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ShelfGenie and Floor Coverings International Solve Common Franchise Communication Challenges with IMN’s Digital Marketing Platform

By: Floor Coverings International |  20 Shares     143 Reads

Customizable Email Newsletter Enables Franchisees to Better Engage with Customers, Push Leads Through the Sales Funnel and Ensure Consistency of Brand Messaging

April 02, 2013 // Franchising.com // WALTHAM, Mass. – IMN, the digital marketing company that delivers branded newsletters and content for vertical markets, today announced that Floor Coverings International, North America’s leading in-home design floor coverings brand with 85 locally-owned and operated franchises, and ShelfGenie, the cabinet storage solutions company with 130 franchises in operation, have used IMN’s Loyalty Driver for Franchise™ to tackle their email communication challenges head on.

Loyalty Driver for Franchise: The Marketing Tool to Grow Franchise Businesses

Loyalty Driver for Franchise™ is IMN’s turnkey email marketing solution designed to help multi-unit franchise brands maintain ongoing communications with clients and prospects through a steady stream of relevant and engaging newsletter content, while expanding their database through targeted lead generation.

The content in each newsletter is original, timely and on-message, providing readers with information, tips and relevant points of interest. Franchisees have the option of distributing content developed exclusively by IMN for their customers or having IMN distribute the newsletter on their behalf.

ShelfGenie Lowers Cost Per Lead

ShelfGenie turned to IMN for help delivering a consistent message, identity and offers through individual franchise locations and pushing qualified leads through its sales funnel. Primarily a direct response-based business, ShelfGenie uses a central call center that books design consultations with prospects. By using a unique phone number, ShelfGenie can track which leads come in to its call center through the newsletter. This is critical, as ShelfGenie closely monitors the impact of all of its marketing tools in terms of inbound interest in ShelfGenie’s products as well as on its sales pipeline and cost per qualified lead. Of the six marketing support programs tracked in the fall of 2012, the email newsletter program had the best ratio of the highest amount of call center talk time for the lowest cost per qualified lead. The cost per qualified lead through the newsletter was $74.

“Since ShelfGenie franchisees may not necessarily have sales or marketing backgrounds, the newsletter empowers them to reach out to their client and prospect network,” said Courtney Carrasco, director of marketing and communications, ShelfGenie. “While the newsletter content is controlled at the corporate level to ensure brand and message consistency across each franchise, the franchisees can choose to personalize it, adding in special events or local promotions, for example, before distributing or forwarding it along as is in a ‘soft sell’ communications strategy.”

The full ShelfGenie case study can be seen at: http://www.imakenews.com/autosales/ShelfGenie_CaseStudy.pdf

Floor Coverings International Polishes Relationship Marketing Efforts

Floor Coverings International engaged with IMN to help the company communicate with, and market to, existing customers more regularly and effectively to increase brand engagement. After eight months of working together, 42 percent of the franchise’s 40,000+ customers were opening the monthly newsletter and two-thirds of its projects came from those that read the newsletter.

“Floor Coverings’ relationship with IMN has proven that if you provide relevant, interesting content, customers will read it and feel a stronger tie to the brand,” said Ryan Aschauer, vice president of consumer marketing and IT, Floor Coverings International.

The full Floor Coverings International case study can be downloaded here.

About Floor Coverings International

FCI was established in 1988 as the first mobile, shop-at-home floor-covering franchise and is the oldest and largest in-home floor-covering retailer with franchises in the United States and Canada. The expertise and knowledge of its Design Associates helps to differentiate FCI from the price-driven market sector of big-box stores and many smaller retailers by providing the homeowner with a custom designed floor that is perfectly matched to their home. FCI’s services appeal to upper-income homeowners who place an emphasis on home décor and view it as enriching their lifestyle. For more information about FCI’s unique services or franchise opportunities, call 1-800-DIAL-FCI or visit www.floorcoveringsinternational.com.

About ShelfGenie

Atlanta, Ga.-based ShelfGenie is a franchise concept that designs, builds and installs Glide-OutTM shelving systems that are custom-built to fit into existing cabinets throughout the home, resulting in durable, affordable and customized shelves that glide in and out with the touch of a finger. ShelfGenie is the nation's only franchised provider of custom-built shelving solutions and is well positioned for growth and to become the predominant brand in its industry, which is highly fragmented and comprised of many “mom and pop” competitors and online retailers. The company has over 130 locations and expects to grow to 150 to 175 locations by the end of 2013 by targeting major markets throughout the Northeast, Florida, Washington and California. For more information, visit www.shelfgenie.com.

About IMN

IMN is the digital marketing company that delivers branded newsletters and content for more than 3,000 organizations worldwide. By combining custom, vertically-oriented content with advanced publishing technology and services, IMN enables companies to engage with their prospects and customers to drive business results via email, mobile and social platforms. In addition to taking advantage of IMN’s expertise within the automotive, banking and direct selling industries, customers benefit from analytics-based intelligence that provides insight into buying behavior and purchase preferences to successfully encourage brand loyalty and generate leads. For more information, visit http://www.imninc.com or the IMN Blog. Follow IMN on Twitter @loyaltydriver or engage on the IMN Facebook brand page.

SOURCE IMN

Contact:

Kate Thermansen
Vice President, fama PR
617.986.5006
kate@famapr.com

 

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