Posts Tagged ‘Local Marketing’
By: Glenn Haertel
June 28, 2010 | No Comments
The Synq Solutions and QSR magazine-sponsored webinar, “How to Execute a Successful Local Marketing Campaign,” on June 24 was a big success, with more than 880 registrants from the QSR, fast casual and retail industries. CKE’s Brad Haley and Synq’s Doug Fergusson touched on all aspects of Local Marketing, including best practices, challenges, technology, strategy and franchisees.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting questions from the webinar on our blog. We’re starting this new series with two sound clips from the event:
- Brad Haley: How has CKE successfully integrated local marketing into its overall marketing strategy efforts? (listen below)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Be sure to check back often as we update this series. If you’d like to submit your own questions, email us at localmarketing@synqsolutions.com.
And don’t miss these Local Marketing resources:
We’d like to hear from you about your Local Marketing efforts. What challenges do you face? What successes have you experienced?
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, local marketing campaign, QSR, QSR magazine, webinar)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Glenn Haertel
June 23, 2010 | No Comments
I’d like to issue a reminder to all of you about the webinar we’re sponsoring tomorrow along with QSR Magazine. As of today, we have over 650 registrants, which is a strong testament to the fact that Local Marketing is a topic quite worthy of attention and conversation.
The webinar begins at 2pm EST tomorrow (6/24/10), and you can still register here. Be sure to submit any questions or topics you’d like to hear our panel cover when you register. Additionally, don’t miss our live Twitter stream coverage of the event by following the hashtag #synqwbnr on our Synq Solutions Twitter page.
After the webinar, we’ll post a summary of the event on our blog along with the live Twitter stream transcript.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the event– we look forward to your participation tomorrow!
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, QSR, QSR magazine, webinar)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Doug Fergusson
June 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
In our recent white paper, we tackle the subject of Local Marketing by defining its role in an overall marketing strategy, revealing the necessary tools for a successful execution, and providing a glimpse into how technology is making LRM more accessible than ever. Here is an excerpt from the white paper describing the necessary tools for local marketing success:
Tools For Success
For Local Marketing campaigns to be successful, operators must have all the tools necessary to execute them. If operators use only some of these tools, results will be less robust. It is the corporate brand’s responsibility to ensure operators are adequately equipped with the following components:
> Accessibility – The technology platform used to view, customize and order Local Marketing materials must be easily accessible to all operators no matter where they are located or how they are wired. A Web-based solution is generally considered the best option as opposed to a program that must be installed locally or downloaded.
> Ease of Use – The Local Marketing program should be easy and fast to use – requiring only minutes out of their busy day. This applies to viewing materials, customizing them, placing an order and understanding what to do with the materials once they arrive. The number of steps in each process should be minimal. And instead of giving users an infinite number of customizable options, provide them with a manageable list to choose from.
> Modular Design – Marketing elements should be designed in a modular fashion so that individual components can be customized. This is where local operators have an opportunity to utilize their knowledge of community, preferences and traffic patterns. The design should also be agile so that marketing groups can send new information and keep marketing materials fresh – without having to design each piece from scratch.
> Cost Effectiveness -The program must be cost-effective. It should leverage a print and fulfillment workflow from many locations, which provides an opportunity for significant buying opportunities and operational efficiencies. Individual orders also should be handled with ease.
> Funding Model – The funding model is something that can be a barrier to implementation. Most franchise agreements require franchisees to invest a portion of their own money, but there has to be an incentive for them to dig into their own pocket when it comes to Local Marketing. Local Marketing is perceived as a field of risk and experimentation, which can deter investment. The most successful models have aggregated everyone’s spend together so that individual risk is minimized. As a result, franchisees are more likely to test new ideasand find success.
> Education – The most important component of Local Marketing is operator education. This includes the mechanics of the system, as well as which customer situations are most conducive to Local Marketing efforts. For example, the franchisee should consider the customer behaviors they are trying to influence and the results they hope to achieve.
You can read the white paper in its entirety here.
And now over to you: do you have any Local Marketing insights you’d like to share?
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, marketing strategy, White Paper)Add Comments | View Comments (2)
By: Mike Snyder
June 11, 2010 | No Comments
Brad Haley, CKE (left); Doug Fergusson, Synq Solutions (right)
June is an exciting month for Synq Solutions as we partner with QSR Magazine to host a webinar regarding the successful execution of Local Marketing campaigns. The webinar takes place on June 24th, 2010 from 2-3 p.m. ET, and will feature Brad Haley of CKE Restaurants, Inc. and Doug Fergusson of Synq Solutions.
In the past, many companies have been slow to adopt local marketing: however, CKE is a prime example of a brand that has successfully integrated local marketing into its overall marketing strategy, while maintaining its identity across multiple brands.
A little background on Brad Haley: Brad has been the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Hardee’s since September of 2000 and took on the additional role of marketing for Carl’s Jr. in 2004. His responsibilities include brand positioning, advertising, product development, merchandising, sales analysis, marketing research, publicity, pricing and promotions.
Our webinar is a prime opportunity for you to submit questions related to Local Marketing execution. With two weeks still remaining before the event, we have nearly 500 registrants and hope that you are one of them.
This month we’ll also highlight our recent whitepaper on Local Marketing, discuss innovations in our profiling services, and post follow-up coverage of the webinar.
If you haven’t had an opportunity to do so, you can register for our ‘How To Execute a Local Marketing Campaign’ webinar here.
Permalink | Tags: (Brad Haley, CKE, Local Marketing, QSR, webinar)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Glenn Haertel
May 17, 2010 | No Comments
If you’ve ever considered local marketing for your brand or wondered how to better leverage the LRM campaigns you are doing, you won’t want to miss our free webinar: How to Execute a Successful Local Marketing Campaign. Registration is now open at qsrmagazine.com/webinars.
Sponsored by Synq and QSR magazine, this webinar will feature Brad Haley, EVP, Marketing CKE Restaurants, Inc. (Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s) and Synq’s Doug Fergusson, EVP, Solutions. Brad has successfully deployed Local Marketing tactics to enable his brands to compete more effectively in this very competitive marketplace, while maintaining CKE’s brand standards and messaging guidelines. He’ll reveal best practices, challenges and solutions. Doug will add his experiences working with multiple brands and explain how technology helps streamline this process and makes it easier than ever to execute.
We hope you’ll join us on Thursday, June 24 at 2 – 3 p.m. EDT for what’s sure to be an informative and engaging event! And if you have questions or topics you’d like our panelists to address, let us know by commenting on our blog.
Permalink | Tags: (Brad Haley, Carl's Jr., CKE, Doug Fergusson, Hardees, Local Marketing, QSR, QSR magazine, register, webinar)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Glenn Haertel
May 6, 2010 | 2 Comments
I attended the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona last month and was inspired by the topics raised. Much of the discussion went back to the unique issues that QSR and fast casual restaurants are dealing with in this economic environment. For example, while today’s customer seeks value, that doesn’t translate to “cheapest.” Customers have plenty of options and want the best quality for the price. Consumers also expect restaurants to connect with them in a way they will remember, whether it’s greeting them at the door, offering to carry their tray to the table if their arms are full or having an exceptionally clean store. In a nutshell, they want a pleasant experience.
Another theme discussed was the need to increasingly funnel more marketing dollars into local campaigns, but in a way that compliments the national marketing strategy. This ensures brand standards are maintained and messaging is consistent – yet can speak to the uniqueness of the local market.
With social media so prevalent today, the conference spoke about how important it is to stay connected to your customers. It’s not enough to market your company; you have to engage in a dialogue by speaking with your customer, not to them. Whatever the platform is — blogs, social media sites or microsites — the conversation must go both ways. And it’s imperative that we monitor the social media sites to collect valuable insights on what our customers are saying.
One final note is that community remains a strong force. Restaurants must be engaged in their community. There are countless ways to be engaged in and support your community, which could include supporting local schools, participating in charitable events or just volunteering time. When you invest in your community, you will see a return on that involvement.
RLC was well attended this year, and I look forward to another motivating event next year. If you attended this year’s conference, tell me what you thought.
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, marketing, QSR, Restaurant Leadership Conference, restaurant marketing, RLC, social media)Add Comments | View Comments (2)
By: Mike Snyder
May 4, 2010 | No Comments
Having recently returned from the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, we’re inspired to keep the dialogue going about trends in the restaurant industry. We’ll be talking about the issues that came out of the RLC conference and what we found of particular interest. We’re also looking ahead to our local marketing webinar on June 24. Our free webinar will feature Brad Haley, EVP, Marketing CKE Restaurants, Inc. discussing how Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have successfully leveraged local marketing, while maintaining a unified CKE message.
Lastly, we are sponsoring the 7th annual Dine America executive conference in Atlanta on September 12-14. This is a must-attend event that always raises the most critical issues facing QSR and Fast Casual restaurants, while sharing innovative ideas and solutions.
Tell us what trends are most impacting your business and join our discussions.
Permalink | Tags: (Carl's Jr., CKE, Dine America, Hardees, Local Marketing, marketing execution, QSR, Restaurant Leadership Conference, RLC)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Doug Fergusson
April 14, 2010 | No Comments
It’s easy to forget that much of what’s practiced in today’s retail business is based upon a foundation that was set over the last 100 years. While there has been an introduction of technology, such as bar scanning and sophisticated inventory management systems that have improved operations and service, basic marketing techniques have remained relatively unchanged.
Mass media (TV, radio) is still a large portion of marketing spend, and direct-to-consumer communications are primarily non-personalized Free Standing Inserts (FSI’s) and mailers. On-premise marketing also continues to be centered on POP signage that directly supports national campaigns with little or no localization.
All of these practices ignore changing consumer behaviors. The New Consumer expects retailers to speak to their individual interests and preferences. This is true of direct-to-consumer communications, as well as on-premise signage at a specific store. These New Consumers want to feel a sense of relationship to the places they frequent. Walking into a store and seeing signage that speaks to your interests and lifestyle gives you a sense of ownership in the store. That ownership can mean the difference between a retail location being a convenience or a destination.
Responding to this need requires a rethinking of the retail space and the way you communicate with customers — both within the store and directly. Consider these ideas:
- Customize each store’s menu boards so it features local customer favorites
- Add signage that speaks to local events (high school teams, concerts, etc.)
- Include signage in other languages that appeal to local demographics
- Localize store signage to reflect community tastes and interests (specific products or traffic patterns)
- Frequently rotate the store’s graphic themes with changeable graphic panels (perhaps with graphics that reflect the community)
- Integrate direct-to-consumer communications (mail, e-mail) with store signage
- Build completely personalized direct communications (graphics, messaging and offers) based upon specific consumer preferences and community themes
There are other ways to create a sense of relationship with your customers. Many marketing campaigns may seem difficult or expensive; however, having the right partners to execute them can make this easy. Focus your attention on expanding your creative thinking and the rest will fall into place.
New Consumers aren’t just interested in relationships; they also have a thirst for new things to talk about in order to feed their social media habits. In my next blog post, I will discuss why agility should be a cornerstone of your marketing program.
Permalink | Tags: (best practices, Local Marketing, marketing, New Consumer, Retail)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Randy Naegele
April 14, 2010 | No Comments
Schlotsky's image from Stores Magazine
The April issue of Stores magazine features Synq Solutions in an article describing how we execute marketing initiatives for hundreds of Schlotzsky’s locations. The piece is titled ‘Marketing Synchronicity: Synq Solutions Helps Schlotzsky’s Franchisees Implement Marketing Programs’, and it’s a great, in-depth look at how we manage local marketing and the individual needs of each franchise. You can read the article in its entirety here.
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, marketing, QSR, schlotzsky's)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Glenn Haertel
March 31, 2010 | No Comments
As I read through a recent issue of Nation’s Restaurant News, I came across an article titled ‘Feeding the Needs of a New America‘. It discussed the upcoming US census and the data points that were likely to be revealed. The concept that the ‘average American’ has ceased to exist (from a marketing perspective) was pervasive throughout the article. In essence, our population has become so diverse that we’re unable to pinpoint a universal set of traits or behaviors that are applicable across the country. Thus, we can no longer send the same message to everyone. While this isn’t exactly a new concept, it looks as though we’ll now have the hard data to support it. The changing population centers, current economic conditions, demographics, and tastes are all impacting how we make decisions. So– what are we to do? The answer seems simple enough: alter your products and messaging to speak directly to the tastes and preferences of the respective local market. Ideally, marketing and messaging should be store-specific– the execution, however, is not that simple. You can read more on this subject in our local marketing series.
I’m curious: what are your thoughts on these findings? And– how are you keeping up with the ever-changing market?
Permalink | Tags: (Local Marketing, marketing demographics, marketing execution, marketing profiling, Nation's Restaurant News)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Doug Fergusson
February 23, 2010 | No Comments
It occurred to me that my previous posts on the subject of Local Marketing have been directed at the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of local marketing, but really didn’t address the ‘why.’ It is easy to assume that most people appreciate the value of local marketing; however, I think in reality many are far less certain.
Most local marketing activities are initiated by individual store managers or franchisees on trial and error basis to increase revenue during slow periods or increase loyalty with the local consumer. Their methods are often not ideal, and their means to measure results are limited; however, when they find something that works for them, they stick with it.
I see the rationale for local marketing falling into several distinct categories:
- Coverage: Some local marketing approaches provide an added medium for communicating with customers that aren’t covered by national campaigns (i.e. flyers handed out to local businesses or schools)
- Conditions: Local marketing provides a means to speak to specific market conditions (i.e. competitor is offering a special across the street, local high school makes the playoffs, etc.)
- Community: Local marketing enables store managers to customize the store experience to match the interest and tastes of local customers. (i.e. Spanish signage in heavily Hispanic areas, etc.)
While the first two reasons tend to be the primary drivers for campaigns, I am beginning to believe that the third may be the most important. Changing consumer interests, fed by social media trends, are leading buyers to expect a more personalized experience at the retail locations they frequent. These ‘New Consumers’ are favoring locations that have a buzz; how you create and maintain the buzz is the challenge.
In my next post, I will share ideas that I have collected about New Consumers. While much of this information offered by ‘experts’ is speculative, it does raise some interesting possibilities. And now, I’d love to hear from you—what are your thoughts on the ‘whys’ of local marketing?
If you liked this post, you may want to take a look at my commentary on Local Marketing – Setting Goals.
Permalink | Tags: (franchisees, in-store marketing, Local Marketing, marketing, media, social media)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Simon Meachin
February 17, 2010 | No Comments
I’m proud to say that we’ve partnered with CKE brands for more than ten years now as their in-store marketing execution provider. What’s great about this partnership is that it truly illustrates the power of a one-stop shop approach for printing, fulfillment, shipping and technology solutions to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. We’ve published a two-part case study on CKE brands titled “Synq Solutions Provides Series of Innovative Solutions to Hardee’s® and other CKE brands”. The study focuses on Hardees in particular, and reveals how ‘intelligent profiling’ enabled them to reduce their inventory costs by 18%. We hope that our study provides you with some insight as to how your business can execute its marketing campaigns more efficiently.
As always, we invite you to post comments or questions and share your thoughts on the subject.
If you liked this post, you may want to take a look at Doug’s blog post on Local Marketing Profiling.
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Permalink | Tags: (CKE, Hardees, Local Marketing, marketing, marketing campaigns, QSR)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Glenn Haertel
February 10, 2010 | No Comments
This month, Synq is focusing on Local Marketing. We believe it’s a topic that is more relevant than ever. Given current economic conditions, local operators have expressed the urgent need to market directly to their customers’ unique preferences and react to local opportunities. If you’re wondering how Local Marketing can be leveraged for your business, be sure to read Doug Fergusson’s blog series on local marketing. He covers everything from “What is Local Marketing?” to how campaigns should be executed. Our guest blogger, marketing consultant and QSR magazine contributor, Roy Bergold, argues in his post that local marketing should be a part of every national marketing campaign. Later this month, we’ll be publishing a white paper on the tools needed for a successful Local Marketing campaign.
Permalink | Tags: (in-store marketing, Local Marketing)Add Comments | View Comments (0)
By: Doug Fergusson
January 19, 2010 | 1 Comment
This is the final post in my Local Marketing series. I’d like to wrap things up with a few words on Execution.
In practice, I have found that many retailers and QSRs have struggled with their Local Marketing efforts because they lack the technology and workflow approach that brings together all the components needed for a successful program. These components include:
• A technology platform that is accessible to local managers and franchisees
• A process that allows field personnel to quickly and easily order store-specific marketing elements
• Marketing elements that are designed in a modular fashion and can be customized
• A print production and fulfillment provider that has a cost-effective, efficient workflow
• A funding model that takes the burden off field personnel
• Users that are educated on how and when to use local marketing tools
If any of these execution components are missing, the program’s effectiveness will be impacted. I have watched a number of well-intentioned retailers and QSRs spend a lot of time and money putting some, but not all, of the pieces in place only to find that their efforts have yielded few results. If the program is not adopted by store managers, franchisees or field marketers because the delivery system is difficult to use or doesn’t address their needs, it’s a failure of the program execution rather than a failure of Local Marketing.
Remember, an effective implementation requires planning, the right tools and an ongoing commitment to a marketing process.
Local Marketing is such an exciting topic, and I encourage you to continue the conversation. Send me your questions or comments to blog@synqsolutions.com, and I’ll post them.
Good luck with your next Local Marketing campaign!
Permalink | Tags: (execution, fulfillment, in-store marketing, Local Marketing, print production)Add Comments | View Comments (1)
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