Death. Taxes. Catering.

How to Be a Leader in the Post-Pandemic Event Space

Written By: Mike Healey

Inevitability

Death. Taxes. Catering. While life’s list of unavoidable activities might be comforting over the long haul, the above certainty will offer little comfort to any caterer caught during the first weeks and months of a seismic market interruption.

Catering is – after all – often perceived as an indulgence with no place in the shrinking budgets of an urgent crisis response. Those who have been in the industry for over a decade will vividly remember the near-total moratorium on institutional catering surrounding the ‘07/’08 financial crisis.

Spoiler alert: nearly all sectors of the catering industry set new revenue records by Q4 2009.

So, why will catering always survive?

Although not the world’s oldest profession, the preparation, and service of group meals in a convivial setting pair with civilization as a whole. Where guests gather to celebrate, spectate, debate, broker, or simply socialize – catering facilitates progress.

More importantly – follow the money. No significant fundraising, recruitment, or partnership event takes place without an organized food and beverage component. Although it may require unique compromises for the foreseeable future – catering will recover.

Consumer Confidence

Indulge me here. If online security seems like a hot topic today, it still pales in comparison to the early days of internet commerce – let’s say 1998. Long before online shopping became inevitable, it took a few notable providers – Paypal comes to mind – to establish a foundation of consumer confidence.

Were these the only providers who could guarantee a safe online transaction? Absolutely not. They simply positioned themselves with confidence and aggressively communicated their expertise to consumers. Along with firms that maintained real expertise and due diligence in this emerging field, mainstream customers also needed a confident perception of legitimacy.

For the next year and beyond, catering consumers will showcase a similar mentality. During this period, it is not enough to adhere to basic state and local sanitation guidelines and expect business to return. Diligent caterers who pursue, and showcase, hard-earned expertise will inspire clients to re-engage. Your biggest competitor at this time is fear – demonstrated through the limited, postponed, or cancelled events that could otherwise be on your books.

It should come as no surprise that plucky caterers who truly become – and loudly position themselves as – consultative experts in post-pandemic event execution will have an unfair advantage during market resurgence.

While theory has a place, I expect you might be wondering – what steps should I take to actively inspire this leadership posture? A few suggestions:

• Exhaustively research the ever-changing local, state, and federal recommendations and guidelines that apply in your jurisdiction – become an expert so your customers don’t have to.
  
• Actively adopt standing operating procedures (think posted social distancing placeholders, hand sanitizer stations, abundant staff PPE, indicators on staff (i.e. wristband) to show recent passing of screening) and best practices that exceed minimum requirements.
• Take the proverbial “high road” and enthusiastically over-achieve on all required or even recommended safety/sanitation standards – this is your unique brand now, treat it that way.
• Document and track safety protocols employed for each event and confirm compliance. Sign-off sheets or event photos featuring these efforts are just a few examples.
• Over-communicate the progress of your operational status, evolving expertise and applied efforts using all available marketing channels – mass email, website content, email signature, social media direct mail. Brag about your efforts.
• Tailor all marketing and communication to new social norms – the image of a single mask-wearing guest with an individual portion makes sense, 2019’s large group of hedonistic special event revelers does not.
• Market your leadership position with open house events (think distanced, time staggered, highly targeted) that showcase your new offerings and abilities. Customers will only choose to re-engage catering if they feel safe and responsible in doing so – show them how they can.
• Implement a room management solution to control and manage your available event space.

Playing Ketchup

Right. It goes without saying that 2020 wasn’t the strongest sales year you can recall – and 2021 hasn’t exactly redefined success. Even as immunization efforts and eventual herd immunity make it possible for life to slowly return to normal, the catering market isn’t going to recover in a single watershed moment. While an accurate forecast for your catering business may remain elusive over the next quarter, there is also objective cause to hope (over 40 million full vaccinations and 90 million first-doses in the US) for market stability by the second half of 2021.

In this environment, a “serve, then sell” approach – with a heavy emphasis on consultation and education – will define success.

As has always been the case, the most successful caterers will captivate prospective clients with a compelling vision for their event – only now with a heavy dose of guidance surrounding safe execution.

Where does that balance between captivation and safety begin? Here are some actions that can help you to re-establish a strong book of business in this environment:

• Many important events were cancelled or postponed over the last 12 months, and those engagements should be viewed as active leads. Use your catering management system to create a report of all cancelled orders and contact each customer with a specific plan for how the event could now move forward successfully.
• The majority of your bookings likely repeat on a predictable basis – often annually. Use your catering management system to track all recurring events that are – or are not yet – on the books for 2021 and engage those customers proactively. Just because an event hasn’t cancelled at this time does not mean you can count on that revenue; you are competing against fear and the best defense is timely communication about your ability to provide a safe and successful event.
• Be transparent and confident regarding the price implications of responsible catering in this environment. While additional cost never wins a popularity contest, your openness and detail focus will yield credibility with potential clients. Consider the following factors in this discussion:
  • Less communal service styles – such as individual portion and pre-packaged servings – carry additional labor and material costs. Consider updates to your menu and online catering system that communicate these changes.
  • Staggered event seating and service layouts that allow for social distancing will often drive additional labor and/or rental fees.
  • Depending on guest concentration and itinerary, additional service/labor time may be required – guest flow through service areas must be carefully throttled, and staff-attended stations often slow traffic. Configure your ordering system to maintain these standards.
• Don’t hesitate to offer adjusted or limited catering menus during this time – especially those that are customer-facing. It may make sense to establish a specific “limited catering” menu for the near future. This is also a great opportunity to offer off-menu upsells and increase guest check average.
• One outcome of the pandemic that may have an impact on the future of the catering market is an exploration of virtual and hybrid employment. View this as an opportunity and adapt your menu and fulfillment options to capitalize on the emerging trend. Are you prepared to take advantage of off-site deliveries and packaged lunches? Position and promote yourself as a clear domain leader to create an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

If the return of the catering market seems like a distant fantasy, it’s not.

Formal legislation in the UK will permit indoor events with 1000 guests on May 17, 2021, and impose no event capacity restrictions after June 21, 2021. Similarly, the Business Research Company’s 2021 Catering Services and Food Contractors Global Market Report predicts a 7.4% compound annual growth rate driving a global market resurgence to $251.82 billion – highly reflective of regions currently trending ahead of the US.

Nevertheless, COVID-19 will likely have a permanent impact on event planning and execution. Those of us who can quickly discard the inconveniences of this new environment and look for every opportunity to showcase innovation, disruption, and genuine creativity will undoubtedly be positioned for success.

Pandemic or not, the most successful caterers will continue to be those with a capacity for infectious excitement that transfers to their clients, staff, and guests.