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Did you know that the average American spends $1200 on fast food annually? 

If you’re looking to get into the fast-food game, why not consider the world of food trucks? This is a great way to showcase your business to customers on the go!

To help sway your decision, we’re sharing five reasons why today’s consumers love food trucks. From their efficiency and accessibility to their overall diversity, it’s easy to see why food trucks are continuing to grow in popularity. 

1. Fast and Easy

First things first, food trucks are fast! 

Customers know that they can place and receive their order in a relatively quick time span. This helps to create a sense of ease in purchasing your food and drink from a food truck. When you’re on the clock, it’s safe to say that every minute counts! 

For your own food truck, this means you’re going to want to be prepared as possible. Be sure to prep your most difficult dishes beforehand so that you can operate quickly and serve as many customers as possible. 

2. Not Your Typical Chain

At the end of the day, it’s easy to get sick and tired of America’s most common food chains. 

Let’s consider that McDonald’s has over 13,486 locations throughout America. With such a large number, it’s easy to see why consumers crave something different when it comes to fast food. 

This is a significant draw to food trucks. As compared to all of the usual chains, food trucks offer something entirely different! With this, customers count on experiencing a more niche food market and more carefully crafted products overall. 

3. An Introduction to New Cuisines  

One of the most exciting aspects of food trucks is that they introduce new foods to their customers.  

This is a great way for consumers to get to know an entirely new cuisine of food. For example, a food truck is where many people will try a series of ethnic foods for the first time. Because the food truck experience feels so personal, the customers are able to establish a greater sense of trust in both the food and the chef. 

4. Food Trucks Are Everywhere 

Short and simple, food trucks are easy to access! 

In choosing a food truck, there’s no need to trek to the local mall or the restaurant around the corner. Instead, the best food trucks are parked and waiting for you on the road. Here, you’ll be greeted by a friendly face and all of the usual customers happily lined up and waiting for their food. 

5. Personalization 

When customers purchase food from a food truck, they have the rare opportunity to interact with the chef. This is because on a food truck, the orders are often taken and prepared by one person—the chef!  

This is as compared to a traditional joint where the customer solely interacts with the cashier or server. This helps to deliver a more personal and trusting experience for the customer overall. When customers are able to see the face behind their food, they naturally feel more connected to the experience.

The Rise in Food Trucks 

In recent years, it’s safe to say that food trucks have exploded in popularity! 

Not only are food trucks fast and easy, but they also offer a number of alternate perks to customers. A local Mexican food truck may encourage residents to try ceviche verde and enchiladas for the first time. The personal one-on-one experience may appeal to customers that seek a more personalized experience. 

So, how would having a food truck suit your industry? Contact us today to find out! 

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Why Customers Love Food Trucks and What That Means for You appeared first on Custom Concessions.

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Upset customers are inevitable no matter what part of the foodservice industry you work in, including if you own a food truck. How you deal with them is key to your success as a business owner.

Do you own a food truck? Are you thinking of buying one or entering the service industry in another capacity? You will need to know how to handle these situations.

Remember, word of mouth is key to growing a new business. If you are rude to unhappy customers, you will garner a business-damaging reputation.

Read on for five ways to deal with angry customers.

1. The Customer Is Never Wrong, Right?

Customer service is as important as any other aspect of the food service business.

The common phrase is that the customer is always right. A better way to think about this when dealing with upset customers in foodservice is that rather than always being right, the customer is never wrong.

Every customer has different tastes and expectations. If they think your food is salty, under or overcooked, they are not wrong. It’s how they feel or what they think.

Understanding this key difference will give you the right mindset to succeed in customer satisfaction.

2. Drop Your Defenses

You may have spent hard hours planning your menu, prepping, and preparing the food you serve on any given day. Because of this, you may take a customer complaint personally.

Don’t fall into this trap. While you should be proud of the food you serve, you need to drop your defensiveness when dealing with an angry customer.

These interactions, like interactions you have with happy customers, are business transactions.

3. Really Listen

Food truck customer service is like any other form of customer service. When people have a complaint, they want to be heard.

To effectively deal with angry or upset customers, brush up on your listening skills.  Diffuse an antagonistic situation by looking someone in the eyes to let them know what they say is important to you.

4. Own the Complaint

Whether you feel you are actually responsible for a customer complaint doesn’t matter. The customer has come and complained to you.

As the owner of a food truck business, the buck stops with you no matter the nature of the complaint.

The best way to own a complaint is to offer a sincere apology. Apologizing is a huge step toward resolving any issue.

5. Offer a Solution

In foodservice, the de-escalation of an upset customer comes down to a solution. After you’ve listened and apologized, you need to be willing to offer a solution to the problem, and quickly.

Sometimes this means preparing a new dish. This may not be possible in the tight confines of a food truck where many dishes have been prepped and batched for service.

In this case, if an alternative is available, offer it at no additional cost.

Sometimes neither of these solutions will appease an angry customer. If so, you must give a refund.

Upset Customers

Upset customers are inevitable in the foodservice business. How you deal with them plays an important role in the success of your food truck.

There are plenty of food truck businesses that offer great food. To set yourself apart, make sure you treat your customers with respect.

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post 5 Ways for Food Truck Owners to Deal With Upset Customers appeared first on Custom Concessions.

Food trucks have experienced a revival, especially as a safe and delicious option for getting takeout food in the age of coronavirus. However, due to their changing locations or lack of permanent space, sometimes it can be difficult to build a loyal customer base. 

One of the best ways to get the word out about your food truck is to generate customer feedback. The more customer reviews your business receives, the more exposure and buyers you will get. Here are a few ways that you will get many more reviews and boost your business profile in no time. 

1. Post Regularly on Social Media

A good social media presence is essential for your business. You should set up social media accounts for posting business updates, new menu additions, and promotions or specials your food truck may run. Some of the best social media sites for restaurants include Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and even TikTok.

When your customers follow you on social media, you’re giving them the opportunity to engage with your business. When they leave feedback on your photos in the form of comments, your social media algorithm will boost your online presence and expose your business to more potential customers.

2. Remind Your Customers to Leave Reviews

Online reviews can be a huge advantage for your business, and they are also a completely organic way to generate customer comments. If your business has an online presence on review sites like Yelp and Google, then your customers can easily give you a star rating and leave their comments.

Reviewing a business through a third-party site is one of the easiest feedback methods. Your customers will be prompted to rate the business, leave their review, and usually have the option to upload photos. You can also easily respond to customer comments through these sites. 

3. Have Unforgettable Menu Items

For positive feedback, a foolproof way to generate more customer comments, along with interest in your food truck business, is to be unique. Make sure if you have a signature dish, promote it, and if you don’t, you should think about adding dishes to your menu that will make your business stand out. 

If customers see there is something unique about your food truck, then they are much more likely to leave a positive review or give you firsthand feedback about what they enjoyed about their experience. Be sure to remind them to give their feedback when their order is complete. 

Customer Feedback is Key to Expanding Your Business

When you run a food truck, you rely on your customers to keep you in business, which is one of the many reasons why customer feedback can be so important. For even more customer comments, you should consider letting customers fill out a survey in change for coupons or freebies. 

Want to know more about the best way to run your food truck business? Visit our blog for more details.  

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post 3 Ways to Get Customer Feedback About Your Food Truck appeared first on Custom Concessions.

What if your food truck could become the hottest new business in town? No matter how good your food is, becoming a successful business is all about marketing. Unfortunately, many owners don’t know how to take their food truck marketing to the next level.

A good social media strategy can help propel your business to new heights. Keep reading to learn more about how to improve that strategy and achieve serious success!

1. Jazz Up the Menu

Many owners think their social media strategy should be limited to social media platforms. The reality is that many social media initiatives take place “off-screen.”

For example, social media users will want to check out your menu online before coming to the food truck. This gives you a perfect chance to jazz up your menu before posting it.

Try to add plenty of images and an eye-catching cover. Don’t be afraid to upsell: recommend which dishes and drinks complement each other for maximum flavor!

2. Make It Visual

Earlier, we talked about the importance of making the menu more visual. However, that wisdom extends to your entire social media strategy.

While it’s not the only thing your customers care about, most of them have visited your social media page to learn more about your food. This is why you should prominently feature professional photographs of your tastiest dishes.

Feature those images in your posts and encourage customers to like, comment, and share. This helps get new customers’ attention while turning the old ones into brand ambassadors for your food truck.

3. Use QR Codes

So far, we have focused on how social media can drive new customers to your food truck. But have you considered how to steer your food truck customers to your social media platforms?

One surefire way to do this is QR codes. Customers can simply scan the code with their smartphone and are instantly taken to your social media.

You can use a similar strategy to drive customers to your website. It is highly effective because it takes most of the work out of finding your truck online.

4. Multi-Platform

How many social media platforms is your business currently using? Chances are that you’d be better off by adding a new platform (or two, or three).

Different platforms have different strengths. Facebook makes it easy for customers to engage with you and for you to track analytics. Meanwhile, Instagram makes it easy to focus on your absolute best food photography and share it with users online.

Keep in mind that various third-party apps help you cross-post and schedule future posts. This helps you post to multiple platforms without giving up all of your free time.

5. Advertise Major Events

When used correctly, social media is the perfect vehicle to advertise your food truck. And those advertisements should focus heavily on major events.

Are you unveiling a new dish, or maybe taking part in a downtown block party? Use social media to make customers aware of what’s going on.

These advertisements build anticipation and word-of-mouth advertising. And anyone who finds out after the fact will have serious FOMO, making them likelier to come to the next major event you throw.

6. Online-Only Coupons

The quickest way to a customer’s heart is through their wallet. That’s why you should feature online-only coupons and deals.

Customers will get instant gratification from the ability to save money. And making those deals a regular occurrence (such as posting new ones every month) is a great way to get customers coming back.

The more they save, the more they buy. And they’ll be happy to tell others about the great deals they found online.

7. Engage With Customers

Social media marketing must be different from traditional marketing. If all of your posts are pure advertisement, it will quickly turn away customers who want something more substantial.

This is why you should have posts that engage with your customers. For example, you can let customers vote on what your next new dish will be. Or you can ask them to post pictures of their favorite meals.

Inviting such engagement increases loyalty and helps your online community thrive. 

8. All Analytics, All the Time

Redesigning your social media strategy means making several big changes. It’s important to understand whether these changes are having a major impact on your business.

First, don’t forget to use the analytics of your chosen social media platform. Facebook, for example, provides an easy way for you to look at every aspect of user engagement with your professional page.

Second, try to cross-reference those analytics results with your revenue. If you can tie an increase in customers to new social media strategies, this means you’re on the right track with your strategy.

9. Regular Posting

Retaining customers online is just as important as retaining them offline. In order to do this, you need to regularly post new content.

If you only post one or twice a month, you will not have much customer engagement. Furthermore, a low post count may keep your page buried by the social media algorithms.

Try to commit to posting once a day or several times a week. This gives loyal customers something to look forward to without completely clogging their timeline.

10. Networking Synergy

Fortunately, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when you reinvent your social media strategy. Old techniques such as networking still work wonders.

Let’s say you want to be a brand that many people trust. One of the easiest ways to do so is to partner up with an existing brand.

Try to get a well-known food blogger or influencer to create original content about your food truck. Additionally, see if they will regularly mention you to their own group of fans.

This technique builds credibility with potential customers while letting you benefit from someone else’s built-in audience.

Food Truck Marketing: Serve It Up

Now you know the secret to food truck marketing via social media. But do you know the secret to running a successful truck?

Want more food truck advice? Check out more blog posts here!

Thinking about starting a food truck? Request a free custom quote and one of our food truck specialists will help you design the truck of your dreams.

Stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

The post Food Truck Marketing: 10 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on Custom Concessions.

However, some people don’t understand how hard it really is to run a food truck. They just want to be a chef, cook food and make people happy. Little do they know, owning and operating a mobile kitchen takes a lot of skills. For one, you ideally need to be an expert in the business department.

Some folks might think they just need to be a great cook to enter the food truck industry, but there are so many other traits you have to bring to the table on top of that.

RELATED: What Not To Do When You Are A Food Truck Owner. Simply put, you need to avoid these things if you plan on being a successful food truck owner.

5 Must-Have Traits For The Food Truck Industry

• Hard Worker
• Persistent
• Time Management Guru
• Communication Skills
• Patient

Hard Worker

Before we get started with this trait, it is important to keep in mind that there are an endless amount of traits that owners need in the food truck industry. With that said, being a hard worker, along with the other traits that will follow, are some of the most important.

In the food truck industry, you have to outwork the competition. After all, there are so many different trucks you are competing with, and every single one brings something unique to the table.

You have to work hard when it comes to cooking up a storm in the kitchen, you have to work hard when it comes to marketing and you have to work hard when it comes to learning more about the industry and running a business.

The food truck industry incorporates long hours (try at least 10 a day), so working hard is a must.

Persistent

As a result of you working so many hours in the food truck industry, it is important to stay persistent. Not to mention, it is very easy to get burned out when your life consists of work, work and more work after that. However, you have to stay on track day in and day out, and you have to be determined every step of the way.

If you start to slack, your employees and customers will notice. If you want to make it in the food truck industry, you have to be hungry (literally and figuratively).

Time Management Guru

When you are at the office (or in this case, a mobile catering truck) for 10 or more hours a day, you have to take time management to the next level. You have to plan out your entire day in the food truck industry. Not just that, but you also have to be very detailed in your schedule — you need to incorporate everything.

If you can learn how to become a time management guru in the food truck industry, then you will make life that much easier, and more enjoyable.

Communication Skills

This is one of the biggest problems with startups. If you aren’t communicating your strategy with your employees, then don’t expect them to be on the same page as you.

Communication is one of the things we take for granted, but it is something owners can’t afford to lack in the food truck industry.

RELATED: How To Retain Customers In The Food Truck Industry. This industry is all about the customers. The more you retain, the more your business will grow.

Patient

If someone told you that the food truck industry was a quick way to get rich, then said someone is foolish. Owning a food truck business is like any other business — it takes a great amount of time before things are running on all cylinders and you are making a great income from it. That is where being patient comes in.

Over time, and with a lot of work, your mobile catering business will grow stronger, but you have to be willing to put in the work.

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

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If you are doing any of these things, then you need to shift your mindset immediately by doing the opposite. As most food truck owners already know, this is not an industry for the faint of heart — blood, sweat and tears will go down in the food truck industry.

Now, we are not saying people do all of these things. However, from time to time, there are probably an endless amount of food truck owners who get caught doing one of them. Breaking those habits as soon as possible is how you are going to grow your food truck business.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

RELATED: How To Retain Customers In The Food Truck Industry. Return customers are perhaps your most important customers, so you have to know how to retain them.

What Not To Do When You Are A Food Truck Owner

• Leave Social Media And Digital Marketing Out Of The Equation
• Not Know Your Numbers
• Don’t Adjust Your Menu And Strategy
• Go Through The Motions
• Not Look At The Bigger Picture

Leave Social Media And Digital Marketing Out Of The Equation

We understand, social media and digital marketing in general are big projects, and you are already having to worry about running your food truck. With that said, it is crucial to get your mobile kitchen’s name out there. It leads to more business and customers, after all, which is huge when it comes to your business growth.

If things like social media and digital marketing become too much of a burden, then don’t just put them on the back burner — hire someone to take on these projects. More likely than not, a social media or digital marketing expert is going to know way more than you. That is okay, as long as their services fit into your budget.

Not Know Your Numbers

If you don’t know your numbers, how are you supposed to know if your food truck is making any money, food truck owners? You have to know your finances. If not, you could be caught off guard, and you might not be able to rebound from a financial standpoint.

At the same time, make sure you are separating your business and personal finances — keep track of everything.

Don’t Adjust Your Menu And Strategy

If you don’t adjust your menu and strategy, well, hopefully your customers really, really like your food. You need to adjust your menu and strategy when the temperatures start to drop, when the busy months are just around the corner and when a new food is sweeping the nation (at one point, bacon was being incorporated into a wide variety of foods — it is crucial to catch the trends).

The important thing is that you are changing things up. If you notice something not working, then get rid of said something and try out another food item in its place.

Go Through The Motions

Going through the motions. This is something we all get caught doing, and it is something a food truck owner absolutely can’t do.

As a food truck owner, you are not only managing a business. You are the boss and leader at your mobile kitchen. You need to motivate your employees, give them direction, let them know when they are doing something wrong and the list goes on and on.

If you go through the motions, then how do you think your team is going to respond? Hopefully you have a very strong team and a game-winning strategy in place. If not, you could lose plenty of business. Return customers will be able to taste it in the food and they will be able to see it with your customer service skills.

RELATED: Common Reasons Why Food Truck Businesses Succeed. If you follow this article’s lead, your food truck business could enter Successville in no time.

Not Look At The Bigger Picture

Food truck owners are successful people. They started their own business, after all. They have dreams and goals. Food truck owners have to continue to revisit these dreams and goals, especially when it comes to their mobile kitchen business.

If your main goal of the year was to incorporate catering, then you have to do everything in your power to make that happen. If your dream is to be able to franchise your food trucks, then you have to keep that dream in mind every step of the way and work toward it every single day.

The food truck industry can be brutal on the mind, body and soul, because you are constantly working, but you have to always look at the big picture if you want an unlimited amount of success.

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

The post What Not To Do When You Are A Food Truck Owner appeared first on Custom Concessions.

After all, without customers, who would buy the delicious foods that mobile catering trucks have to offer? Without sales, a food truck would sink just as fast as it started. That is why we are going to talk about the importance of retaining customers. Just to go into a little more detail, we will explain how to retain more customers in the food truck industry.

RELATED: Common Reasons Why Food Truck Businesses Succeed. If you want to succeed in this industry, then you might want to incorporate the information from this article into your food truck business.

How To Retain Customers In The Food Truck Industry

• Otherworldly Customer Service
• Customer Loyalty Programs
• To-Die-For Food
• Build A Community

Otherworldly Customer Service

If you have bad service, or even mediocre service, you better hope that your food is amazing — and then some. If not, then don’t expect to retain many customers.

Going to a food truck should be an experience, and you can make it that way by having otherworldly customer service. You don’t want to hold up the line during the busy hours, but it is so important to engage with your customers and make them feel like they are part of a community (more from that later).

Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs are a great way to retain customers, because they literally give customers incentive to come back. If you are going to incorporate these loyalty programs into the mix, it is crucial that you have a healthy balance. For instance, you don’t want to lose a significant amount of money because your program is too generous, but you also don’t want to make this program extremely tough for customers to cash in on their rewards.

Nonetheless, by adding this into the mix, people will continue to come back to your kitchen truck.

To-Die-For Food

Let’s be honest: People go to your food truck because they want an amazing meal. If you offer this to them, then not only will they come back for more, but they will tell their friends and family as well. In this industry, word of mouth is huge.

So, make sure you are cooking up your famous recipes with a lot of love, because your customers are all about the food.

RELATED: Some Common Reasons Why Food Truck Businesses Fail. Unfortunately, not all food trucks make it in this industry, which is why owners need to gain as much knowledge as possible. 

Build A Community

By building a community, your customers will feel safe. They will also get to know you and other people who come to your mobile kitchen. You might operate in a big city (such as Los Angeles or New York), but there is nothing wrong with making your food truck community feel like a small-town restaurant.

A community allows your customers to feel right at home, and it also makes your job more enjoyable as well. Not to mention, building a community is how you retain customers.

To stay up to date on everything Custom Concessions has to offer, make sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also find more food truck blogs here.

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