Your catering business started out as a dream. You worked hard to make your dream a reality. Today, keeping your dream alive is harder than ever before. Getting and keeping quality customers must be your top priority. The most important thing that you can do for your business is to advertise and promote it, even during a recession. The caterer who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time. It won’t work.

Advertising will take a big chunk out of your project margin, unless you can find a way to be creative and get your name out there for free.One idea as to how to do this is to team up with other small business owners. Go to companies that are not your competitors and ask them if you can put your fliers in their windows and business cards on their counters if you promise to do the same for them in return. You will be surprised at how many cross over clients that will come your way.

Another example of free advertisement is handing out coupons or samples depending on your business. People love to feel like they are getting a bargain, so a well thought out coupon strategy can bring in new customers. Just be careful you don’t fall into the trap of competing on price alone. It’s a fast way to go broke.

If you are more of an internet savvy person then the countless ways to advertise for free online will keep you happy. You can tap into social media sites and let billion dollar companies like Google, FaceBook and LinkedIn spread your good name to potential catering customers at zero cost to you. Just being on these social media sites is not enough. You need to have a strategic presence on the web. Learn as much as you can about these free sites and put your social media marketing plan in action.