CMO Q&A: The Importance of Having a 'Personal Touch'

In each issue of Franchise Update magazine, we profile franchise CMOs and marketing leaders, asking each the same set of questions. Their responses say a lot about who they are, their culture, their values, and where they're leading their companies.

Throughout the year, we'll be selecting one of those questions -- and providing answers from recent CMO profiles. If you like what they say and are curious to learn more about these franchise marketing leaders and their thoughts on other topics, we've provided links to their full profile.

This week: Why is it so important for the marketing department to have a "personal touch" when it comes to helping the brand connect with franchise prospects?

Claudia Schaefer, CMO, Jamba Juice
Our marketing team partners with the franchise development team to introduce our brand and culture to prospective franchisees throughout the franchise recruiting process. For potential owners and representatives of Jamba, it's important that prospective franchisees align with our mission to inspire and simplify healthy living, and that they are passionate about sharing our nutritious and flavor-forward blends with an infectious energy. As the front line to consumers, franchisees are responsible for carrying this on through the in-store experience. Read the full profile.

Katherine LeBlanc, CMO, Painting with a Twist
Each individual wants to ensure they are joining a supportive, flourishing family that matches their personal morals and values. We want each prospect to have seen the brand in the media and in our advertising and to have started to see our many points of differentiation through our marketing efforts. Painting with a Twist is the nation's original and largest paint-and-sip franchise that inspires guests to have fun and create lasting memories through art. And we give back: to date, our charity arm, Painting with a Purpose, has donated more than $4.8 million. Read the full profile.

Kristina Van Bruggen, Vice President of Marketing, Sizzler USA
We are the brand voice, communicating our expectations, core values, and attributes to someone who is potentially making a commitment to join our family. It's imperative that prospective franchisees understand the brand's key insights -- and realize the benefits and support they will receive from the marketing department's overall strategy as it relates to the cross-functionality of each restaurant's success in their respective markets. Read the full profile.

Denise Pedini, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Pizza Inn
It's very easy for our franchisees to feel isolated or even overwhelmed when working with a marketing department at a corporate office. That is why our team makes it a point to travel to the markets almost monthly to give them a friendly face to go with the name. We also conduct weekly checkups on restaurants that we haven't heard from in a while to ensure they are seeing positive results. Our team takes the extra time to get to know all of our franchisees personally. It not only shows the franchisees that we are available, it also shows them we are working toward the same goals and that we care. Read the full profile.

Kieran McCauley, Vice President of Marketing, HealthSource
HealthSource exists to help people do what they love through wellness products and services. This is our brand essence. Marketing meets with small-business owners and entrepreneurs to explain our brand position and marketing support programs. It's important so that they understand how we approach marketing, and to make sure they are passionate about delivering exceptional holistic health services. Read the full profile.