The Catersource tradeshow is always an exciting event, and this Catersource 2018 was one of our most productive and rewarding in years. It was incredibly gratifying to meet with so many of our current users and hear their heartfelt appreciation and incredible stories of success – and it was exciting to see the reactions from newcomers when they saw firsthand what this powerful program can do.
As we spoke with the throngs of people who visited our booth – and others throughout the tradeshow floor – we learned many valuable lessons to focus on in the coming year. Some of our biggest takeaways include:
Ease of Use is Key
While the right tools are always important (see below), they’re no help if you can’t figure out how to use them. Over and over, visitors to our booth complimented the program’s user-friendly design – noting how simple and intuitive its many features are. Most could easily imagine themselves successfully using Caterease, since it looks and acts like other applications they already use every day.
There’s No Substitute for Features
Of course, the easiest program is of no value if doesn’t offer the features you need. As crowds gathered to watch our many (many!) live demonstrations of Caterease, they were continually blown away by the tools this program offers. Our presenters showed wizard tools that make booking a party a snap, while stressing the program’s flexibility to customize prints and screen displays to fit each user’s unique preferences. Even the most demanding users were amazed at how easily we could provide the answers to their specific needs.
The Right Partners Offer the Perfect Package
We at Caterease have a collection of exceptional partners to help us offer a total solution for our customers – and we were excited to team up with many of these partners at Catersource to present a powerful, united front. Customers could visit nearby booths at the show and learn more about such products as AllSeated, Nowsta, Social Tables, Staffmate, Worldpay, ChefTec and more – and to learn how our applications share information and work together to provide customers with the perfect package.
What’s Trending in 2018
Although our team did not have a lot of downtime, customers talked to us about other booths they had visited and what they found most interesting at the show. From unique napkin designs to original food and beverage concoctions and even virtual reality effects, we could see that appealing to the millennial audience though technology and sustainable incentives will continue to be a top trend throughout 2018.
Plans for the Coming Year
Every year at Catersource we announce exciting new features and offerings. This year’s highlights included a powerful new program update, as well as integrations and add-ins such as the incredible Web Inquiry tool to capture leads from your website and grow your business. While we won’t give away any spoilers for Catersource 2019, we can tell you that our development roadmap for this coming year is our most aggressive by far. We want to thank all of the many people who visited our booth this year, and we look forward to continuing to provide you with the most powerful and most popular program on the market!
