FEATURES
C ate r i ng Va lu ei n
ISN'T JUST ABOUT PRICE
By Michael Roman
The National Culinary Review | January 2011
CATERSOURCE believes that
value to many people shopping for
catering is not always about money.
Value is found in the eyes, minds and
nervous systems of your shoppers.
You can discover their value goals by
listening to what they say and through
intelligent questioning. Value to one
buyer may be entirely different from
value to another.
THE “IF WE GET THIS, WE WILL
BUY” LIST
Many buyers are wary and suspicious of
anything “free,” because they realize that
nothing is really free. They believe that if
the caterer gives them something free in
one area, they will make it up in another
area. Most buyers of catering enjoy
surprise discounts filled with value instead
of getting something free. All buyers, no
matter what they’re buying, hope to get
some sort of discount; getting a better
price is just human nature. Even chefs
want to get a discount when they’re buying
kitchen supplies.
My suggestion is to offer value that is
important to the shopper instead of
forcing him or her to take what you think
is valuable. Consider creating a list of
