Topper's Reaches Out to Prospective Franchisees With Dedicated, Interactive Website

BARRIE, ON, January 23, 2011 (Press-News.org) Topper's Pizza is furthering its commitment to embrace technology with the launch of a fully interactive website geared to franchise development, featuring a password-protected virtual brochure that interested prospects fill in at their own pace. The automated process is a key step in the company's ongoing growth strategy, says company president Keith Toppazzini.

"We're literally courting potential partners on the Internet to see if there's a match between our company and their own personal goals," says Toppazzini.

Rather than piggy-backing on its existing corporate website, Topper's Pizza is developing http://www.toppersfranchise.ca as a dedicated franchising site. The new landing space, designed by Greenbaum Marketing Communications of Henderson, Nevada, not only introduces candidates to the family-owned pizza franchise business, but also provides an opportunity for them to validate their interest before beginning the qualification process.

The first part is a public website that provides "a 30,000-foot view" of Topper's Pizza and is designed to help prospects explore their own personal business goals through a series of interactive reading materials, videos and callouts, explains Greenbaum Account Manager Susan Larson. The second is a private portal that requires a user name and password to access and is where the franchisee qualification journey starts with a virtual brochure designed to facilitate Topper's eight-step process.

"Whether you go through steps zero to eight in a week or a year is entirely up to you as an individual," notes Toppazzini. "In franchising, we always say that the franchisor controls the process and the franchisee controls the outcome; the virtual brochure is a perfect way to jumpstart that understanding."

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the company will be leveraging FranConnect's Captivate Franchise Recruitment platform to automate the process of collecting data from the virtual brochures, generating reports that will allow Topper's Pizza to respond quickly to qualified leads. "If we receive a report that someone just went through 50 percent of the qualification process in24 hours, then that's someone we want to talk to immediately," says Toppazzini.

"The entire goal is conversion," adds Larson, noting that Greenbaum specializes in designing franchise development websites and therefore has the expertise to know what works and what doesn't. "We know what's going to entice people to click, what they want to hear about and what they don't," she says.

The dedicated franchise site is expected to go live in April. According to Toppazzini, it's just one more example of investing in technology where technology makes sense.

"It's about understanding your audience and we know that our applicants are leading very busy lives," he says. "Where are they at 10:00 p.m. at night when they're looking for business opportunities? On the Internet and that means we have to be there too, giving them what they want."

ABOUT GREENBAUM MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Greenbaum Marketing Communications is a full-service marketing, creative and interactive agency focused on building franchise brands through tactical franchise development, B2C, B2B, and Internet strategies. With deep roots in franchising, Greenbaum Marketing Communications provides innovative solutions to new and established franchisors.

ABOUT TOPPER'S PIZZA
Topper's is a Foodservice and Hospitality Top 100 Company that has won numerous community awards for its quality product. Founded in 1982 by Ron Toppazzini, nearly 60 years after the original Toppazzini Bakery first opened in Sudbury, Topper's Pizza has grown from a successful family-run business to an Ontario-wide chain of 35 stores. The company's past and future growth is tied to the promise of providing consumers with the best-tasting pizza, on time, as promised. It delivers on this commitment by combining a family value system with proven management practices. For a complete list of Topper's locations, go to http://www.toppers.ca and click on the 'Store Locations' tab to the right of the page.

Media Contact: Mark Wessel, Bullpen PR, 705-445-2733, mwessel@bullpenpr.com