Ep 01: Clicks to Bricks with Rich Hope, CMO of Jersey Mike’s Subs
Jersey Mike’s is an intriguing brand for many reasons. Not only is it rapidly expanding, with 1700 stores across the country, but it also strives to have a mom-and-pop feel without being a mom-and-pop joint. They want their customers to have a warm, intimate experience rather than a distanced one synonymous with chain restaurants. At the helm of the company's marketing ship is Rich Hope, today’s guest. He has been CMO for the past 10 years, having started when there were only 30 locations. Not only has Rich overseen tremendous growth, but he has deftly navigated the brand through the past decade’s constantly evolving landscape. In this episode, Rich sheds light on various cogs in Jersey Mike’s marketing machine. He walks us through numerous changes that have happened over 10 years, and how through technology and data mining, they continually increase the efficacy of their marketing.
Rich also gives insights into the bottom-up adaptation of third-party delivery and how they are currently adapting their stores to accommodate various delivery needs. Along with this, Rich cannot emphasize enough how important great products and effective operations are because, without them, marketing will not deliver on its promises. It is so important to meet your customers where they are and Jersey Mike’s innovative marketing strategies are doing just that. Tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
Find out more about Jersey Mike’s, their founding story and the brand itself.
The evolution of Rich’s role in marketing and the changes in marketing over the last 10 years.
The various ways that Jersey Mike’s uses data mining to reach their consumer effectively.
How Jersey Mike’s loyalty program has seen such astronomical success.
Learn more about how Jersey Mike’s white label delivery will work when it launches.
Some of the ways that Jersey Mike’s has responded to third-party delivery.
Why loaves of bread sold per day is one of the most useful metrics at Jersey Mikes.
How Jersey Mike’s balances between brand marketing and performance as a growing brand.
Find out more about the composition of Jersey Mike’s marketing team.
Discover the work that Jersey Mike’s does to fulfill its mission statement.
The reason that Rich emphasizes operations so much as a marketing guy.
Insights into how the marketing department communicates with Jersey Mike’s franchisees.
Rich’s leadership philosophy and why he does not believe in micromanaging his teams.
How Jersey Mike’s pushes against the multi-unit mentality in some ways.
Lightning round questions with Rich: Gen Z, Yelp, Jersey Mike’s customer journey and more.
Tweetables:
“I'm a marketing guy that preaches operations constantly because I think that is the most important thing.” — Rich Hope [0:18:18]
“We really believe in that philosophy that we can make a difference in other people's lives by just doing what we do, as well as we can do it.” — Rich Hope [0:21:32]
“Marketing is useless without good operations. In fact, it works against you. The best marketing in the world that drives people into a bad experience is negative marketing.” — Rich Hope [0:22:35]
“I'm a leader that believes completely in empowerment.” — Rich Hope [0:29:59]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Few CMOs Appreciate the Impact of Google Search on Foot Traffic