Pizza Today -December 2022 - 28

versity of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Mike O'Hanlon, chief customer care
and operations officer at ezCater, an
online marketplace connecting businesses
and catering operations, pegs the
average catering order on its platform at
$350. That alone is a hefty sum, but the
true value transcends the revenue.
First, fulfilling that single $350 order
requires far less work than preparing
35 individual $10 orders. This improves
labor optimization and enables operators
to better utilize staff during offpeaks
hours as well.
Yet more, catering serves as a powerful
marketing tool for pizzerias. While
one person orders, dozens and sometimes
hundreds, enjoy the food. The
incremental brand exposure opens the
door for additional orders.
" Great service, delicious food and
your logo front and center will leave
a lasting memory for all guests, "
O'Hanlon says.
Diving into digital
As the top additional revenue stream
for pizzerias, catering warrants earnest
attention and thoughtful investment
to capture its performance-driving
promises.
A lively digital presence sits atop the
list of catering's necessary investments.
While O'Hanlon urges pizzerias to " be
everywhere online, " including social
media and third-party marketplaces, he
also recommends restaurants confirm
hours of operation are current and
consistent across all platforms and that
online ordering displays prominently on
the restaurant's homepage.
" People can't order from you if they
can't find you, " O'Hanlon reminds.
Lema calls ease of ordering equally
critical to availability. He encourages
investments in software that make
it simple and seamless for catering
customers to order. (Furthermore,
Lema adds, it's helpful when software
links catering orders to the restaurant's
point-of-sale system and generates
reports. Such functionality propels
in-store efficiencies and provides valu28
/ PIZZATODAY.COM / DECEMBER 2022
able data restaurant leadership can use
to inform decision making.)
Jet's, for instance, invested in a textto-order
service. Customers can text
their local Jet's phone number and write
in something like " Party of 20. " The
Jet's text service will reply with a suggested
order to cater the party's needs.
Such ease and simplicity continue
appealing to Jet's patrons, Vicari says.
Catering's next critical investments
Beyond
technology, industry insiders
identify three other critical investment
areas to fuel catering success: delivery,
packaging and marketing.
In today's catering game, delivery is
a must. Those placing catering orders
often seek a full-service option, not a
partial solution. If the restaurant does
not offer in-house delivery powered
by a catering vehicle, then O'Hanlon
suggests ownership invest in reliable
delivery partners they can trust to
handle the last mile.
" Catering orders, specifically, are
often high stakes and require orders
arrive on time and as ordered, "
O'Hanlon says.
Alongside delivery, packaging plays
a significant role. Though a potentially
expensive investment, quality packaging
helps maintain food integrity over time
and distance. Even more, packaging
featuring the pizzeria's name and logo
advances brand awareness.
" It's one thing to make the product,
but quite another to have it sit for a
while, " Lema says. " If you can't get
product to hold and travel well, then it's
a problem - and one you need to solve. "
On the sales and marketing front,
pizzerias can work with marketplaces
like ezCater to complement an internal
sales and marketing team or enhance
promotion of their catering offerings.
Vicari says partnering with services
such as ezCater has fueled Jet's catering
success. In addition, Jet's has increased
its digital presence to promote placing
catering orders on Jetspizza.com and
also offers a 10 percent discount on
online orders over $100.
Finally, O'Hanlon suggests restaurants
lean into social media to champion
catering. It's free and effective.
" Share specials and promotions or
simply images of your product to get
customer's mouths watering, " he says.
Two catering dos and one don't
DO inject your brand into every catering
order. Catering customers have fewer
touchpoints with a restaurant's brand, all
the more reason pizzerias should explore
extending their guest experience beyond
the restaurant's four walls, ezCater's Mike
O'Hanlon says. For instance, one pizzeria
known for its live music shared a curated
playlist customers could pipe in during
an event.
" True hospitality and creativity will
set you apart from other restaurants, "
O'Hanlon says.
DO create packages. By developing
catering packages, restaurants can better
calculate their costs to ensure profitability
and weave the upsell into packages
by including beverages, appetizers or
desserts. This often increases the value
proposition as well.
" Put it all together for customers so
they don't have to search around for anything, "
UNLV professor Joseph Lema says.
DON'T overlook operational execution.
As important as catering orders are
to Jet's Pizza, the chain has worked to
develop systems ensuring a successful
experience for every customer. Catering
should be a complement to a pizzeria's
core business, not a revenue stream that
marginalizes or complicates the eatery's
everyday business.
" Don't expect catering orders without
a heads up, " Jet's IT manager Jessica
Vicari says. " Staff isn't always ready to
take a large order and still be able to
maintain regular orders. "
DANIEL P. SMITH Chicago-based
writer has covered business issues and best
practices for a variety of trade publications,
newspapers, and magazines.
http://www.Jetspizza.com http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
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