marketing Sales and Computer Software CM 226

Catering Marketing, Sales and Computer Software CM 226 Catering and Event Management Chapter 4, pages 76 – 112

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES �Explain the importance and results of catering sales. �Define the concepts of marketing. �Discuss the principal goals of the marketing process.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES �Identify trends related to catering menu management. �Discuss the different functions of computer software programs.

1. THE MARKETING CYCLE. �The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. ”

The marketing cycle is the process of achieving these objectives: �customer needs are identified �products and services are developed to satisfy those needs �customer interest in the product or service is created �the success of these efforts is measured against both financial goals and customer satisfaction.

Meeting the Objectives of Marketing �It is critical to the ongoing success of catering businesses that the business person CONTINUALLY: � Identifying customer needs, �Developing products and services with appropriate pricing strategies, and �Effectively promoting them –

BENEFITS vs. Features �Catering services must possess the flexibility to respond to a wide variety of customer needs. �Marketing opportunities are created through customer needs identified for product or service development. �This identified NEED is a Benefit if YOU can provide it.

�How do some salespeople consistently outsell their competition? �Why does closing work in small sales but fail in larger ones? �How can salespeople dramatically increase their sales volume from major accounts?

The savvy, well trained, motivated, self starting marketer (sales person): �Gets to know their prospective customer �Identifies potential features offered that would benefit the prospective customer (be important to) �Overcomes any objections

The savvy, well trained, motivated, self starting marketer (sales person): �Paints them into the picture �Trial closes �Closes the sale (gets the check), �asks for a new lead

�The original survey showed that in successful sales calls it's the buyer who does most of the talking, which means that the salespeople are asking questions. �Asking questions means that the salesperson is building Rapport with the buyer, building sales rapport with the buyer allows the buyer to feel more comfortable talking.

�For example, the tractor sales person can ask how much better the tractor was like when it was new, or whether any of the farmer's neighbors have solved problems of old and problematic tractors.

�The insurance sales person could ask questions that build pictures of the target person's children being safe and secure whatever curve-balls the world might throw at the family.

SPIN Selling �Situation Questions �Problem questions �Implication Questions �Need-Payoff Questions

Situation Questions �Situation Questions deal with the facts about the buyers existing situation. �In big sales, minimize the small talk and focus on finding background detail that can be used to make sense of the buyer's business situation. �This is about understanding the wider context before you zoom into the details.

Problem Solving Questions �Problem Questions ask about the buyer's pain and focus the buyer on this pain while clarifying the problem, before asking implication questions. �These give Implied Needs.

�Ask questions to uncover problems which your product can address. �If you are selling tractors, ask about maintenance costs, breakdowns and so on. �If you are selling life insurance, ask about how many dependents the person has.

�A trap here is to dive straight into presenting the benefits of what you are selling. �You may know the problem, but they do not! Going straight to the sales pitch will just get you objections.

Implication Questions �Implication Questions discuss the effects of the problem, before talking about solutions, and develop the seriousness of the problem to increase the buyer's motivation to change. �Instead of telling them the problem they have (which is also likely to raise objections), the goal is now to get them to see (and feel!) the problem.

�By asking questions which draw out the implications of the problem, they get to feel the pain that will drive them towards your product. �This is the 'hurt' of Hurt and Rescue.

�For example, the person selling tractors might ask about implications of unplowed fields whilst the life insurance salesperson could carefully ask what would happen to the children if the target person died or became very ill.

Need-Payoff Questions �Need-Payoff Questions get the buyer to tell you about their Explicit Needs and the benefits your solutions offers, rather than forcing you to explain the benefits to the buyer.

Need-Payoff Questions �Getting the buyer to state the benefits has greater impact while sounding a lot less pushy. �What these questions do is probe for explicit needs.

�Having hurt the target person with your implications, you now give them a straw to grasp at by asking how their pain could be resolved. �With careful questions, you can get them to the state where they are asking for your product even before you show it to them.

�This is a very neat 'rescue' of Hurt and Rescue, where they either rescue themselves or ask you to rescue them.

The research on the use of SPIN selling uncovered the following facts : �The first students trained in the "SPIN" model showed an average of 17% improvement in sales results. �After analyzing more than 35, 000 sales calls they were able to put to rest a variety of traditional myths about closing sales.

2. THE 4 Ps of MARKETING MIX. �The Marketing Mix incorporates: �Product, �Place, �Promotion, and �Price into the overall strategy of marketing a product or service.

Product �Product can refer to separate details of a larger product concept. �For example, entertainment can be a highly profitable service produce created through a series of strategic alliances with external resources. (strategery)

Product �A wide variety of customer needs for entertainment can be met with musicians, entertainers, and DJs with whom a catering company is comfortable arranging for as part of their overall products.

Place �Place refers to how and where the product will be made available to the customer. �This includes not only the physical environment in which the product is presented but also the reservation process.

Place �By including the reservation process as part of the product, it becomes a functional component, planned into the product overall design.

Promotion �Promotion refers to the advertising and public relations activities supporting a product or service.

Promotion �For example, the wedding segment of a catering business is often treats as an individual product, accompanied by separate promotional material, displays, advertising, and promotional calendar within the marketing plan.

Price � The development of Pricing strategies, the financial measurement of a successful product planning and promotional effort, is a critical business activity.

Price �Price, in the marketing mix, is concerned primarily with identifying a price that both reflect the profitand-cost reality of the business and is acceptable to the consumer on a perceived-value basis.

3. CUISINE, ENTERTAINMENT, AND CONCEPT TRENDS. �Trends, as they relate to catering menu management, reflect changes in the patterns of customer requests for catering services.

�Entertainment and concept packaging provide dynamic and profitable ways to expand catering services. �Decorations, entertainment, and cuisine themes combine to create festive settings for business and social functions

�Package pricing of food, beverage, and services responds to customers’ needs for time-saving in the catering function planning process

3. CUISINE, ENTERTAINMENT, AND CONCEPT TRENDS. �Current trends in catering functions: �Incorporate media technology, computerized laser light shows and indoor fireworks displays, often simultaneously, in the production of entertainment performances and corporate presentations.

3. CUISINE, ENTERTAINMENT, AND CONCEPT TRENDS (continued). �Current trends in catering functions: �Social functions include video presentations of the participants. �The biggest trends in the catering industry of the early part of the twenty-first century is special events and “The Show. ”

4. MAXIMIZING CATERING REVENUE MANAGEMENT. �Catering services often experience both busy and slow periods, regulated by season, business activity trends, social calendars, and regional customs.

5. PACKAGING CATERING SERVICE. �Packaging catering services into one price for customers can provide additional sources of revenues and profit by capturing a percentage of the income that would otherwise go to outside contractors.

6. MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. �The level of satisfaction of guests attending catering functions is difficult to evaluate. �A customer comment form that elicits the information most useful to improving operations and assessing service quality.

7. CATERING COMPUTER MANAGEMENT AND SOFTWARE SUPPORT. �The integration of computer systems into the management of any type of business is essential.

7. CATERING COMPUTER MANAGEMENT AND SOFTWARE SUPPORT. �Computer software systems offer a wide range of management options for accounting systems, contract and function booking management, along with sales and marketing activities.

�Computer software programs provide catering management valuable tools with which to achieve profitable and efficient operations. �Software programs offer a range of reporting facilities capabilities. �Foodservice operators expanding into catering areas find that many of these programs are compatible with their

�The success of a catering foodservice business is greatly enhanced by using software programs in marketing, purchasing inventory, production forecasting and analysis, sales mix, costing, and accounting. �Word processing has numerous applications, including sales files, contracts, and correspondence.

8. MARKETING. �Computer foodservice management systems are invaluable to the marketing process.

8. MARKETING. �There are software programs that track correspondence on individual client accounts, create future reminders, and compile account contact histories that can be accessed instantly.

8. MARKETING. �Marketing efforts can be tracked and lost leads maintained in a file for future solicitation. �Generating letters using a merge- field function allows a standard letter format.

9. EVENT INFORMATION AND REPORTS. �The event contract precedes the distribution of the event sheet, the principle form of communication within a catering operation.

9. EVENT INFORMATION AND REPORTS. �By forwarding an event contract to the customer the sales department is assured of the customer’s agreement with the organizational features of the event as well as the menu, prices, and the additional contract services.

10. REPORTING FORMS. �A variety of additional reports and forms can be generated by catering software programs.

11. DESKTOP PUBLISHING. �Generating menus using design- oriented software is effective in reducing costs. �Desktop publishing software programs can assist marketing efforts with the production of newsletters, brochures, and menu package design.

�The ability to create menu design with typeface fonts and symbols allows every catering operation the ability to design its own menus in-house.

Key Points Reviewed �Meeting the objectives of marketing —identifying customer needs, developing products and services with appropriate pricing strategies, and effectively promoting them—is critical to the success of catering businesses.

Key Points Reviewed �Catering services must possess the flexibility to respond to a wide variety of customer needs. �Entertainment and concept packaging provides dynamic and profitable ways to expand catering services.

Key Points Reviewed �Computer software programs provide catering-management valuable tools with which to achieve profitable and efficient operations.

Key Points Reviewed