How to Keep Your Food Truck Running During the Winter
Food trucks may feel like the perfect business for the summer, but you shouldn’t close up shop just because it gets cold. People still love to eat and, while it may take some different strategies, you can still turn a good profit during the winter. Rather than letting your food truck sit for part of the year, it’s time to adjust your strategy a little.
Pay Attention to Weather Reports
One of the most important things to be aware of is what the weather is going to look like. While people still have to go out when it’s cold, they are less likely to venture off their required paths if it’s rainy, snowy, or if there’s a bitter wind. While weather reports aren’t always accurate more than a few days in advance, they can help you set a good strategy. On colder days, you can plan to set up shop near larger office buildings or shopping centers. This will allow you to catch the working crowd lunch or people out running errands.
Get the Word Out
If no one knows where to find you, it won’t matter how good your food is; so your marketing may need to turn up a notch during the colder months. You can’t rely on people walking by and deciding to try your food as much as you can during the summer months, so make sure your loyal customers have easy access to your information. If you have a website, implement a calendar that you keep up to date with your location and hours, as well as any events you will be at. You should post this on your social media too. If you aren’t already signed up, create a profile on Where’s the Foodtruck to make tracking your business much easier. You can share your exact location and hours to all of the local users on the app, and embed their map right on your website. Plus, if you offer mobile ordering on the app, you’ll increase business as customers can place orders without suffering through the weather. (Read that again!)
Be Consistent
Consistency may not seem like a big deal, but it is. You may not want to go out in the cold, but if you told your customers you will be at a location or an event, you need to be there. If they brave the cold to visit you just to find out that you didn’t make it, they aren’t likely to become return customers. Find a few locations that work well for you and show up there on a regular basis. Consistency is part of the reason you aren’t packing up for the season – so make sure to follow through on all your commitments.
Winter may not seem like a great food truck season, but it can do great things for you. Use this time to try new specials, refine your processes, and build up your marketing. It may not be booming like summer, but the work you put in will make your business much stronger in the long run.
Are you wondering what should be on your seasonal transition list? Check out this blog article!
