Our Town America: Franchise Candidates Respond Well To Cause Marketing

By: Steven Sgroi
Published: September 30th, 2018

We asked Steven Sgroi, National Sales Manager for Our Town America, "How is your brand's involvement in cause marketing helping in franchise recruitment?"

At Our Town America, community-building is built into our DNA and brand promise. As a new mover marketing company, our job is to create long-term, valuable relationships between reputable local business owners and folks who have recently relocated to the area. Our franchisees are literally improving the local economy while extending a helping hand to new movers -- a wonderful cause in and of itself that attracts phenomenal franchise partners.

However, it's our commitment to go beyond that with all marketing efforts that has helped us attract the right kind of franchisees who embrace our culture. Here are three specific things we've done recently.

1. We used Facebook fundraisers to raise thousands of dollars for local businesses in Houston and Tampa after the hurricanes wreaked havoc in those communities last year. The coolest thing? After handing over thousands to a local Shipley Do-Nuts to help with repairs, their owner turned around and gave it to an employee who had lost everything in the flooding -- a phenomenal pay-it-forward moment!
2. Each year, our franchisees visit their sponsors (the local businesses who partner with them) in the weeks surrounding Small Business Saturday. Functioning as a "Small Biz Support Squad," they bring them gifts (such as free massages, restaurant gift cards, etc.) to encourage them to take a load off after working insane hours during the holiday season.
3. Earlier this year, our Boise-based owners, husband-and-wife team Scot and Amy Hecht, partnered with a local doughnut shop to extend the impact of the "We Dine Together" movement in Boise. They brought free food and organized a breakfast, ensuring the grassroots movement applied to the breakfast hour too!

How it helps

These fundraisers and causes have accelerated the number of qualified leads contacting us because they see how invested we are in dozens of communities. They love that we think down to the local level and always have the best interests of the community in mind. It's simple: employees and franchise owners love being associated with a company that cares. And we're proud of that!

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