Some of the most successful franchises operate with consistent messaging from both the franchise development and consumer marketing departments. It can be challenging at times, with two distinctly different audiences receiving the brand messaging. Smoothie King makes it a priority through planning and communication to make sure both departments are constantly operating together.

Smoothie King's VP of Franchise Development Shawn Caric discusses how the franchise plans this messaging and implements it through digital marketing. He also shares his thoughts on how they communicate with franchisees throughout the system, gather feedback, educate them on new products and promotions, and gauge the results of a program.

CDO/VP of Development Q&A

What excites you the most about the future of the Smoothie King “brand”?

Caric: I truly believe our brand is built for today and far into the future. It is an affordable and portable menu that meets Smoothie King’s Clean Blends promise that is important to today’s consumer. Our low labor operating model and simple operations are important to today’s small business owners.

Can you discuss the role of digital marketing and technology in your franchise development and marketing efforts, especially in the context of recent industry trends?

Caric: Digital marketing and technology are constantly evolving, so it’s important to keep our fingers on the pulse of these developments as they continue to change the game for franchise development and beyond. A significant portion of our marketing dollars are spent on digital marketing as it provides us with the most effective and efficient way to meet a broad and targeted audience. As technology advances, we continue to adapt and seek new opportunities to leverage the category.

What unique challenges and opportunities arise when working in both franchise development and marketing within the franchise industry?

Caric: Within a franchise company, it’s crucial that the franchise development and consumer marketing messages work in harmony. This can be a difficult balance to achieve, as these are very different audiences, but to achieve success, the messages must complement, not compete against, each other.

How do you bridge the gap between franchise development and marketing?

Caric: From our perspective, a bridge shouldn’t be necessary between these two critical functions of a franchise company. Through consistent communication with our marketing partners and involvement during all planning stages, we are able to avoid gaps before they hinder the company’s success and efficiency.

How do you leverage Smoothie King's marketing efforts to attract new franchisees, while maintaining consistency with the existing brand identity?

Caric: Our brand’s mission and vision are consistent and important to both our guests and our franchisees. With streamlined goals across the brand, it’s critical to successfully leverage these messages across franchise development and consumer marketing.

Building strong relationships with franchisees is crucial. How do your marketing efforts contribute to fostering such relationships, and what role does franchisee satisfaction play in growth?

Caric: We recognize the importance of marketing efforts to foster new relationships with franchisees and strengthen existing ones, which ultimately leads to our success as a company. Franchisee satisfaction and validation are critical components to our growth. New and existing franchisees demand that our brand remains relevant in today’s competitive environment. Additionally, many of our franchisees start off as Smoothie King guests, so in a way we’re advertising to our guests and consumers as much as we’re advertising to future franchisees.

We also work with a select group of franchisees that make up our Franchise Advisory Council to gather feedback on marketing initiatives and campaigns prior to launch that ideally is reflective of the larger Smoothie King franchise system. From an R&D standpoint, we partner with franchisees to test new products, pricing models, and promotions in their respective markets prior to launching nationally.

How do you ensure that your marketing strategies provide franchisees with the tools they need for growth?   

Caric: We do this in a variety of ways. Education is at the top of the list, especially for new franchisees. It’s crucial that all franchisees are informed about Smoothie King’s mission and vision, as well as our commitment to our Clean Blend Promises and real fruits and organic veggies, an essential cornerstone of our brand.

Another important tool is a strong marketing calendar that’s constantly introducing new LTO smoothies, collaborations with relevant partners, and has an ability to move quickly and jump on trending beverage topics and flavor profiles. The calendar is brought to life at the store level through strong marketing support, including media and local community opportunities.

How do you measure and track the effectiveness your marketing plans and the execution of the plans?  

Caric: Each media channel we leverage for the brand has KPIs that are set up front and measured continuously throughout the placement of the media. The brand tracker is another helpful tool that provides a snapshot of how we are performing and showing up to guests and consumers. We also get a very good understanding of what’s working and what isn’t for campaigns that run though our Healthy Rewards loyalty program.

From an execution standpoint, we have ops consultants that visit our stores across the country on a regular basis to ensure that all consumer-facing marketing materials are current and presented in the store in the proper way.

What advice would you give to emerging franchise brands looking to establish a strong presence in both franchise development and marketing?  

Caric: From a franchise development perspective, there is no silver bullet or one thing solely responsible for results. Success follows when all efforts are working together to effectively produce relevant news and noise for your brand. It’s also beneficial when your leadership team and existing franchisees are active and engaged in telling the brand's story.