Fro-Yo Files: Jay Randle, Multi-Unit Franchisee of Red Mango, Shares What He Really Thinks of the Franchise (Part 2 of 2)

(Ambrosio’s note:  Welcome to this week’s edition of Fro-Yo Files, an exclusive bonus series for Platinum subscribers of Franchise Chatter. Today’s post is the second of two parts.)

Building on Corporate Marketing Efforts

Randle said his team employs various local marketing tactics to complement marketing support that is provided at the corporate level. One of the things they have been successful with is printing discount coupons on the backs of grocery receipts from local supermarkets. They are able to track the success of the campaign through the number of coupons redeemed. They also canvas various student activities, sporting events, and senior centers, handing out coupons for the store.

Because Red Mango is very active in using social media in its marketing methods, Randle says he plans to become more active with online marketing, in addition to the Facebook page they already operate to announce their flavors of the day.

They rely mainly on Red Mango corporate support for building brand recognition, he said, because the chain is only five years old and many customers are still not familiar with it. The company will throw a big grand opening celebration for its 200^th store on Oct. 20, 2012, Randle said, but he would like to see additional national marketing efforts with a media campaign.

“I’m relying on Red Mango corporate to do some brand recognition,” he said. “We’re head and shoulders above everybody and I’m not blowing smoke. I think that’s an absolute fact.”

In the newest location in The Woodlands, Randle’s Red Mango is located next to a Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store. His employees often will stand outside and offer Trader Joe’s customers samples of their frozen yogurt. Invariably, those customers will stop in to get some yogurt before or after they have finished shopping at Trader Joe’s, he said.

Randle’s team operates a 1,700-square-foot store and the new one is 1,200 square feet. The initial investment was about $450,000, he said, which falls within the range of $331,100 and $488,600 that Red Mango lists on its 2012 Franchise Disclosure Document.

Meanwhile, Randle is still in search of the perfect location for his third Red Mango store. He’s not in any hurry to open it, he says, until he finds just the right spot. The Red Mango corporate team helps by supplying a realtor to show them various sites and then he makes a visit to the location to see if he believes it will produce the traffic he desires.