Category: Catering Sales

  • 5 Things to Consider when Growing Your Off-Premise Catering Sales

    For any restaurant operator looking to layer a catering program on top of their existing business, they must first make room for organizational growth by understanding how an increase in catering sales will impact the big picture of the company. The decision to be in the catering business must be deliberate and controlled. This demands the implementation of a sound business strategy for mixing catering into the current and future manufacturing, delivery, sales, accounting, IT and marketing components of their existing restaurant operations.

    The way I see it, there are five pillars required to grow and leverage any successful restaurant catering operation, whether you have one location or thousands of locations across the nation, or even the world.

    1. Leadership
    2. Centralized Services
    3. Sales and Marketing
    4. Operations
    5. Delivery.

    As the first key requirement, catering business leadership is crucial to scaling and sustaining a healthy catering revenue channel. Once the business leader understands the logic behind catering as its own business, they then need to sell the vision internally and externally within the four walls of their brand. It’s a top-down thing. As in any business, there needs to be a key person driving the passion and vision of the services being offered to the consumer. Ultimately, this catering leader must receive support from the overall company management team, and all stakeholders need to be engaged and aligned with catering as part of the overall strategic plan for the company. Catering is a serious business!

    The second element required is a cultural shift in the company’s DNA to service the off-premise catering channel properly. Because of the complexity that this new revenue channel will bring to your organization, centralized services such as sales, marketing, order entry, accounting and IT need to be in place.

    By having central points of contact and control on these elements, a restaurant operator will reduce the transactional pressure at the restaurant level. Centralizing these tasks will relieve the transaction pressure faced by your individual restaurants so that they can focus on better order execution from prep, cooking, assembly and distribution. Think of these centralized services as the bridge between your catering business, your restaurants and your customers.

    When you add catering to the mix of sales, you can imagine that your off-premise business is like an airport. Baggage handling, different gates, passengers, takeoffs, landings all happening at the same time. Imagine what that would look like without air traffic control. Your centralized services for all things off premise will up your game!

    Once you have committed to leadership and centralized services, you can now consider scaling your sales plan and your marketing plan. Allow me to point out here that these are two different plans, although they complement each other and work closely in sync. Sales people execute sales plans. Hard numbers. Knocking on doors. Telephone calls. Onsite meetings. Presentations.

    Marketing plans position products and services. Your sales team will use your marketing assets to sell. Think about product variations, packaging and how you use your four walls to market this new business. Once you have the four walls considered, move on to the outside walls. Then think of the marketing plan for the next four blocks, and four miles. The plan needs to focus on the buyer segments for the off-premise service channel and occasion based feeding opportunities.

    With your leadership team, centralized services and sales and marketing plans in place, let’s discuss how to fit the catering manufacturing and distribution into the overall operations of your restaurant.

    Active training of all your restaurant and catering employees plays a large role in your catering and off-premise business success. People are still the most important asset you have when looking to grow this revenue channel.

    The language you use in your company to differentiate services both inside and out will become very important as you scale these services. Your menus need to be considered, costs looked at, manufacturing lines studied and the entire sale to cash cycle is completely different than your in-restaurant business that you currently excel at. Expect the off-premise strategy to change the unit economics of your restaurant in a good way. So, get ready.

    I always suggest that delivery/distribution is the last key element, and many of the decisions made here will depend on your menu. Delivery adds a dynamic into the daily transaction cycle that increases stress, complexity and speed of service. Delivery of your product to catering customers will make or break your catering program. Invest in safe and reliable vehicles. Invest in showcasing your brand on those vehicles and purchase catering-specific equipment where you need to.

    Furthermore, for professional deliveries you have to consider packaging, hold times, signage, extra supplies and of course, driver recruiting. You only have two points of contact with the off-premise catering transaction: one at the point of order entry and one at the point of delivery. Don’t cut corners on either!

  • When I’m on the Road, I’m moving forward

    Hey there:

    Just came off a whirlwind road trip!  Like a boxer training for his next fight, road work is important for a growing business venture.

    I’d like to tell you it’s easy, but that would not be the truth. Its tough.  Mentally and Physically.  It’s tough on your family.

    For those of you that travel for work and have families, I am sure you will agree.  Especially if your business has a quick pace to it.  Well, as it grows, it gets faster. At least, that’s how it’s going for MonkeyMedia Software.

    Our team is  fighting hard every single day for the efficiency and scale of our customers’ catering operations, and its going great!  Thing is, we’ve got to keep it going.  So, more road work is needed.  More site visits, more on site training and workshops, more hands on the street kind of effort and of course, more software deployments.

    I dream that one day, the off-premise market will represent 50% of restaurant revenues.  That’s $315 Billion in annual sales, based on today’s revenues.  In reality, it will be more as consumers change their buying habits.  Ok.  I’m lumping in all delivery for takeout, catering, mail-order and licensing revenues into this number.  The countless ways that brands can extend their services outside the four walls of the restaurant.  Anyways, regardless, it’s a big number.

    Ok.  I did say it was a dream!

    So why do it?  It’s got to be worth it, in the end  so the whole effort and investment makes sense, but in the meantime, until “that day” comes, it has to be more meaningful in the moments.  Otherwise, it just too hard.  You have to believe you are doing the right thing to continue, or you need to change strategies, no?

    Well, I’ve got the “believe” thing and the “strategy” thing pretty much in check.  So, I just continue.  That’s a good thing right?

    So, I say, It’s got to be the journey.  The day-to-day.

    So, I was thinking to myself, “I know what it is that I don’t like about being on the road, so what are the parts that I do like about it?” seeing that it’s a big part of my job.  And I do love my job!  So, I had better focus on the great things because there are so many!

    So here are my top “likes” , if I were to capture the moments in between over the last few weeks.

    1.  Validation – Feeling of Accomplishment fills my heart

    Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than the happy faces of  the catering teams of our  customers!

    2.  Learning – Fast Casual Executive Summit fills my brain with great information

    My Facilitation of the CEO Discussion panel along with Tom Feltenstein. Great conversation and insight from Frank Paci, Don Fox, David Rutkauskas, Phil Friedman and Dean Loring.  I am so lucky to learn from these great leaders.

    3.  Friendship – Making new connections with like-minded leaders

    Great to meet you Wally Doolin! Love your passion and admire your leadership.

    4.  Community and Fun – Laughter creates community, trust and sharing

    Here we are shooting our “annual tradition” video. Soon to be up on Youtube! Great people, great fun.

    5.  Teambuilding – Building Culture and a Team

    I am very lucky to be able to serve the 32 team members at MonkeyMedia Software. They make sure things are ok at home as we do our road work.

    When it comes to our business, when we are on the road, we are moving forward.  

    Enjoy your day.  Thanks for stopping by.  Travel Safe.

    Erle

  • The Catering Kid – How to Succeed in Catering

    Are we ever having fun with Video these days at MonkeyMedia Software.  The Catering Kid is Back!  You can now follow him here on Twitter! Like him, catering is young.  He’s got some great advice on what you need to think about to be successful at feeding your customers where they Live, Work & Play!

    Let me know if you enjoy the video.  Watch for the Catering Kid’s weekly episodes!

     

  • Why Pizzerias are positioned to win BIG at catering

    I’ve been working with Rosati’s pizza these days! learning alot! About the pizza biz!

    In my opinion, the pizza segment of the restaurant industry has always been well poised to win BIG at catering and the off-premise sales growth opportunity.

    Because “pizza delivery” is so ingrained into the operating DNA of pizzeria operators they already understand the subtleties of successful product distribution when their products are going to be consumed outside the four walls of their restaurants.

    For decades, these restaurant operators have achieved sales success in the off-premise space in regard to the delivery component of their businesses, and consumers already understand that the pizza segment in general are experts at delivery services.

    So trust between consumer and their favorite pizzeria is already high. They know the food will arrive on time, every time!

    Now that we have established that distribution is a key element towards success in building an off-premise service experience allow me to bring your attention to the opportunity at hand.

    I believe that based on current consumer demand, the pizza segment is in a perfect position to help the restaurant industry define what the difference is between “catering services” and “takeout services”. Both of these experiences can be available for “pickup” or “delivery”.

    One customer, selecting from two off premise service channels using very different buying decisions.

    Your customers will buy for different reasons, depending on the need they are trying to fill.

    Of course there are the surface items of differentiation that we can all see. Such as reformulating packaging and menu items. Sure there is the opportunity to focus on a subset of products for a catering program. Lasagna by the pan. Caesar salad by the bowl. Desserts by the tray. Cheese by the platter. And on and on we go.

    Although product changes are a critical part of defining a proper differentiation of services, the real work that has to get done is the re-engineering of the pizzeria operators business processes including catering sales, catering order entry, catering manufacturing, catering distribution and catering technology systems. The entire conversation with the consumer is completely different when it comes to catering. It’s just different. But not in a small way. In a BIG way!

    Today, pizzerias have all the raw materials that they need to reformulate their product offerings. In addition, pizzerias have the “distribution trust” from the consumer. They know you will be on time, every time if your distribution engine is working well.

    The challenge with catering lies in building an operational culture centered on growing occasion based sales.

    Educating your customers on the different service channels and letting them know that you have alternative services to help feed them where they Live, Work and Play, will be the real work that pizzeria operators will have to face. It will require a deep commitment to internal training and a clear vision of differentiation and leadership.

    Once the paradigm shift is made in the minds of pizzeria operators, catering will present the largest growth opportunity that the pizza segment may have seen in the last 30 years!

    I’ve always maintained that through the establishment of a successful catering and off-premise business, restaurant operators have the chance to increase revenue by up to 20 percent. I believe there is even more potential for pizzeria operators, given their position in the marketplace. A focus on business-to-business relationships will boost their lunch business, and that will make better use of idle assets.

    Now, I have to remember that I am writing this post for pizzeria experts. And so, I pose a question? When is pizza a “takeout” delivery and when is pizza a “catering” delivery? No doubt, there are gazillion ideas on this, but I believe that it’s all about the buying decision of the consumer. That’s where the differentiation is.

    As pizzeria operators, you will need to take a stand and tailor your products and language around the consumer demand. For that, you will be rewarded BIG!

    But remember, catering requires its own set of conversational ordering, invoicing, accounts receivable and marketing initiatives that create the subtle nuances of running any business. Catering is a different business! If you give your customers another reason to buy, and tell the story of catering properly focused on a different demand, your customers will spend more money with you. Don’t forget to train your people in the language of catering. In the end, they are on the front line and have to keep your customers happy! Invest in your catering program today and experience the power of this growth opportunity!

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  • Get Catering and Grow Sales! – ’tis the season

    I love this time of year in Vancouver. The season’s change. I love it the way the sun warms us up for the day before setting the stage for tomorrow’s morning dew.

    Of course, soon it will rain. And while that’s not something to look forward to, we have to be grateful for the lush greens of British Columbia.

    This time of year also brings us into the Q4 celebrations. Gatherings. Occasion based feeding. So, you can imagine why I love this time of year!

    A customer of ours this week told me that if not for their catering performance across hundreds of restaurants, they’d be out of business. Catering IS changing their economics. Huge growth! The strategy is working beautifully.

    Their customers are coming back for more.

    We have another customer with more than 800 stores who also called this week. Their little catering side business is growing so fast, I’ve got to get on a plane ASAP and chat with them more on what the strategy should look like.

    Here is a photo of our donation to No Kid Hungry from the sales of my book, Get Catering and Grow Sales.

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    Since this photo in May, we have raised another $5000.

    I’d like to see our donations reach $100,000, but I can’t do it alone.

    Imagine that my book can be worthy enough to not only help with community strategy, but at the same time contribute towards ending childhood hunger while growing my own company, MonkeyMedia Software.

    For all restaurateurs, if you are serious about capturing your share of off premise demand, order some copies for your team! It’s a win/win all the way around.

    For all you suppliers out there, help your customers make more money! Buy them some copies to help give them visibility into a perspective that not only is good for them, but will also be good for you.

    Thanks for your support. Copies are available on Kindle, iTunes and is available in English and Spanish.

    Just drop me a line or order some up!

  • Sitting in a Quiet Catering Space – An Invitation to Chat

    Well, it’s Friday today.  It’s been another busy week and I feel like I am just coming up for air.  So, this got me thinking.  If it’s too noisy, I just can’t hear anything at all.  I can’t focus.  So, I took some quiet time for myself to think about my own business at MonkeyMedia Software.  So, as I did that, it gave me an idea.  Here it is.

    I invite you to sit with me quietly in your brand’s ‘catering space. It begins in our imaginations.  No office noise, no interruptions.

    Imagine what the catering channel can do for your business, both in the immediate sense and in the long term. Focus on how we get your brand to achieve up to $1,000 per day in incremental catering sales, for each one of your stores that does catering, in locations where catering makes sense. So, if you have 100 restaurants, I’d like to chat with you about an opportunity that is worth $100,000 per day, Monday to Friday.  Don’t ask me, just ask Willy and Brenda!

    Don’t get stuck on the ‘why nots’ at this point and time. There is time later to address that.

    In this quiet space, I want to discuss the subtleties and potential pitfalls of what you might expect to come across as you scale these ideas throughout your existing infrastructure.

    Once you feel that you can imagine the big-picture opportunity for your brand, ignoring the details of how for the moment, we can discuss the subtleties and considerations, and make the strategic decision of whether or not your brand should service the catering revenue channel.

    Once you begin to get comfortable with the potential of the concept, you will be in a position to make the right decision for your brand as well as understand the commitment required for you to succeed in this market.

    Ok… back to all the noise now… phones ringing, problems with orders, customers complaining, marketing campaigns.

    If you’d like to take some time with me to discuss your brand’s catering strategy, just reach out and call.  But, let’s make some quiet space to really focus in on the opportunity.

    My cell is 604-831-7422.  Call anytime!  Enjoy your weekend!

  • Order Entry is the frontline when it comes to Catering! – Meet Jason Schlenker

    Meet Jason Schlenker.  An expert at Call Centre Operations.  I just had a great opportunity to spend some time with Jason and his team in Miami, and everything I saw reaffirmed what I previously wrote in my book, Get Catering and Grow Sales!.

    Jason’s call center company (Inktel) will be the first “Get Catering and Grow Sales!” Certified Call Centre in the world!  

    Our Professional Services Team at MonkeyMedia Software, will be providing Jason’s team with our restaurant catering bootcamps this fall on how to be great restaurant caterers and we will be certifying his people in the art of catering! I am sure we are going to see his call agents get better at their jobs, which will result in higher sales for his restaurant customers!

     

    Jason is a talented man.  You can watch Jason win the 2009 Employee of the Year at Inktel.  Super nice Guy.

    In my book, I stated that:

    “The order entry process is grossly misunderstood in our community. The order entry experience is one of the single most important parts of the catering order-to-cash cycle.

    This is the first point of contact for your catering transactions and this is where the customer experiences the service level your brand.  You MUST greet them with a SMILE!  This is also the place where the client is reaching out to your brand for help with this stress-driven catering transaction in order to fulfill their needs for off premise services.

    Working with multi-unit operators, I often find this is a major point of confusion and internal debate. Many operators have set themselves up to take orders at the store level only.  Whenever I see this, I try and argue for a new perspective.

    While taking orders at the store can be one strategy, you must consider the impact on your system’s operations by taking this path. It can be done right, however, you will have to understand the impact of teaching hundreds of team members in your organization to take orders, assuming you have many stores.

    My perspective on this is that I believe that the distributed order entry process at the store level makes it more difficult for your unit operators to properly execute and maintain a proper and predictable catering experience both internally for your team members as well as externally for your customers.

    For example, if  you have 100 stores and you allow for catering orders to be placed at the store level, you may find training more than 100 order takers not only a challenging task, but wrought with risk for your brand.  Furthermore, you will require more than one order taker per store, and as such, the results can be disastrous. To be successful in conversational ordering, it might be a better strategy to create a role for internal (or outsourced) order entry specialists depending on the size and scope of your organization.

    There is a strong argument to be made that training specialists to be responsible for catering orders and for maintaining and building customer relationships over the phone will yield in higher sales, more accuracy and a better service experience for your brand.

    Many operators I speak to get confused on this issue.  The key issue here is that in our minds, we  must separate out the ‘selling process of catering’ from the ‘service process of catering.’  ‘Selling’ your catering services needs to be done at the neighborhood level so that you can reach out and touch your customers.  ‘Serving’ your customers’ needs to be approached with what is most efficient and profitable which is in the best interest of the overall catering experience.

    When I refer to a centralized point of contact for order entry, I believe it can be implemented in various forms, depending on the structure of your organization. There is a discussion to be had around centralized vs. decentralized strategies for order entry.

    You will need to make policy and procedure decisions regarding order entry specific to your own brand circumstances. A lot of these catering concepts will depend on your current system structure such as ‘corporate’ vs. ‘franchised’ structures and the willingness of brand owners to take control of the service experience.”

    Call Jason if you have any questions!  He’ll explain the ROI.  You can call Jason directly at (305) 523-1129, but make sure you tell him how proud you are that his company is making such an incredible commitment to our wonderful and fantastic restaurant industry, by recognizing the level of professionalism that his people need to reach to be true experts in the off premise catering business for our restaurant community!

    We are very proud at MonkeyMedia Software to have these wonderful partners who can help our customers, feed their customers where they LIVE, WORK & PLAY!

  • Crank catering in the last 4 months of 2012

     

    Watch our “Catering Kid” Video

    I am celebrating today!  We have printed and distributed more than 5000 copies of my book.  We’ve raised more than $10,000 for Share Our Strength in the Process.  Something to be proud of!

    I thought I’d include a short excerpt for you as we all focus on ramping up our operations for the last 4 months of 2012.  There are great catering months ahead!

    Here is an excerpt from my book (page 22), Get Catering and Grow Sales! – A Strategic Perspective For The Mulit-Unit Restaurant Executive

    “As you read on, consider the evolution of our industry over the last century. In the beginning, there were independent operators. This was followed by expansion of some independents into multi-­‐unit operators. Then came the expansion of the corporate build-­‐out model. Once the business logic proved out and systems and technology caught up, our industry moved on to expansion through franchising. As this model gained traction, the technology improved and operators became more sophisticated.

    Consider the revenue channel of drive-­‐thru for the QSR segment over the last several decades. In order to shift that consumer behavior, it required innovation and awareness, retooling as operators for guaranteed service execution, and new innovation and investment in technology. Just ask guys like Tom Feltenstein and Ed Rensi. They were there. They invented it. There was no drive-­‐thru channel before that. All these years later, drive-­‐thru revenue represents a lion’s share of our community’s revenues. Nobody could have predicted that. The same thing happened with breakfast under their management. But, through their great thought leadership it became a standard for many brands. And so, our industry grew.

    I want to bring to your attention that in Get Catering and Grow Sales! I propose that catering is the next natural top-­‐line growth channel for our multi-­‐unit restaurant industry.”

    If you’d like to order some copies of my book for your organization, or if you are a supplier to the restaurant industry and would like to provide a great gift to your customers, order copies today.  All the net proceeds go to Share Our Strength.

    Order Copies Here

     

  • Catering is your 13th month!

    For me, the labor day weekend really signifies the end of summer. Another seasonal transition in the fiscal cycle.

    I was chatting with one of our customers this week who told me that by October they will have met their 12 month sales budgets for the overall company.

    This brought a smile to my face. Why? Because it means that catering has helped them meet their goals. Without those sales, they would not have the opportunity to simply enjoy the rewards of November and December.

    Catering is the new drive thru! Catering is your 13th month!

    Our new website is up too! Check it out at www.monkeymediasoftware.com

  • Catering Council for Multi-Unit Restaurant Operators – Are you in?

    Ok.  It’s time.  I am back from vacation, and it’s time to put the boots to a BIG idea that I have been brewing for awhile.  As you all know by now, I like to start new things.  To create new ideas.  But it’s all in good faith.  It’s all towards making things better.  Small improvements.  It’s the little things we do every day that make a difference in the long run.  I’m just trying to find ways to make it fun, educational and effective.  Building community is something I enjoy alot.

    While on vacation, I had time to reflect on all the little things that I have initiated over the years at MonkeyMedia Software.  There are thousands of little things.  And not just me;  it’s the little things that my great team does every day that continues to make things better.  Every day, little by little.  So, for me, I was thinking of what I can do next, something small, manageable.  Something that other people can really dig their teeth into.  But only if they really thought it added value.  It’s all about the people!  It’s time for a catering focused industry gathering.  Don’t just listen to me, watch this video!  If the Catering Kid says so, it must be true!

    Watch the Catering Kid Video Here

    I conceived the idea of the CCMURO (Catering Council For Multi-Unit Restaurant Operators) when I was writing my book, Get Catering and Grow Sales! about a year ago.  I think you’ll find it on page “xxxv” just after the preface.  The idea was to create an industry alliance on the subject of professionally executing the off premise catering channel, focused on the specific challenges of doing it in a multi-unit restaurant operation.

    Imagine if we set standards and put in measurements to see how we are performing against these standards?  Imagine what we could tell our customers?  Imagine the marketing opportunities?  The advertising opportunities?  The product opportunities?  Imagine the improvement in execution?  Imagine the very idea that as restaurateurs, we are claiming victory over the off premise catering business by taking ourselves so seriously?  That in fact, we are no longer going to idly sit and watch our customers buy these catering services from our grocery segment competitors?  Or caterers?  Or even, “non-certified” restaurateurs who just think they can make a delivery out the back door and call it catering.  It’s not just about putting a poster up in the window.

    It’s time.  I’ll make a statement.  I believe that our industry is ready for it’s first ever “Catering Conference for Multi-Unit Restaurant Operators”.  So much so, that if anyone reading this post wants to jump in and help solidify the CCMURO and make it happen, I will do my part to get MonkeyMedia Software to be a Platinum Sponsor for the first conference gathering.

    Anyone with me?