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Written by Katie Waxman on July 16, 2024

VendCentral Founder and Spokesperson: Neil Swindale

Is your company’s social media strategy important for your brand? Absolutely.  But your vending company’s brand should have a human face as well, ideally a spokesperson. If you are an owner-operator, your LinkedIn social media account can be a driving force behind your company’s online marketing success.  No one can build trust and relationships better for your company than you! If you are having a hard time getting started, remember these 4 simple tips.

Tip 1: Be Authentic

Your LinkedIn audience wants to see the real you and will connect with your stories.  Share the challenges you are overcoming.  Celebrate the wins (like that new micro-market install!).  Shout out appreciation for long-term employees and express gratitude for loyal customers. Or, explain how something in your personal life is influencing your professional life. No matter what you post, remember your social media platform should always showcase your professionalism and passion for your business.

Royal ReFresh Ryan Harrington Post

Owner-operator Ryan Harrington shares news of Royal Refresh’s latest micro market install

Tip 2: Show Your Expertise

Whether you are adding insight to industry trends, showing excitement for new products, or displaying curiosity and anticipation for new technology, be sure to weigh in on the topics that matter to your industry and customers. It will all show your audience that you are staying in the know on the latest and greatest breakroom products and services. This will build trust and confidence in you AND your company’s brand.

Tip 3: Engage with your Community

Get on LinkedIn and see what other leaders in your community and industry are doing on their social media platforms.  Contribute through likes and comments.   It will grow the awareness of you and your company.  It will also promote goodwill that will inevitably return to you. Take note of how your audience becomes more engaged with your content through comments, shares, or even direct messages.

Tip 4: Build a Bridge

Finally, build a connection between your personal social media platform and your company’s social media platform.  Do this by commenting on your company’s posts and blogs.  Take it a step further by sharing your company’s social media content on your own personal platform and adding your point of view. As your company’s spokesperson, you should be its biggest cheerleader!  Invite your audience to take action, like following your company’s brand page or reaching out for advice on the latest breakroom products and equipment. This connection is an important part of successful social selling and brand growth.

Corporate Coffee Systems David Henchel Post

CEO David Henchel applauds the Corporate Coffee Systems tech team

Getting social on LinkedIn can be intimidating.  But, don’t let your worry over making things look perfect prevent you from making it happen. If you create content that showcases your personality and drive to keep your customers happy you can’t go wrong.  Your content will be a perfect enhancement to your company’s social media marketing strategy.

VendCentral specializes in marketing programs with strong social selling strategies for Operators, Manufacturers, and Suppliers in the Refreshment Services Industry.  Contact us for a free consultation.

Written by Katie Waxman on August 21, 2023

There is nothing more necessary than building SEO for your refreshment service website. Why? Because in today’s highly competitive digital market, you need to be front and center online. Good SEO will put you there.

Implementing working SEO strategies will improve your search engine rankings (the S and E in SEO). It will drive traffic to your vending website for FREE! Plus, it boosts brand visibility for your vending company. All that makes it easier for you to meet your business goals.

Understanding SEO

There are many levels to SEO, from the domain name you choose to how you index your pages. Utilizing a hosting company or even a digital marketing agency can really help with this. But there’s more that you have direct control over. Optimizing this is how you can build organic SEO.

Consider Website Design and Keywords

The design of your website affects SEO. So, it is important to set up a logical structure. Each page should have links to the other pages. These are called backlinks and help search engines find new pages. It also helps you rank higher for the words that are linked, a.k.a. keywords.

Speaking of keywords, getting these right is critical. To begin, think of your target customer. What will they type in a search engine to find the breakroom refreshment services you offer? Are there other search terms they use? What else do you offer? This is how you can begin to create your keywords. And don’t be afraid to try some keyword planning tools for those related words that are not obvious.

Ensure a Seamless User Experience

Another boost to SEO is to remember that search engines prioritize websites that offer a good user experience. So, how do you do that? First, ensure your backlinks work and the site loads quickly. Nothing frustrates users more than broken links or a page that times out. Your site must also be mobile-friendly since more and more people, even business-to-business prospects, are searching on their smartphones.

Second, the information on your site needs to be useful. The user should spend time on your site, reading and clicking on links. This will be key to better SEO AND getting qualified leads for your sales team.

Remember that Content is King

The most vital aspect of building SEO is content. Generating the right subject matter can make your site valuable to customers, give search engines your keywords, and attract prospect attention. Website content includes blogs, at least monthly, and new website pages that mention a few of your keywords. There is no need to stuff the text full of the keywords. In fact, this will lower your SEO score. Just ensure you mention the most important keywords, and relevant services, a few times.

Create content beyond your website as well. Social media posts are great for getting attention and user engagement. Ensure they link back to your website. Don’t forget about email newsletters, email ads, and online promotions. These might link to an existing website page or a newly created landing page. The links, keywords, and traffic will optimize your site for the search engines.

Unlock the Power of SEO

Now that you understand ways to make your SEO better, it’s time to optimize (the O in SEO). Enhance your website to be logical and user-friendly. Verify your keywords and add content that is useful and relevant. That is how you’ll build strong SEO and feed the bottom line of our vending business.

Need some SEO help? VendCentral has the digital marketing expertise to get your site ranking better. Check out our marketing plans or call us today at (866) 699-8363.

Written by Katie Waxman on February 22, 2023

Testimonials and Reviews are akin to word-of-mouth marketing. And we all know how important word-of-mouth is to a vending business. Testimonials from happy vending customers are a top way to get new vending customers. And a nonpartial third-party review strongly impacts a decision maker’s buying process. So, how do you make the most of a client’s testimonial or review? And how do you get more?

Share Testimonials on Your Website

One of the first places a prospective client visits is your website. And because as many as 93% of buyers read reviews, displaying testimonials on your website is a must. Ask your long-term customers to send you a statement about their experiences with your company and services. Let them know that you plan to share it on your website. For even more impact, include a picture of your customer along with their statement. This helps show prospects that the testimonial is from a real person.

Don’t be tempted to create testimonials on a client’s behalf. Make sure every testimonial is authentic. Overly positive or promotional reviews will stand out. Savvy decision makers will see right through them.

Ask for Reviews on Social Media

A prospect who does research on your vending company will look on your website. But that’s not all. They will look elsewhere online for feedback too. That’s why reviews on your Google Business Listing and social media are also critical. An active Google Business Listing with lots of reviews will also gain a higher SEO.

Make it easy for clients to share their honest opinions by sending them a link to your Google Business Listing. Don’t worry about imperfect reviews. It is a chance to engage a client and turn the situation around. Do not be tempted to pay for reviews or to reward customers for submitting them.  The feedback on your Google Business Listing should be organic and people should be inclined to leave them without incentives or rewards.

Video reviews are also becoming more and more popular. If you’re visiting a customer who is raving about your service, ask to record them. Use your smartphone for a quick video review of the happy customer. Then post it to social media. It’s a great way to spread the word about your stellar service.

Get Testimonials. Gain Leads.

Testimonials and reviews by a customer can impact future sales. Make sure your vending business is getting the leads it deserves by focusing on your testimonials and online reviews. If you want to grow your business through testimonials, reviews, and other digital marketing strategies, VendCentral can help. We offer various digital marketing plans created just for breakroom service providers. Call us at (866) 699-8363 or reach us online.

Written by Katie Waxman on September 20, 2022

The customer-service platform ZippyAssist offers many operational advantages. These include instant customer feedback and a dashboard full of operational data. Check out our video overview here. But how do these drive sales? Read on for how ZippyAssist can increase sales at existing vending and even micro-market locations. Plus, how it helps you win new refreshment service bids.

Establish Trust

While consumers are more comfortable than ever with using vending machines, and unattended retail in general, there is still one major barrier – trust. Will the product get stuck? Who do I even go to for a refund? Did they restock today, or is my favorite chip slot still empty? These types of questions run through the mind of the consumer. Furthermore, they create doubt and limit the amount a consumer is willing to spend at your vending machine.

Thankfully, ZippyAssist inspires trust. How? By putting confidence back in the consumer’s hands. Now, they can provide feedback and make their voice heard. They know there is someone on the receiving end who will refund their money or restock that empty coil. If help was easier to access, 38% of customers would use unattended retail more. Those are already your vending customers and now they say they will spend more. That’s a huge win.

Ask for Feedback

Another useful feature of ZippyAssist is that it allows you to see individual customers. And you can use that to your advantage. Let’s say a consumer reached out to you via ZippyAssist. You solved the problem quickly, and as a result, they gave you a great rating on the platform. This person is now an advocate for your company. Ask them to go on your Google Business Listing page and leave a review. Ask them to post about the experience on your company’s Facebook page. Since facility managers and human resource professionals read reviews of potential service partners, this can be invaluable to your vending marketing.

Use ZippyAssist to Optimize Micro-Markets

While a micro-market doesn’t have the potential for a stuck coil, there are still ZippyAssist benefits. One is to use consumer feedback to improve service and product selection. Racks with empty pegs or shelves empty of food at 9 a.m. can be reported by consumers. These are potential sales if products were there. Plus, it gives you direct access to the consumer, instead of hearing product requests through the facility manager or human resources department. Encourage this type of feedback to optimize the micro-market service and ultimately increase sales at that location.

Stand Out to New Business

When competing with other vending or micro-market providers, it can be difficult to stand out. The customer sees similar machines, the same product brands, etc. However, what if they saw one company providing peace of mind through a customer-experience platform? That would be a tipping point. ZippyAssist is a value proposition that can be the tipping point for breakroom service decision-makers so you win the RFP.

ZippyAssist is a Business-Driving Tool

The desire to use unattended retail, such as vending machines and micro-markets is there. Consumers are more willing than ever to spend money at your equipment, but only if they have faith in it. Give them that sense of security and positive customer experience. It will, in turn, boost your sales and keep you from losing customers. You’ll even gain new ones thanks to your investment.

Talk to VendCentral about ZippyAssist today to really understand how it can benefit you. Reach out for a free consultation by email or phone at (866) 699-8363.