Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2014 | Page 48
Grow Market Lead
Challenge
the pros
“How are you using technology
to identify, reach, and
track prospects?”
James R. Walker
Chief Development Officer
The Johnny Rockets Group
At Johnny Rockets we
use technology not
only to drive leads for
prospective franchise
candidates, but also to
ensure that we are
spending our franchise
recruitment dollars in the most efficacious way possible.
We have found that online franchise
lead portals are one of our most effective methods for securing new candidates. We also like the traceability these
sites provide us. We use as many as six
different online lead portals to drive
leads to our sales management system,
which immediately segments the lead
by a number of qualifiers that include
available liquid capital, as well as the
candidate’s targeted geography. Our
sales management system then begins
an automated email campaign that is
specifically matched to the candidate’s
profile and area of interest.
We also use our sales management
system to track and respond to leads
we generate from our own website,
franchise and trade shows, and phone
calls that come into our Restaurant
Support Center. This technology not
only ensures that every lead is followed
up systematically, it also allows us to
focus on following up by phone or in
person with the candidates who show
the most interest in the brand through
their online activities, such as the number of times they visit our website, or
clicking on embedded hyperlinks within
our generated email campaigns.
Once a month we also use a direct
email system to send an HTML-based
email newsletter to our entire database
of candidates to ensure we continue to
be “top of mind” for those who may
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Franchiseupdate ISS U E II, 2 0 1 4
still be in the pipeline but whose activity may have slowed down.
One of the most important uses of
the data generated through this technology is a return on investment, or
conversion rate, for any given advertising platform. Every week we look at
the lead flow for each active campaign
we have and run a quick calculation to
show the cost per lead for each. We will
then work with the platforms that are
underperforming to retool the messaging to increase the number of leads,
and subsequently reduce the actual cost
per lead that we’re paying.
Each year as we enter into our planning and budgeting for the coming year,
we look at which campaigns, portals,
or shows, have had the highest conversion rate, meaning which methods have
actually produced the highest number
of signed franchise agreements. The
traceability that the technology provides us is invaluable in forecasting
budget needs for the coming year, as
well as what we can expect to sign in
new franchise agreements and see in
subsequent new restaurant openings.
Van J. Ingram
Vice President for Franchise
Development
Taco John’s International
At Taco John’s, we are
capitalizing on technology in a few areas.
Selling a franchise is
a systematic process.
From solicitation to
prospect management
to executing an agreement, and then
providing support through the term of
the agreement, we use technology to
provide structure and maintain system
compliance.
Today’s franchise prospect is techsavvy. By using technology in our solici-
tation process we are ensuring that our
brand matches up with how they prefer
to conduct their research. Prospects
want to engage in initial due diligence
on their own time and are using smart
phones, tablets, etc. We have optimized
our website for clear viewing on each
device and are finalizing our electronic
brochure to allow them to review the
opportunity before speaking with a
sales representative.
This is a departure from the industry norm of even five years ago,
when we relied on initial phone calls
and printed brochures. Candidates are
clamoring for more information, and
the technological advances allow us to
provide the data in a professional, easy-
Taco John’s
continues to evolve
to match up with
the technological
requirements of
an ever-changing
prospect base.
to-digest format that eliminates some
of the up-front questions of the past.
We also have implemented a CRM
system, with FranConnect as our platform. We can track all our leads, determine their origin, and monitor their
progress on key milestones within the
selling process. We use an email drip
campaign to provide multiple touch
points in the process.
Once a franchisee has executed an
agreement, we also use technology in
the real estate and construction phase.
We have an electronic site package that
can be completed online. The franchisee is responsible for providing their
rationale for the proposed location, and
our chief development officer adds his
assessment so that our approval committee has a comprehensive package
for review.
As a legacy brand in existence for
more than 45 years, Taco John’s continues to evolve to match up with the
technological requirements of an everchanging prospect base. n