In our article series for caterers, we want to share our industry expertise with you and help you secure more bookings. Catering platforms are a great way to gain visibility in front of a larger audience. Discover this and many other benefits in this article. A quick look: what are the advantages of signing up for a platform like heycater!?

What is a catering platform?

A catering platform is a portal where many different caterers can be found and customers can book catering services directly. In contrast, catering directories list service providers but only provide contact details without enabling direct bookings. On a platform, interested parties can find more information about service providers, view menus and packages, customize catering orders, and book them directly.

There are also hybrid models that combine directories and platforms. At heycater!, for example, users can find directly bookable caterers as well as service providers in the directory who are not yet heycater! partners and cannot be booked directly. All caterers have the option to sign up with us to manage their profile, upload menus, packages, and dishes, and take full advantage of a catering platform.

What are the benefits of signing up?

If you are wondering whether the extra effort of signing up (entering information, providing text and images, uploading menus) is worth it, this article will hopefully help you decide. As we mentioned at the beginning, a key advantage of large catering platforms is the significantly larger number of users who see your services and offers. Here is an overview of all the benefits for you:

Increased visibility - be seen by more potential customers

In many industries, professionally managed directories and portals have a visibility advantage over individual companies. An online marketing budget and an experienced team have a decisive impact on visitor numbers. Better search engine rankings, visibility through ads and social media channels - if you don't have the time or resources to handle this yourself, you can benefit from being registered on a portal that is highly visible.

If you operate in Berlin, for example, the competition is fierce, and it is difficult to rank on Google for terms like "Catering Berlin" or "Foodtruck Berlin." If you are well-listed on a platform that ranks for these terms, you benefit from that visibility.

More new and existing customers - increase your number of bookings and clients

Beyond online marketing, sales is also a crucial factor in generating inquiries and orders. Here, too, professional catering platforms are usually better positioned, with an experienced sales team working behind the scenes to ensure that registered caterers receive more bookings and increase their customer base. You don't need to worry about sales and can focus on your strengths: preparing, delivering, and serving food and drinks.

Higher revenue and better predictability through increased order volume

Catering platforms also have more opportunities to not only acquire new customers but also to foster customer loyalty. A trusting relationship between sales and customers, combined with marketing efforts like newsletters, helps increase the number of repeat bookings and overall order volume. You impress your customers with excellent food and service, while professional customer support ensures that this experience stays top-of-mind, encouraging customers to order from you again. For you, this means better predictability through recurring bookings and higher revenuez.

Less administrative effort

If you want to focus entirely on your core business and administration isn't one of your favorite tasks, or if you simply lack the resources for it, a platform can take a lot of work off your hands – from the initial customer contact to all communication during the planning and booking of the catering (special requests, changes, questions), and even invoicing is taken care of for you. You get paid regularly by the catering platform and don't have to worry about much other than delivering excellent catering.

Clear digital management of inquiries

You don't have to search through emails or notes from phone calls for all your inquiries and bookings; instead, you see them centrally in one place, in your account. This allows you to keep track of everything and accept or process inquiries with just a few clicks. You can also manage your quotes and any changes easily and clearly. By the way: how intuitive the account is to use and what the management interface looks like depends on the specific platform, so we can only provide general advice that may differ in detail. We receive very positive feedback from our catering partners about how easy it is to use the caterer account at heycater!. Feel free to try it out yourself!

Platform-specific additional services

Depending on which catering platform you sign up with, the additional services may vary. One example of this is a large network of partners from various sectors, ranging from caterers to venues and equipment rental companies. This gives potential customers the opportunity to book complete packages for events.

At heycater!, we have such a network and, in addition, experienced event expertswho help with event planning. We have already planned many different events for companies, making us relevant to a larger target group: not just potential customers looking exclusively for catering, but also those who want to plan a business event and desire full-service support.

Another benefit you enjoy with heycater! is a free photo shoot. Heycater! partners get the opportunity to showcase their offerings with professional photos. You can use these images not only in your heycater! account but also on your own website or for your own marketing activities.

In response to the pandemic, we have also expanded our offering and, in addition to the platform for all types of business catering, we now offer a Marketplace for home office packages and virtual experiences, offering companies a full range of options for their events. So, if you have additional offerings like home office catering in your portfolio, you can list those with us as well.

Heycater! is here for you

Would you like to benefit from a professional catering platform? Heycater! is happy to support you—with our experience, our expertise, and our visibility in the industry! Sign up directly here or speak with our experts, who are happy to answer all your questions. We look forward to working with you and seeing your catering offers!