“Franchising was the next step and the most ideal way to expand our brand and reach more local business owners and coupon users.”

Adam Squires is the Vice President of MoneySaver Coupons and will be responsible for spearheading nationwide development through franchising. When it comes to new franchise concepts, MoneySaver has the track record, leadership and business model that can lead to a successful franchise operation.

Renowned in South Florida and North Jersey for its direct mail coupon books, MoneySaver has always set itself apart through a commitment to innovation. MoneySaver was one of the first to go to market with an online coupon site, which offers hundreds of printable coupons 24/7,365 days a year. Because of its inviting user-experience and fresh content, traffic has continuously grown over the last 3 years with upwards of 15,000 unique visitors coming onto to the site each month.

MO: How did you come to the decision to start Franchising this year?

Adam: Franchising was the next step and the most ideal way to expand our brand and reach more local business owners and coupon users. MoneySaver has been providing local advertising since 1990 across South Florida through direct mail booklets and more recently printable coupons. We have been able to offer effective and affordable marketing to your local restaurants, dry cleaners, auto repair shops and more. We began focusing on expansion in 2008 by launching a company- owned territory in New Jersey. MoneySaver was able to successfully enter a new market and create brand recognition. This proved the concept could work outside of our established market, and franchising was the best way to find like-minded, entrepreneurial individuals who we think can most effectively grow the business in their own home markets. Plus, with our proven track record, we have a training process and support system in place that sets up our franchisees to hit the ground running.

MO: Do you think that the current economic climate has led to the ‘coupon craze’ or are most people just bargain hunters at heart?

Adam: The economic downturn created a new generation of coupon users. Consumers were able to see the value in saving money on everything from pizza to kitchen remodeling. If anything, the current economic climate has brought out the thrill of saving money in all of us. And research is showing that as things improve, the coupon craze will not go away. Shoppers will continue to be a bit more cautious in their spending and see how coupons can allow them to continue to save money.

MO: How are you building brand recognition in new territories so successfully?

Adam: Results for advertisers, and savings for residents is what helps build brand recognition. When a MoneySaver franchise enters a new territory, they are immediately meeting with business owners and presenting a two decade track record in local marketing. The unique booklets then saturate mailboxes introducing the consumer to a new way to save money in their area. Our strategy also heavily involves online advertising and effective search engine optimization driving coupon users to our website. The combination of showing up online and in mailboxes provides an almost immediate recognition in these communities through consistency and repetition. Our franchisees go through an in-depth classroom and field training that helps them to develop the skills and system that we have successfully employed in entering new areas.

MO: It’s very exciting that MoneySaver Coupons is becoming optimized for mobile in the coming weeks. Do you expect to see a dramatic increase once customers have the ease of accessing savings from their phones and mobile devices?

Adam: We can’t wait for this new feature to go live. Since last year we’ve seen a 400% increase in traffic on mobile devices. The number of visitors has continued to grow and with the mobile optimization the user experience will be greatly enhanced. Even with the difficulty in navigating the current format, users have still found coupons while on the go and presented them on their mobile phones for immediate savings. When we launched our website in 2008, the goal was to provide additional exposure for the advertiser and the ability for 24/7 savings for the consumer. Our goal as marketers and franchisors is to stay ahead of the curve in all facets of our business, and this is a prime example of changing with the technological advances.

MO: How often do you use MoneySaver Coupons yourself?

Adam: It’s always been our policy to patronize our advertisers at their regular rates and prices, just as when they purchase ad space with us. However, I do use MoneySaver advertisers for just about everything including dining, dry cleaning, oil change, car wash, cleaning service… the list goes on. We have always had a wide variety of advertisers covering just about every different type of business category. When you open the booklet, or go online, you can find coupons for almost everything.

MO: You’re currently concentrated in Florida and New Jersey what states are you hoping to target for growth next?

Adam: We are aggressively marketing our franchise opportunities around our existing territories in Florida and New Jersey. The MoneySaver name and brand is known in these markets and we are intent on building on that. At the same time, we are targeting nationwide growth. There are so many businesses and consumers alike that will benefit from all that MoneySaver has to offer and we are incredibly excited to expand the MoneySaver reach.