Charles Watson, CFE – Chief Development Officer for Tropical Smoothie Cafe – Contact: cwatson@tropicalsmoothiecafe.com
Tropical Smoothie Cafe • We are a quick-casual concept that provides better-for-you, great-tasting food and smoothies. – Started as a single location in Destin, Florida in 1997 – Opened the first franchise in 1998 – Primarily grew on East Coast until 2014 – 500 th location opened in 2016 – Locations coast to coast
Objective • Generate qualified leads for Tropical Smoothie Cafe in order to award 150 new locations in 2015.
Strategy: Integrated Marketing & Media Plan • Designed to create awareness for the opportunity and generate qualified leads • Rationale: – Allows the brand to stay in front of prospects both nationally and in key markets as they are researching online – Continue the conversation with potential prospects even after they visit the website or submit a lead
Strategy: Integrated Media Plan • Tactics: – SiriusXM Radio • Talk radio station mix that met target audience requirements – Entrepreneur Magazine • Print ad in the Entrepreneur 500 issue with pre- selected location on the category page for added exposure under the ranking – Entrepreneur.com Display Ads & Listing • Complement to the print ad that was placed in the January issue of Entrepreneur
Strategy: Integrated Media Plan • Tactics: – Display Ads • Contextual ads were served to those who fit our target audience parameters. This ensured we would pay for interactions with qualified individuals who are exploring sites/topics that mimic our current franchisees’ interests. • Retargeting ads allowed us to stay in front of consumers who visited the consumer site and may have an interest in owning a location, as well as stay in front of those who previously visited the franchise development site.
Strategy: Integrated Media Plan • Tactics: – LinkedIn • Blog posts, press releases, and other timely content was shared out through LinkedIn. The posts were used as a preview to the content, which prospects had to click through to the website to access…they were one step closer to converting.
Strategy: Integrated Media Plan • Digital Tactics: – Email Marketing • “The Well” became Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s quarterly newsletter to current and dormant leads. • Content includes: – Brand updates – List of new cafe openings – Franchisee profiles – Links to TSC in the news – General franchise tips
Strategy: Target Key Markets • Strategy: Target key markets that have room for growth and market penetration. • Rationale: – The advertising will increase awareness for the brand in key markets, which would increase sales and encourage franchisee validation.
Strategy: Online Advertising • Tactics: – Facebook & Display Ads • Facebook and display ads were served in the area that advertise the “Meet the CEO” event explicitly.
Strategy: Online Advertising • Tactics: – LinkedIn Sponsored Post Ads – Email Marketing • Emails with “Meet the CEO” event details were deployed to current and old leads in the target market and surrounding areas.
Strategy: Improve Website Conversions • Strategy: Update website to create a better user experience in order to convert more visitors. • Rationale: – More than one click was required to get key information. – A content strategy was needed to improve SEO and further connect prospects to the brand. – The website was not mobile responsive, and 60% of traffic was from mobile. – Conversion Rate = 1.9%
Strategy: Improve Website Conversions • Tactic: – Benefits of the new website design: • Messaging was consistent with external advertising. • Mobile conversions increased after the site was responsive. • Unique landing pages were created with exclusive content for niche audiences.
Strategy: Website Update
Strategy: Creative Positioning • Strategy: Effectively position the brand to our target audiences. • Rationale: – In 2014, Tropical Smoothie Cafe rolled out a new Cafe design. All consumer-facing creative was updated, and we saw the need for a franchise development creative update as well. – We wanted prospects to clearly know what brand they were exploring when they looked at our collateral, and we wanted prospects to have a good preview of what they’d see at a Cafe.
Strategy: Creative Positioning • Tactic: – Updated Messaging • Prior to the 2015 creative update, Tropical Smoothie Cafe was using Treat People Well | Feed People Well | Do Well as our campaign messaging, which was speaking to our better-for-you franchise concept and opportunity to do well for your community.
Strategy: Creative Positioning • Because a creative change was being executed, we also updated the messaging from Do Well to Invest Well. – More action-oriented – Spoke to multi-unit owners who were looking for a good financial investment
Strategy: Creative Positioning • Tactic: – Brand Video • A brand video was created for the franchise opportunity and edited to be used across numerous digital platforms, including the website, display banner ads, and social media. • The video included the updated brand messaging, views of the new Cafe design and people enjoying their TSC experience, interviews with consumers and employees, and a call-to-action.
Strategy: Creative Positioning
Results • Cost per Lead = $103.69 • Overall Cost per Sale = $2,227.94 – Well below the industry average of $6,000 • Website Conversion Rate = 3% – Up from 1.9% • Lead-to-Sale Ratio = 5% – Up from 3% in 2014 – Exceeded industry average of 2%
Lessons Learned • There was a greater appeal to multi-unit franchisees after the 400th location opened and the AUV exceeded a 2:1 investment ratio. – The average number of units purchased went from 1.3 to 2.2 • Indicating we were attracted a more sophisticated buyer
Lessons Learned • LinkedIn is an effective “drip campaign” vehicle when timely, organic content is shared.
Lessons Learned • Referral traffic from the consumer website is an important traffic metric to follow closely. • When the consumer website changed how they communicated the franchise opportunity, our leads decreased.
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