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Written by Katie Waxman on May 14, 2024

Your vending company’s social media presence has never been more important. It can build brand awareness, reach new audiences, and help your company stay top-of-mind with existing customers. It promotes your vending services, products, and overall brand.

Businesses that maintain a strategic social media presence often have a competitive edge.

But, where does your personal social media account fit in?  And how can you use it to promote your vending brand?

Your personal social media accounts can play a large role in growing your brand – especially if you are an entrepreneur or thought leader in the vending industry.  Your personal social media platform can humanize your business and build genuine relationships with your audience.  It can also help differentiate you from competitors.

Here’s how to use your personal social media platform to promote your vending business:

Integrate your business and personal brand

Incorporate your vending company’s logo, services, and story into your personal profile.  Use your platform to showcase your experience and insight into the vending industry. A behind-the-scenes look into your company will help your audience connect with your brand. If you have a great entrepreneurial story behind your business, don’t be shy about sharing it!

Leverage your network

Your personal network is made up of some of your biggest cheerleaders.  Share your company’s posts to make them aware of the great things your business is doing. Add your own insights to create even more impact. Your network’s likes and comments will help further promote your brand.

Be sure to also watch what industry experts and colleagues are posting about.  Commenting on their posts will display your knowledge and interest in vending services and further promote your business.

Showcase your company culture

We know you are passionate about your business and its success, so let it show! Use your personal platform to give special thanks to hard-working employees and showcase what they are doing to make a difference. If members of your team are giving back to their local community, shine a light on their service to others.  These posts will show your audience that you are a great company to work with AND work for.

A well-managed company social media presence is essential. But, by thoughtfully integrating your business into your personal social media platforms, you can create a powerful, social selling strategy to promote your vending brand.

VendCentral specializes in social media content creation for companies in the vending industry.  Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help grow your business.

Written by Katie Waxman on July 26, 2023

Content marketing is a key part of a successful marketing plan. It has the power to bring you new customers and build trust with those you already have. But first, you need to understand what content marketing is and how it works. Then you can use it to your best advantage in growing your breakroom services business.

What is Content Marketing?

This type of marketing aims to attract, engage, and retain breakroom service customers. How? By answering their questions and giving them the information they need. It’s helpful, solving pain points and offering a solution. That makes it valuable to your clients.

What Does It Look Like?

There’s no one way to offer content marketing. It can be done via blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, podcasts, ebooks, social media posts, and more. Most vending operators start with blogs about their services and products. These can answer a specific question a client might have, which makes it a valuable resource for them. The mention of keywords in the blog also helps with search engine optimization (SEO). It makes your site more discoverable and thus, a value to potential new clients as well. That’s a powerful benefit.

The 3 Things Content Marketing Should Do

Every piece of marketing should have a purpose. Content marketing is no different. Here are the three must-dos to make this type of marketing effective.

1. Establish Authority – Use content to show you know your business. It can be based on your experience of which products sell best in a vending machine. Or it might be how you can help human resources with a corporate wellness program by installing a micro-market. Ultimately, it’s about sharing what you know so you are the expert.
2. Generate Interest – When facility or office managers come to the internet searching for breakroom ideas, you want to be there. Sharing the products you put in the breakroom, the benefits of micro-markets, or even how to bring a cafe vibe to the office can engage and educate. The idea is that you want content that will get your client or potential client interested in your company’s services.
3. Build Trust – Through content, share answers to common problems your clients have. When a facility manager comes upon your marketing, they will find a solution and feel informed about the decision they need to make about the breakroom. That’s how content marketing can build trust. And generate qualified leads.

What You Get Out of Content Marketing

When done well, content marketing offers vending company owners a great return. The content uses service and product keywords that will boost SEO. Thus, your website and company will be easier to find and appear higher on search pages.

Another benefit is lead generation and sales. As your content is discovered via an internet search, you’ll get more prospects and more sales. Seeing all the valuable content you have online will make them trust your company and want to reach out even more, which is the point.

Finally, with customers looking to your content for answers and ideas, it will grow awareness of your company. Clients will remember your brand and your company name. You will be the provider they think of when they need a solution or move to a new company looking for refreshment services. That’s a big win!

How to Start Now

Most vending operators are full of knowledge and experience. Start sharing that in blogs, short videos, social media posts, etc. The key to making it great content marketing is to ensure it resonates with the target audience. Remember, it should address their pain points and provide a solution or valuable insight.

Want help with content marketing? VendCentral has been successfully assisting refreshment services companies to grow their marketing efforts. Content marketing is one of the many services offered. Contact VendCentral today, or call (866) 699-8363.

Written by Katie Waxman on July 12, 2023

Welcome to part 2 of our blog series on the benefits of email marketing! If you didn’t catch part 1, make sure to give it a read first to learn about the first six ways it helps your vending business succeed. If you already know how it influences business-to-business decision-makers, then you’re ready to keep reading. In this final part, we’ll focus on the power of email marketing and how it saves money for vending operators.

7. Getting Low-Cost Leads

Email marketing is a great tool for increasing leads for your sales team. It removes the need for cold calling or having a feet-on-the-ground approach. With its personalized message, you can nurture email leads and guide them through the sales funnel, virtually. In addition, you can further qualify leads so your sales team has high-value prospects that are more likely to turn into new customers.

8. Reaching the Right People

Use email marketing to target messages to specific customers. For example, talk about the ease of vending machines to the facility manager. Or tout the corporate wellness benefits of your healthy snacks program to the human resource manager. In the end, this kind of marketing lets you create just the right message for the customer you’re hoping to reach. That will make them more likely to take action and stay engaged.

9. Marketing Cost Effectively

Without the need for printing, postage, or advertising space, email marketing can result in significant cost savings. Plus, your vending business still looks professional thanks to a well-designed layout and user-friendly email platform. Thus, this type of marketing is a truly budget-friendly solution.

10. Being Valuable to the Customer

Being quick and targeted means email marketing is more valuable to your customers. An email can share relevant updates, exclusive offers, and discounts, all of which are likely of interest to your clients. The more your content is relevant to your email list, the better you keep them engaged. That results in a higher ROI.

11. Owning Your Message

Email marketing gives you full control of your message. You control who sees your email and what they see. Therefore, it’s a direct line of communication. You do not need to rely on third parties or algorithms. Quite simply, you are in charge. That’s priceless.

12. Driving Brand Awareness

When sent consistently, email marketing does a great job of promoting your brand. The content reinforces your message, showcases your break room products and services, and highlights your experience in the industry. It helps your vending company stay top-of-mind for your customers.

Use the Benefits of Email Marketing to Grow

In the end, a vending business can drive up lead quality and boost conversions with the help of digital marketing solutions, like emails. This will ultimately lead to growth from current and new customers.

Interested? Consider VendCentral as your go-to resource for personalized email marketing that can take your business to the next level! Reach out today at (866) 699-8363.

Written by Katie Waxman on December 7, 2022

Understanding marketing vs. branding is important for vending sales success. The two are different aspects of a single strategy used to tell others about your company and its services. Together they create a base for communicating strong, consistent messaging to existing customers and prospects. And growing sales revenues.

Keep reading to understand the difference between marketing and branding. How they both work together. Plus, learn which one needs to come first.

Defining Marketing

Marketing is promoting your vending company and the services and products you offer potential customers. Your company website, sales brochures, promotional emails, radio or internet advertisements, and even social media posts are all essential ways to market your company.  Marketing strategies evolve over time to focus on different aspects of your business. And to support changing sales goals.  Marketing often capitalizes on how your business leads when it comes to new and fresh vending products and equipment, emerging technologies, seasonal changes, and industry trends.

Marketing is critical to sales. It spreads the word about your services. It promotes what sets you apart from your competitors. And finally, it reinforces why you are the best choice for breakroom services in your service area. A successful marketing strategy will bring customers into your sales funnel and deliver more leads.

Understanding Branding

Branding, on the other hand, is about shaping your vending company’s identity to represent its core goals and purpose. Branding is a strong reflection of your company’s personality and it is how people will identify and remember your company as a whole. Good branding keeps your target audience in mind and helps them establish trust in your business. Branding includes everything from your company logo and taglines to the core narrative about your company’s foundation, purpose, and goals. Branding gives your vending operation meaning and character.  Through it, customers will understand who you are and what makes your business unique.

Branding Must Come First

Marketing is the most effective way to spread your message and promote your business, but you must understand the message you’re spreading first. That is why establishing your company’s branding is an important first step. Solid branding will help shape your marketing initiatives and keep them consistent in look, feel, and context. Take the time to establish your vending company’s brand identity. It will help your company define what to say, where to say it, and the goals of your marketing campaigns.

As you can see, marketing and branding are closely tied but distinctly different. You must first understand what you want to say to communicate effectively. Starting with solid branding is the best way to optimize your vending marketing and grow your sales.

Are you a vending operator struggling with branding or marketing? VendCentral specializes in helping vending operators increase sales with successful branding, marketing, and sales strategies. Reach out at info@vendcentral.com or (866) 699-8363.