While most brands utilize typical Friends and Family events for training their staff pre-opening, the folks at Broken Yolk turn it into a full scale marketing event.
“We follow specific steps for each store opening”, says Valerie McCartney, Vice President, Franchise Development. “First, approximately 6 months prior to opening, we start a Facebook page for the upcoming location. I’m always pleasantly surprised to see how many early fans we have, even in new markets.”
By the time the store is near opening, they typically have 400 – 500 Facebook fans for the store. For the Friends and Family, they run paid Facebook ads to the store’s fan base inviting the fans to be guests at the Friends and Family opening. When the fan clicks on the Facebook ad, it takes them to a branded landing page where they can register for their preferred seating window. With three seating windows over two days, the guests are scheduled into time slots to allow the kitchen and staff some breathing room. “The best part, says McCartney, is that when they register for their seating, they have effectively opted in. We collect their email address and have an immediate 500-name email database specifically tied to that store that can be used for both e-blasts and custom audience marketing in Facebook and Instagram.”
But it doesn’t stop there. Because the company already has their guests’ emails, they can pre-register and hand each guest a loyalty card when the guest arrives. “Besides making them feel really valued, registering the card earns the guest 50 points and we do that for them so they’re really only one to two visits away from their first reward. From a standpoint of customer acquisition, this is about the most cost effective marketing there is.”
Broken Yolk Café is a 34-unit, franchised breakfast and lunch concept. The original Broken Yolk Café started in 1979 in Pacific Beach, a local beach community in San Diego, California. For years, wait lines ran out the door on weekends causing passers-by to stop in and give the restaurant a try. “Once they tried us, they were generally hooked. We’re known for high quality, homemade food and large portions,” says the franchisor (and original owner)!
After a 2009 feature on The Travel Channel’s Man vs Food introduced the brand to millions of viewers outside of Southern California, calls came in from would-be investors, causing the owners to seek help with a franchise expansion model. Now the hometown favorite has grown to 15 locations in San Diego County, 34 locations nationwide, and 10 more in development.
For more information, please visit www.brokenyolkcafe.com.
