Grand openings and community outreach equal success as Marco’s Pizza franchisees deliver both a five-star experience and the best pizza in the world
Marco’s Pizza® franchisees know that building ties with the local community — from schools to civic groups — is integral to their individual success and the company’s success as one of the fastest growing pizza chains in the U.S. Our local store marketing team helps franchisees establish and grow these relationships, which sets franchisees up for success from grand opening day and beyond.
Marco’s Pizza prides itself on making the best delivery pizza money can buy, and our growth is testament to our devoted fans nationwide. Marco’s Pizza is handmade in the Italian tradition, using fresh, never-frozen cheeses, making the dough in stores daily and using only premium meats and vegetables. Founded in Toledo in 1978, Marco’s is the only Top 20 pizza chain begun by a native Italian. Our pizza franchise has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years and is quickly closing in on that 1000 store milestone.
“We win people’s taste buds over with the best pizza in the world and with our local approach,” says Marco’s Vice President of Local Store Marketing Jason Lowder. “Our number one marketing tool is our product followed by our great guest experience. The relationships our franchisees are building today are going to build sales for the life of the store.”
Grand openings set local stores up for success
Marco’s local store marketing team works closely with franchisees to ensure grand openings are a successful and memorable event for the local community. Marco’s grand openings are an opportune time for franchisees to introduce the community to our delicious pizza, as well as to connect and have fun. In addition to being a festive event with bounce houses, games, face painting and music played by a local DJ, there is a strategic business component behind the games and pizza giveaways.
“We use grand openings as an opportunity to host a pizza-for-a-year giveaway, which is a great way to collect email club members; we collect, on average, about 400 new email club members at grand openings. And we don’t miss the opportunity to attract new franchisees, because virtually all of our franchisees fell in love with the pizza before they signed on with Marco’s, which often happens at Grand Openings. “There’s never a second chance for a first impression. We have one shot to blow it up.”
Marketing tactics help franchisees penetrate the local market
Local store marketing training begins before franchisees open their doors during new franchisee classroom training. Jason and his team are currently working on institutionalizing these efforts even more by developing local store marketing curriculum. They also host a weekly accountability call with franchisees. On it, they discuss priority local store marketing initiatives and various other communication efforts, such as three-day local store marketing plan workshops that include classroom style training, as well as field training.
“The level of support Marco’s provides at the local store marketing level is phenomenal. We have an entire section of our Intranet devoted to local store marketing, which houses all of the tools and instruction that franchisees may need to successfully market their store,” Jason says.
Build your success on ours
Marco’s Pizza has become one of the fastest-growing large pizza franchises in the nation, and our homemade recipes and fresh ingredients are in the Italian tradition. We are led by veteran pizza executives who have experience growing brands and supporting franchisees as they grow their businesses.
Learn more about Marco’s Pizza
For in-depth details about the Marco’s Pizza franchise opportunity, download our free franchise report. You can also learn more by visiting our research pages.
