ADVERTISING

To advertise or not to advertise – in the local press or in appropriate national publications – that is the question.

In my experience as a restaurateur of a small, independent upmarket country restaurant, it simply doesn’t pay to advertise. Nor as a caterer specialising in buffets and canapés. It is far more effective to use other ways to get your message across: via Yellow Pages, mail shots, a newsletter, handouts, website and the internet. Word of mouth is one of your most effective marketing tools. It has been estimated one satisfied customer will tell between five and ten people about you.

If you do decide to advertise, look carefully at your many local newspapers and magazines to see which of them target your audience. You can obtain a media profile from your local publications which will give you a lot of research information, although you should make sure it is up to date. Look at the website www.jicreg.co.uk (Joint Industry Committee for Regional Press Research), to gauge the readership statistics of the majority of UK newspapers.

Ask pertinent questions when contacting the advertising department:

• What is the circulation?
• What is the readership? Age groups, for example, and standard socio-economic categories:
  A = higher managerial, administrative or professional
  B = intermediate managerial, administrative or professional
  C1 = junior managerial, administrative or professional
  C2 = skilled manual workers
  D = semi and unskilled manual workers
  E = those at the lowest level of subsistence.
• What are the readers’ shopping patterns? (Taking holidays abroad, buying new cars etc.)
• Is the newspaper bought or free?
• If it’s a daily paper, what’s the best day to place your ad? It might well be best placed on the entertainment page, for example, which comes out on Thursdays.
• What’s the best section to place your ad? Always stipulate where you would like your ad (if it appears in an inappropriate page, ask for it to be reprinted at no charge).

Other ways of advertising – paid and free

• Yellow Pages;
• posters;
• local tourism publications;
• local parish magazines;
• direct mail;
• newsletters (promotions, seasonal information, menus, new chef);
• internet;
• brochures and programmes allied to sporting events such as Glorious Goodwood in Sussex. Some people look for private catering rather than having to cook for themselves or while on holiday in rented accommodation;
• brochures and programmes for festivals, theatres, art galleries, art house cinemas and the like carry adverts and might suit your target audience.

Advertising wording

Your advertisement is selling your business so it must:

• grab the reader’s attention (a picture, a heading);
• stimulate interest (menu suggestions for a specific event such as an anniversary);
• plant the idea firmly in the head of the reader that what you are offering may be just what they are looking for (value for money or quality of food, the latter locally and well sourced, for example);
• be concise and give out the appropriate information (who you are, where you are, what you are offering, how you can be contacted).

At the same time, it’s important to avoid some things:

• don’t be pushy, arrogant or personal (‘don’t look any further…’);
• don’t brag (‘we are by far the best caterers in the area’);
• don’t use flowery language (‘a tian of Mediterranean vegetables perfumed by rose petals’);
• don’t contravene the Trades Descriptions Act by offering something you can’t deliver (‘we offer organic fresh salmon sourced from the Pacific Ocean’).

Other advertising tips

• If you have taken over someone else’s business there may be an existing advertising contract. Do re-evaluate this.
• When people contact you, ask them how they heard about your catering company and compile this information. It will to help you gauge the effectiveness of advertising, and word-of-mouth booking.
• Don’t respond automatically to a cold call from a sales person offering advertising. They will always try to persuade you with a must-have special offer or deal. Either ignore the call as politely as possible or ask them to send you details and then check the publication to see if the expense is worthwhile.
• Do stick to your budget.