How to Get More Catering Clients: 7 Channels That Work

More catering bookings come from seven channels: a website enquiry form, Instagram, Google Business Profile, partners (venues, agencies, wedding planners), repeat clients and referrals, reviews, and fast replies. None of them needs a big budget, but each one needs a routine.

One caveat first: before you increase the flow of enquiries, make sure you aren't losing the ones you already get. If enquiries are answered a day later, new channels just mean more lost clients.

Which channels work fastest?

Channels differ in how fast they bring enquiries and how good those enquiries are. A practical guide:

If time is short, start at the top: those rows cost almost nothing and work on the flow you already have.

1. A short enquiry form on your website

Your website form should ask 5–6 questions, not 20. A client who is just testing the waters won't fill in a long questionnaire.

A minimal form:

• event date;
• number of guests;
• type of event (wedding, corporate, private party);
• town or venue;
• name and phone or email;
• comments (optional).

Show a price guide next to the form: "mobile bar from €30 per guest excl. VAT" or "packages from €29 to €50 per guest". Few caterers in Latvia publish prices openly, and a range filters out the wrong clients and speeds up the decision for the right ones.

2. Instagram as a portfolio, not a promo board

For caterers, Instagram works as a portfolio: clients go there to see what your bar or buffet looks like at a real event. They want photos from your events, not stock images.

What to post:

• photos and short videos from every event: bar setup, presentation, guests (with consent);
• story highlights: "Weddings", "Corporate", "Menu", "Prices", "Reviews";
• collaborations with venues and photographers — tag them and they repost;
• in your bio: a link to the enquiry form and your service area.

DMs are enquiries. Answer them as fast as you answer the phone.

3. Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile is a free channel that catches searches like "catering Riga" or "mobile bar for wedding". Many caterers only half-fill it.

Profile checklist:

• the right category (Caterer / Bar);
• service area: Riga, Jūrmala, all of Latvia;
• 20+ photos from real events;
• services with short descriptions: "Mobile bar", "Coffee break", "Wedding catering";
• replies to every review, including negative ones;
• a link to the website with the form.

4. Partners: venues, agencies, wedding planners

Partnerships bring the best enquiries because the client arrives with a recommendation. For mobile bars and caterers these are usually country manors and banquet halls, event agencies, wedding planners, photographers and DJs.

How to build a partnership:

1. List 20 venues and planners in your area.
2. Offer something concrete: a tasting for their team, a presentation of your packages, a commission per confirmed booking.
3. Give the partner a simple way to send a lead — a link or a form.
4. Tell the partner what happened to their lead: "your client confirmed the date".

The last point decides everything. A partner who never sees a result stops sending clients within 2–3 months.

5. Repeat clients and referrals

A repeat client costs far less to win than a new one: you already know their taste, venue and budget. Companies hold staff parties every year, and wedding guests later get married themselves.

What to do routinely:

• a call or message 1–3 days after the event;
• a reminder after 10–11 months: "Last year we did your summer party — are you planning one again?";
• a small referral thank-you: a free coffee station or champagne tower on the next booking;
• cards or a QR code on the bar — guests often ask who did the bar.

The full after-event routine is in what to do after a catering event.

6. Reviews people actually read

Reviews are the main argument for a client who doesn't know you. Ask while the memory is fresh: within 1–3 days. Two weeks later the client has moved on and the review usually never appears.

How to ask so people actually write:

• send a direct link to your Google review form, not "find us on Google";
• suggest what to write about: "a few words about the bar and the team";
• thank people publicly for every review.

Short video testimonials from the event (10–15 seconds, with guests' consent) work well on Instagram.

7. Replying fast

Response time is a channel that costs nothing. A client messages 3–5 companies at once, and most reply "within a few hours" or "in 1–2 working days". Whoever replies within an hour usually gets the conversation.

A standard worth aiming for:

Every enquiry — website, Instagram, WhatsApp, phone, partners — should land in one list showing who is handling it and what stage it's at. How to set that up: how to respond to catering enquiries fast.

Where to start this week

With limited time, go in this order: 1) one list of enquiries and a reply within the hour; 2) Google Business Profile; 3) a review request after every event; 4) three emails to venues or planners. The wider operational routine is in how to improve your catering business.

How this works in Garnify

In Garnify, partners and agencies send a lead in one click and can follow it as it becomes an event, seeing client prices only. All enquiries sit in one list, and the client receives the quote on a branded link and can approve it straight away.