‘Going local’ has as much to do with marketing as food

Save the national and regional marketing campaigns for jingles and broadcast bargains. When it comes to local store marketing, expert say it’s about high touch and memory making. Local store marketing means face-to-face encounters and relationship building far more than any formal advertising. It means getting to know customers personally. “It says, ‘Hey, we’re here. Glad to meet you. Give us a try,” said Jim Ensign, vice president of digital marketing for Papa John’s Pizza. “There’s no TV or computer in between. It’s people talking to people.” Get outside “the box”: Showing food through a TV ad campaign can be effective, but walking into a crowded room with actual and aromatic grub—and then giving it away for free—not only makes a solid and immediate impact, it’s nearly always cheaper than traditional advertising. Some ideas that work: • When opening in new markets, Chick-fil-A franchisees are instructed to call on office buildings near stores to share the chain’s addictive chicken biscuits and drop off coupons for future visits. (Hint: It’s no accident that these visits traditionally are made around 9 or 10 a.m., when breakfast has long disappeared from the stomachs of office workers.) • Papa John’s Pizza franchisees are trained to look for outdoor events lacking food sponsorship and then show up with free pizza and coupons to share. (Hint: Look for these opportunities at public parks, not organized ball fields or gyms outfitted with concessionaires eager to protect their territory.) • Free food and drink works even for non-food franchises. Franchisees of a large Midwestern dental care group market to young adult church groups by offering to deliver free sandwiches and soft-drinks to their gatherings. Why? Because many in these groups are recent college grads, out of their parents’ nests and open to considering a new dentist. (Hint: Marketing experts also point out that these freshly educated young adults—having learned lots about the cruelties of the world through academic study—are somewhat jaded and are seeking friendly brands to support.) • Kids matter: Reach a child’s mind and a marketer has an incredibly compelling campaigner in family discussions. Retailers of every stripe claim friendly mascots are kid magnets. With cellphone cameras everywhere, take kids’ pics with the mascot and put them on a Facebook page. (Hint: Ask parents’ permission first!) • School’s cool: Great retail marketers are typically good networkers who know teachers at local schools. They ask what sorts of contests (e.g. science fairs and spelling bees) for which they might supply awards such as gift cards, branded shirts or hats. • Traditional sponsorship, such as branded sports team shirts, ball field signage and banners, etc., can be powerful especially with parents of little ones. They know the expense of fielding even a tee ball team, and they appreciate the generosity of businesses that underwrite that cost. According to marketing expert Kamron Karington, “Never underestimate the value of that kind of loyalty to a cash-strapped mom who knows what everything costs. Fathers often look at that as ‘just a cost of doing business,’ but moms see it as one less trip to the store and a few less dollars out of their purses.” Experts say local-store marketing should intensify once customers are in the retail setting because it reinforces that subtle sense “that this is my place,” said Don Bosko, a five-unit Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchisee. “When you sponsor a ball team, take their group picture and put it on the wall of your restaurant, you see kids’ faces light up when they see that. They make that connection.” Test, test and retest: Kent Taylor, founder and chairman of Texas Roadhouse, said local store marketing, regardless how fun, warm or fuzzy, must weather the scrutiny of some type of effectiveness test. “Let’s face it, it’s got to work or it’s not worth doing,” Taylor said. “We have our corporate experts go around the country teaching classes on local store marketing strategies we know work. Then we run behind franchisees and test these programs with mystery shoppers to see if they’re doing it effectively.” Of course, the most crucial local store marketing initiative of all, Taylor said, is providing the right retail event once the customer is in the store and committed to buy. “Even if you’re doing great local store marketing, if you’re product isn’t right, you’ve lost them,” he said. “There’s no benefit to getting them to doing a good job getting them to the restaurant and then pissing them off, is there?”