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I need some help on advertising my business

post #1 of 10
11/16/08 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
Hello i own an small catering sushi services in Boston city Massachusetts ,i have a website where the most of my clients come form,am doing some advertising form online like buying links ,or changing them with the other food related sites,some add words on Google but still am not getting any good result.I think it might be cause of my new business(one year)and no body know me ?or i have to work more on advertising ?what should i do?Please any idea as how can i build up my costumers it will be help full for my business,any of your experiences .Thanks For reading my post
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post #2 of 10
11/17/08 at 5:25am
well, you could subcontract with caterers to provide sushi at their events.

you could have a booth at a bridal fair

you could have an open house and invite potential clients, non profits/corporate/universities/etc

I'd think the universities would be a BIG client.....

if you've not been written about in the dead wood press, then do a press release and send over sushi for their lunch. do your research and find out the fav of the restaurant reviewer(s). send to the food department.

Combine with a special Japanese holiday.....do a promotion with multiple businesses that make sense.

Best advertising is to get your food and info into the mouths/ears/eyes of your targeted client base. Once they see your setup, taste your wares...they are more apt to remember you when the time comes.

Emphasize what sets you apart from the rest.

Good Luck and welcome to Cheftalk, we'd love to hear from you about some of your events.
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post #3 of 10
11/17/08 at 9:41am
Thread Starter 
Thanks a lot Julie for such as good ideas ,i've done some press release and am doing some article marketing and i rank vey good on some high ranking keywords.But still i have more to do .thanks a lot
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post #4 of 10
11/18/08 at 5:45am
Showcase your talents by having an open house. Invite wedding planners, caterers, members of the press, and some of your favorite clients.
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post #5 of 10
11/18/08 at 9:26am
Best advertising is word of mouth... I have always advertised in yellow pages or on web . Divide the amount of people you can reach by cost of add to determine if it pays. Newspapers dont, unless you give a discount coupon or something like that.:rolleyes:


IN THIS ECONOMY PEOPLE WANT DISCOUNTS.
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post #6 of 10
11/18/08 at 10:01am
DC's advise is right on, just remember if you are making sushi there will have to be people working the crowd to sell your services, close deals.....best to have others fun the station and you sell......+ others. now is the time to get all hands on deck.

do you accept credit cards? if not it may be worth the effort
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post #7 of 10
11/18/08 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks

Thanks Guys for such an great thoughts .i don't have an CC card payment process i work check ,or cash or money order.i know as the economy it's not in the good shape this time ,but always am flexible i try to make happy my costumers i am very good working on their budget and i never lost any of them. In the beginning crags list was very good for me but not any more ,it's like you said guys i have to find the really target people that's all about it.Thanks a lot
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post #8 of 10
11/24/08 at 8:12am
I think since you're a "specialty " caterer (focusing on one specific style of food) you need to find your target audience.

eg. if you want to do house or home parties why don't you find a couple high end realitors and strike up a deal that you will charge the 10% over cost to do a housewarming party for 20 ppl every time someone purchases a house from them. That way it's a great promotional tool for the realitor (seperates them from the rest) and it advertises to 20 potential clients at each event.

Private golf clubs are also a great client since they have a lot of cocktail parties and sub contract things like sushi.

also grocery stores would be a great contract.

I find that catering is a lot less "print" advertising and a lot more getting your product out there and being the clients first choice in your specific area of expertise
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post #9 of 10
11/24/08 at 1:36pm
Is there a reason you don't take credit cards? It's not difficult. Go to your bank and they'll put you in touch with a vendor who sells credit card scanners. The vendor will set this up so that deposits may go directly into your business bank account. The same scanner can be used to accept debit cards.

Keep the original on file so that you have a record of authorized signatures just in case you ever have a dispute. Staple the customer copy to a customer receipt.

Credit cards and debit cards are extremely convenient to use in this day and age.

You should check to make sure that the name on the credit card matches the person who's using it.

I once got burned by a conman. Someone called to arrange a reservation. He claimed to be the CEO of some publishing company in Canada and indicated that his sales people were going to host a dinner for some clients in my area. He wanted to pay for the dinner. I took the reservation, got his name, business address, phone number etc.

Come to find out a month later that the card had been stolen. The owner disputed the bill and his attorney demanded that I refund the money or face legal action for being an accessory to theft. :eek:

Still ... on the whole ... credit cards and debit cards are incredibly useful.
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post #10 of 10
12/7/08 at 8:45pm
I have to agree with the others that the best promotion is to show your food. One that helps me at a low promotion cost is to provide a superb free lunch to my local radio stations which they can not help not to promote. Yellow Pages and Credit Cards are a must.
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