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Corporate catering companies · Referral marketing

Let one office's admin head introduce you to the one across the corridor.

Referral marketing for a corporate catering company is getting one office to introduce you to another: the admin head who recommends you to a neighbour, the park manager who names you at a vendor meet, the event planner who passes on a seminar lunch. GullySales sets up who to ask, how to make the introduction easy and how to record where each one came from.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Editorial illustration for Referral marketing

What referral marketing means

Referral marketing is asking an existing customer to recommend you to someone they know, usually with a reward for both sides. It differs from a loyalty scheme because it brings in a new customer rather than a repeat purchase. GullySales builds the ask and the reward into a point where a customer is already satisfied.

Also for corporate catering companies

Sales and marketing for corporate catering companies, the overview.

Last updated 6 Oct 2026.

For corporate catering companies

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

  • “Offices in a building talk about the canteen”

    Two companies on neighbouring floors share a lift and a lunch complaint. A word from the admin head next door carries more than any listing.

  • “The introducer gets nothing and soon forgets”

    An admin head who recommends you has no reason to remember it beyond goodwill. A thank-you and an update after the first tasting is what keeps you in her mind.

  • “A referral nobody recorded cannot be thanked”

    The new office says a friend told them. Nobody asks which friend, and the person who sent the contract never hears a word of thanks.

What we do

What we deliver for corporate catering companies.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

  1. A list of who has reason to recommend you

    Satisfied admin heads, building managers, facility-management firms, event planners and other vendors in the offices you serve, each with the reason they would speak for you.

    Result: You know whom to ask before you ask.

  2. A forwardable introduction note

    One page with your menu cycle, licence, kitchen photograph and a tasting offer, written so an admin head can send it to a neighbour without editing.

    Result: An introduction takes her a minute.

  3. A thank-you that respects the buyer's company rules

    A written note and an update on how the introduced office is doing, with no gifts unless the introducer's own policy allows them.

    Result: The person who sent you work is thanked and not compromised.

  4. A referral source field in the record

    Every new enquiry asked how they heard of you, and the name of the person recorded beside the account.

    Result: You can see which relationships bring contracts.

  5. Written terms for vendor and planner introductions

    Who contacts the client, who answers questions and whether any fee applies when a planner or a facility-management firm introduces you, agreed on paper.

    Result: A business that sends you work knows the terms before the first introduction.

  6. Referral report

    Enquiries, tastings and contracts by referrer, against the baseline recorded before work started.

    Result: You see which introducers are worth a visit.

How the result is measured

  • Referrals received
  • Referral conversion rate
  • Cost per referred customer

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full referral marketing page

How referrals work in this trade

Who introduces a corporate caterer to an office, what prompts it and how to thank them properly.

An admin or HR head who is happy
Ask once, after a stretch of good service and never after a complaint. Hand her a one-page note she can forward, and promise not to call the other office without her say-so.
The business park or building manager
He knows which offices are unhappy with their food. Ask to be on the park's vendor list, invite him to a tasting and ask what the park's rules allow.
Facility-management and housekeeping firms
They see each office's canteen daily. Agree in writing who contacts the client and whether any fee is involved, so no company's vendor rules are broken.
Event planners and corporate travel desks
They hold the date and the headcount before anyone else. Give them a one-page menu sheet, the notice you need and a contact who answers, and they pass on what they cannot cook.
Other vendors working inside the same office
Pantry suppliers, security and cleaning staff see the canteen every day. Treat them courteously and keep a card at the pantry, and you hear when a contract is shaky.
What never to do
Do not pay an employee of a buyer for an order, or give gifts that break their company's policy. Many companies forbid it, and being found out loses the contract and the introducer's trust.

Who it is for

This is written for these corporate catering companies.

  • Cafeteria and canteen operators for offices
  • Daily lunch-box and tiffin suppliers to companies
  • Conference, seminar and offsite caterers
  • Boxed-meal caterers for training programmes and client visits
  • Night-shift and late-working meal suppliers
  • Caterers to co-working spaces and managed offices
  • Pantry, tea, coffee and snack suppliers for offices

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

  • You want a guaranteed Google ranking or a guaranteed number of leads. Nobody honest can promise either.
  • You need enquiries by next week and have nobody to answer them.
  • You want posts and reach reported, not enquiries and orders.

How it works

From your first message to the first report.

No open-ended retainer. Every step gives you something in writing.

  1. First

    Your brief

    You tell us what you need in a few short steps: your business, what you want, where enquiries come from and how they are handled.

  2. After the brief

    A conversation and a written scope

    We read it, then talk with whoever handles your enquiries. If you want our help, the scope, the fee and the reporting come in writing, and nothing starts before you have read them.

  3. Before work starts

    Baseline recorded

    Enquiries by source, reply time, conversion and cost per order, written down so every later report has an honest comparison.

  4. After the baseline

    The first fix goes live

    The fix we agreed to start with is put in place and measured against the baseline, whether that is reply time, a follow-up sequence, the page buyers land on or the handover between marketing and sales.

  5. As agreed

    Report against the baseline

    What moved, what did not, and what changes next, in plain words. How often you get it is set in writing before work starts.

  6. At renewal

    Renew on the numbers

    The term ends and you decide whether to continue from the results. The length is agreed in writing before anything starts.

How the referral marketing work runs

  1. 1

    Understand your margin and customer relationship

    We agree what reward is genuinely sustainable and appropriate for your business and customer type.

  2. 2

    Audit existing informal referrals

    We check how much word of mouth already happens, to size expectations for the formal programme realistically.

  3. 3

    Design the offer and mechanism

    A specific reward and an easy sharing method are built and tested.

  4. 4

    Implement and promote

    The programme is surfaced at the right moments in your customer journey.

  5. 5

    Measure and adjust

    We track referrals and conversions, adjusting the reward or promotion if uptake is low.

Why us

Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.

  • Marketing and sales, as one job

    Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.

  • The person on the first call does the work

    No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.

  • A baseline before anything starts

    Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.

  • The fee in writing, split three ways

    Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.

  • No guarantees we cannot keep

    The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.

  • One office, and we say so

    Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.

#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.

Your brief

Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need
Should we pay or give gifts to an admin head who refers us?
Not unless you have read her company's policy. Many firms ban vendor gifts and treat a payment as a conflict of interest. Thank her by note, an update and good service. If the introducer is a business, such as a planner, agree terms in writing.
How do we ask a client for an introduction without seeming desperate?
Ask after something has gone well, such as a good event or a renewal, and ask for one specific introduction: the office next door or a sister company. Offer a note she can forward instead of asking her to write one.
How do we know which client sent the new one?
Ask every new enquirer how they heard of you and who named you, and write the name in the record. If the answer is a friend, ask which office. Tracing it stops you guessing.
Can we ask a park manager to recommend us over other caterers?
Ask to be listed or invited to taste, not to be pushed. His role may require him to stay neutral, or he may be bound by a vendor list. Respect the park's rules, and never ask him to speak against another vendor.
Do offices really pick a caterer from a Google search?
For event lunches and small daily orders, often yes. For a large cafeteria contract, search only starts the shortlist; the tasting, the kitchen visit and a word from another office decide it. So your page and Business Profile have to hold up when an admin head checks you after someone recommends you.
Should we chase the big business parks or small offices first?
Start with offices your kitchen can reach on time at lunch hour, whatever their size. One working contract in a building is the best introduction to the floors above and below it. A very large cafeteria tender can wait until your kitchen and staff have the room to carry it.
How much does it cost?
There is no price list, because the work differs by business. The fee is scoped after we have read your brief and spoken to you, and put in writing before anything starts, split into our time, your media spend and production.
How long is the contract?
The term is agreed in writing after we have spoken, along with the fee and the reporting. It is never a default twelve months, and renewal is decided on the numbers against the baseline recorded at the start.
How soon will we see results?
It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.
Who will actually do the work?
The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.

From the blog

Further reading for corporate catering companies.

All articles

More for corporate catering companies

Everything else we would do for you.

Closest to this: customers after the sale

Also for corporate catering companies

Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for corporate catering companies.

Your next practical step

Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.

Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.

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