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The food truck industry is really taking off and becoming popular. Big cities, college campuses, and event venues are just a few places where you can likely find a food truck or two. Competition is at an all-time high in this industry, so it is essential to set goals to stay ahead of the competition and advance your business. This Balboa Capital blog article has tips on how to grow your food truck business.
Sell your food truck’s brand.
In the food truck industry, you are selling more than food. You are selling a brand image and experience. If nothing about your truck draws our attention, we will likely move on to something that does. The solution? Come up with a business name and brand that are identifiable and stimulate curiosity.
Get social.
Leveraging social media is an absolute must for food truck businesses. This is the easiest and often cheapest way to connect with your customers and get your business name out there. Social media also provides the perfect opportunity to brand your business. You can build your brand to portray precisely the image you want based on your posts, commentary, engagement with customers, and more.
For the food truck business, consider Twitter™, Facebook™, and Instagram™, at the very least. In addition, you can showcase photographs of your culinary delights on Instagram™, which can get people’s attention.
Cater to others.
Catering is an excellent opportunity to get people to try your food. Start by building relationships with event and venue coordinators. These partnerships allow you to become a preferred vendor for a specific event space. This means when a customer of the venue or coordinator selects their caterer, they will usually do so from a preferred vendors list.
It may be tempting to look for results from these marketing efforts immediately, but the truth is that brand-building takes time, and strong brand-building takes even longer. Think about what you want your customers to think and feel after they visit your food truck and begin planning. Finally, take advantage of events such as Small Business Saturday® and National Small Business Week. These annual events are backed by news coverage and advertising campaigns, and they give you ample opportunity to get an influx of customers who like to shop at small businesses in their local communities.
Balboa Capital, a Division of Ameris Bank, is not affiliated with nor endorses Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Small Business Saturday, or National Small Business Week. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.