Franchise Significantly Increases Number of Reviews, Leads, and Sales with Vendasta

Note: The Vendasta customer in this case study has been anonymized as the “partner” or “franchise” to protect client confidentiality.

• This case study features a leading entertainment and recreation franchise, spanning across the United States.
• In March 2022, the franchise embraced Vendasta’s platform, aiming to empower individual franchisees to manage their local marketing strategy.
• The goal was to equip franchisees with a unified suite of digital tools, optimizing marketing performance network-wide.

The Challenge

Unlike smaller businesses, franchises face the daunting challenge of managing diverse tools, negotiating prices, and implementing solutions across an extensive network. Choosing Vendasta streamlined this process, providing wholesale access to a comprehensive Marketplace, rebrandable portals for seamless management, and ongoing support, addressing key pain points for the franchise and its individual units.

Background

In today’s digital era, businesses acknowledge the vital role of a robust online presence, with consumers increasingly relying on search, review platforms, and social media to guide purchasing decisions.

While smaller local businesses may find it easier to embrace digital marketing tools due to their size and agility, franchisors have a more formidable challenge.

Managing solutions from various providers, negotiating with individual vendors on pricing, and executing the implementation of a diverse set of tools across an extensive network can become a logistical nightmare.

In this context, the franchise’s primary motivations for choosing Vendasta were as follows:

• First, adopting Vendasta alleviated the pain point of dealing with multiple vendors for the same services, often at higher prices. Vendasta consolidates 250+ products in one unified Marketplace, enabling the franchisor to select tools relevant to their needs at wholesale prices.
• Second, the franchise and its individual units could seamlessly handle services, fulfillment, and billing through a rebrandable portal, enhancing the perceived value between store owners and the franchisor.
• Third, Vendasta’s approach offered ongoing advice and support, ensuring the effective use of tools and optimization of the digital marketing strategy for both the franchise and its individual stores.

Objectives

The franchise’s partnership with Vendasta was driven by specific objectives:

• Outperform competitors in search and reduce costs through a streamlined tech stack.
• Boost review volumes across individual units to enhance online reputation.
• Expand business listings, ensuring franchisees are prominently featured on relevant platforms for increased visibility.

The Approach

Implementing Vendasta across the franchise involved a strategic and collaborative process, aligning with corporate goals. The key stages included:

Goal setting

At the outset, Vendasta and the franchise’s corporate marketing team aligned the solution and chosen Marketplace products with the franchise’s overarching marketing objectives.

Specialized training

Vendasta’s specialized trainers held sessions with the franchise’s corporate marketing team, ensuring a smooth network rollout. his encompassed setting up permissions and ensuring brand consistency with the franchise’s brand.

Developing a success roadmap

A collaborative roadmap for success was developed, leading to the implementation of a structured system of regular check-ins and calls between Vendasta and the franchise. These sessions aimed to review performance metrics, track trends in individual units, and make necessary refinements to the franchise’s overall digital marketing strategy.

Execution

After defining goals and fine-tuning the platform, the Vendasta solution cascaded to individual units, each receiving a unique login for personalized access.

Franchisees underwent tailored onboarding programs, gaining proficiency in leveraging Vendasta’s suite of tools within their operations.

Empowered with marketing tools, each store autonomously managed listings, monitored and responded to online reviews, and actively sought customer feedback.

Utilizing Vendasta’s Executive Report, individual stores monitored their digital marketing progress, gaining insights on local performance against competitors. Simultaneously, the franchisor’s corporate marketing team obtained a holistic view, identifying stores excelling in marketing and those requiring additional support.

This dynamic collaboration ensures a continual optimization of the franchise’s overall performance in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Quote from the partner;

“The streamlined implementation of our digital strategy through Vendasta’s unified platform is a game-changer. Empowering franchise owners to use these tools gives them control over their local marketing. Plus, the exceptional service fosters a genuine collaborative partnership, making us feel truly supported.”

Manager of Franchise Operations at the franchise

Best Selling Products

1. Reputation Management
2. Listings Sync Pro
3. Customer Voice + SMS

Conclusion

Partnering with Vendasta propelled the franchise to tangible success, boosting search visibility, leads, and sales. Beyond metrics, owners thrived in communities, expanding access to arts and recreation. The collaborative approach not only improved business metrics but also streamlined corporate efficiency by consolidating vendor relationships.

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