JEFF RINKE
ASHLEY SCHUETZ
Vice President of Marketing Hungry Howie's
Vice President of Marketing Massage Heights
Segment: Pizza, fast casual Units: 549 Locations: 19 U.S. states WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY WITH YOUR MARKETING PROGRAM AS A RESULT OF COVID-19? We are heavily marketing touchless delivery and curbside pick-up. We have created multiple social videos showing these new services. We have created exterior signage encouraging customers to stay in their cars and call the store for curbside delivery. For those customers who still enter our stores we have installed plexiglass shields and social distancing stickers on the floors. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE NEXT 60 DAYS (APRIL & MAY)? Continue to encourage touchless delivery and curbside pick-up for all transactions. In addition, we have added a “Quality Check” sticker to seal every order so customers know the product has not been tampered with. We have an “8-Point Plan” to combat Covid-19 and have posted this plan in our stores. Employees are encouraged to memorize the plan, so if a customer asks they are prepared to answer. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FOLLOWING 90 DAYS (JUNE, JULY, AUGUST)? Marketing plans will continue as normal but with the added assurance that we encourage touchless by encouraging prepayment through credit cards to avoid contact through currency. Social videos will continue to be used showing all we are doing to keep customers safe whether it’s carry-out or delivery. HAVE YOU MADE MAJOR CHANGES TO YOUR MARKETING AND MEDIA PROGRAMS? Only to the digital marketing aspects, such as social and email campaigns. We also have tagged a few television spots with this messaging. When it came to determining which programs to change, it is much easier to explain what you are doing in the stores with the use of digital and social campaigns than it is through television and print media campaigns. We will continue to be on a campaign of “Safety First” when it comes to all campaigns. HAVE YOU MADE ANY CHANGES TO THE ROLES OR DUTIES OF YOUR TEAM? With the exception of creating all these new elements, the marketing department has remained relatively unchanged.
Segment: Massage, wellness Units: 130 Locations: U.S.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIFFERENTLY WITH YOUR MARKETING PROGRAM AS A RESULT OF COVID-19? We have temporarily paused all lead generation efforts and are focused on building brand awareness socially, and on providing wellness tips and education while people are at home. We’ve created videos for self-care while home and have partnered with a meditation app to provide our members with as many wellness resources as we can while we are temporarily unable to physically help them feel better with massage. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE NEXT 60 DAYS (APRIL & MAY)? We closed down 98% of our locations within 48 hours and very quickly shifted to focusing on reopening plans. Our plans are focused on recruitment (not knowing how many of our current staff will return), getting our member base back in the doors upon reopening, and then driving new traffic at different rates (with the understanding that every location will open with a different landscape of needs). WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FOLLOWING 90 DAYS (JUNE, JULY, AUGUST)? I believe we have to be incredibly flexible as we do not understand how the behaviors of consumers will change (or for how long). We need to be fluid in our marketing and operational plans while continuing to assess the situation within each region. HAVE YOU MADE MAJOR CHANGES TO YOUR MARKETING AND MEDIA PROGRAMS? Absolutely. We paused all lead generation efforts and shifted to brand awareness only for a temporary time. Unfortunately, budget restrictions led the way for the majority of this. We cut costs as quickly as possible in an effort to provide our franchisees with financial relief from royalties. HAVE YOU MADE ANY CHANGES TO THE ROLES OR DUTIES OF YOUR TEAM? We had to furlough a percentage of our corporate team. As a result of that, my team has had to pick up a lot of the customer support and administrative duties they are not normally responsible for. We have all shifted and adapted to this temporary new normal, but our goal is to bring back certain employees once we are able to. There are many late nights, and weekends don’t really exist right now, but we are all working hard to provide constant support for our franchisees. And we know this is only temporary. FRANCHISEUpdate
ISSUE 2, 2020
91
