Catering Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your catering business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

Catering companies generally serve two general categories of customers:

1. Business to Business Catering: such catering serves business customers such as event planners, office managers, administrators, sales professionals, etc. This type of customer usually places orders for regular events such as training events, meetings, business events, staff meetings, presentations, company events, etc.
2. Consumer Catering: such catering services are provided to consumers for special occasions such as birthday parties, funerals, weddings, etc.

The following are examples of customer segments for consumer catering: college students, sports enthusiasts, soccer moms, techies, teens, baby boomers, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of catering business you operate. Clearly baby boomers would want a different atmosphere, pricing and product options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than teens.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most catering businesses primarily serve customers living around the same city or town where they are located, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.