As an upstart business it can be hard these days to really stand out. There are so many brands and businesses starting each and every day, so how do you get yours out there to the people that matter? As a business that began as a local upstart some 20 years ago Hog Roast Belsay has managed to grow to be a nationwide caterer with many franchises in every corner of the country. Away from the digital platforms our early growth had to be done the old-fashioned way: by getting the product out in front of customers and having them be your best promoter.
Word of mouth is a huge factor for growth, especially in catering. You can encourage your customers to share your name if they are pleased with your product or service, or ask for feedback to then be used as testimonials so that anyone looking at your site can see how others have valued your business. Word of mouth can also grow from attending industry fairs that house your business at a booth to show off your product. One of the ways we get ahead of the crowd in this industry is by attending wedding fairs with our partner venues, since here we can directly interact with guests already looking for wedding catering and show off our goods too.
If you have been on our social channels or have read some of these blogs you may have seen that Hog Roast Belsay has been present at a lot of these wedding fairs of late. We get to share our services with customers directly at these events, including free tasters of our wedding foods and hog roasts to help sell the magic that we can provide to their day, and chat all about their plans for their wedding. Quite often we come away from these events with multiple bookings for future wedding dates, and sometimes even other events too since once a customer has a caterer that they know and like it is easy enough to just keep going back to them for other occasions.
The value of having your brand and product directly in front of customers to see and try is invaluable in diffusing yourself from all the noise across your industry, so be on the lookout for similar fairs that your brand might fit to, or even other options that gives your business the opportunity to directly get out in front of customers.