Christmas Function Reviews: Your Catering's Secret Weapon
Christmas function season is here, and your catering business is about to serve up more than just prawns and pavlova. Every corporate Christmas party, family gathering, and end-of-year celebration you cater is a review opportunity waiting to be seasoned perfectly.
Here's what most NZ catering businesses miss: Christmas functions generate 3x more online reviews than regular bookings. People are happier, more social, and genuinely grateful for making their event memorable. Yet 80% of caterers let these golden moments slip away without a single review to show for it.
You're about to discover exactly how to turn every Christmas function into a review-generating machine that keeps your phone ringing well into 2024.
The Christmas Function Review Opportunity
Think about it. When Sarah from accounting books your catering for the office Christmas do in Wellington, she's not just buying food - she's buying her reputation. If you nail it, she's the hero. If you don't... well, let's just say she won't be forgetting anytime soon.
That emotional investment creates perfect conditions for reviews. Happy clients want to share their wins. And Christmas functions? They're pure emotion - celebration, gratitude, year-end relief.
But here's the kicker: most caterers treat these events like any other booking. Serve the food, pack up, send the invoice. Massive missed opportunity.
Strategy 1: The Pre-Event Review Setup
Start before you even fire up the ovens. When confirming details with your Auckland corporate client two days before their function, casually mention:
"We're really looking forward to making your Christmas function special. By the way, if everything goes perfectly on the night, would you mind sharing a quick review online? It really helps other Kiwi businesses find us for their events."
Pro tip: Send this as a text, not an email. It feels more personal and gets read immediately.
This plants the seed early. You're not asking for a favour - you're assuming success and making the review process feel natural.
Strategy 2: The Magic Moment Strike
Every Christmas function has a magic moment. Maybe it's when the dessert comes out and everyone goes quiet with appreciation. Or when the boss gives their speech and mentions how great the food is.
That's your moment to strike.
Whisper to your main contact: "This is going perfectly! Would you mind popping a quick review on Google while you're thinking about it? Takes 30 seconds."
We helped a Christchurch catering company try this approach last December. They went from 2 reviews a month to 23 reviews in December alone. Same business, same food, different timing.
Strategy 3: The Thank You Follow-Up Formula
Here's your secret weapon for the next day. Send this exact message template (customise for your voice):
"Hi [Name], hope everyone's recovering well from last night! It was such a pleasure catering your Christmas function - the team was raving about the [specific dish]. If you've got 30 seconds, a quick Google review would mean the world to our small NZ business. Here's the link: [direct Google review link]. Thanks again for trusting us with your special night!"
- Notice what's happening here:
- Personal touch (specific dish mention)
- Assumes they had a great time
- Appeals to supporting local business (very Kiwi)
- Makes it stupid-easy with direct link
> "We implemented Andy's Christmas function review strategy and collected 31 reviews in 6 weeks. Our phone hasn't stopped ringing since." - Maria, Feast & Function Catering, Hamilton
Strategy 4: The Group Review Opportunity
Christmas functions are group events. Don't just target the person who booked you - target the whole room.
Create a simple tent card for each table: "Loved tonight's catering? Leave us a review!" with a QR code linking directly to your Google Business profile.
One Wellington caterer tried this at a 50-person corporate function and got 7 reviews from that single event. That's a 14% review rate - insanely good numbers.
The Rocket Review Advantage
Here's the thing - manually tracking follow-ups for 20+ Christmas functions while actually running your catering business? That's a recipe for missed opportunities.
Smart NZ caterers use Rocket Review to automate the entire process. Set up your Christmas function campaign once, and every client gets perfectly timed review requests without you lifting a finger. The system even tracks which events generated reviews and sends gentle follow-ups to the ones that didn't respond.
While you're focused on nailing the turkey and cranberry sauce, Rocket Review is capturing those golden review moments automatically.
Your Next Move
Christmas function season waits for no one. Pick one strategy from above and implement it before your next event. Even if you only try the "thank you follow-up formula," you'll see more reviews this month than most caterers get all year.
Ready to turn every Christmas function into a review goldmine? Book a 15-minute demo with our team. We'll show you exactly how to automate your review collection so you can focus on what you do best - creating memorable events that keep Kiwi businesses coming back.
Your competitors are already collecting those Christmas function reviews. Question is: will you be joining them or watching from the sidelines?