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Company: Five Guys

Company background: Five Guys founder Jerry Murrell's mother always told him, "If you can give a good haircut or if you can serve a good drink at a bar or if you can serve a good hamburger, you can always make money in America." Five Guys has been a Washington, DC area favorite since 1986 when Jerry and Janie Murrell offered sage advice to the four young Murrell brothers:"Start a business or go to college.” The business route won and the Murrell family opened a carry-out burger joint in Arlington Virginia. Under the guidance of Jerry and Janie the Murrell family served only hand-formed burgers cooked to perfection on a grill along with fresh-cut fries cooked in pure peanut oil. During the 1980’s and 1990’s the Murrell family perfected their simple system. Five Guys was The Place to get a fresh, juicy burger with all the toppings you could stuff between fresh-baked buns. A fifth brother was born and, as their family grew, so did their business. Four more restaurants with sit-down seating were added to accommodate the growing clientele. Early in 2003, Jerry and Janie, together with the “Five Guys,” began offering franchise opportunities. In just under 18 months, Five Guys Enterprises sold options for more than 300 units. The overwhelming success of franchising a local restaurant made national news, with articles in trade publications such as Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business Magazine and the Franchise Times. Now, 30+ years after Five Guys first opened, there are almost 1,500 locations worldwide and another 1,500 units in development. Five Guys continues to receive generous media attention and has grown a cult-like following around the world.

Contact: Kevin Barber

Title: Social Media Marketing Manager

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Kudos Category: Rookie of the Year

1. Describe your company and your organization.
Five Guys is known for burgers and fries. Our crew and corporate staff have an energetic spirit and positive attitude as we provide our customers and fans with a fun and welcoming environment. What started as one store in Virginia back in 1986 has grown to over 1,500 stores worldwide.

2. Why did you choose to invest in Khoros and what was your experience before making the switch from a previous solution or investing in new technology.
As we continue to expand our business globally, we realized that we were in need of a solution that could help us bring all of our social media channels in one place. We had a lot of messages being unseen or unanswered before we switched to Khoros. Our social listening has improved and we are now able to answer all questions and comments that come through direct messages or through comments on our posts. We are also able to track brand mentions, join in on conversations, and monitor industry and brand sentiment like never before.

3. What were your goals when investing in Khoros technology and what successes have you already experienced because of the investment? Please include metrics, if possible.
Our main goal was to upgrade our approval process. Instead of sharing Excel documents, PowerPoint's, and PDF's via email where they could potentially get lost, we now have a solution where all of our international agencies can submit, approve, monitor, and track content which has helped us accomplish that goal. As we continue to expand into new territories, having a solution like Khoros will be increasingly important to provide quick customer service and educational content to regions that may not be familiar with our brand.

Additionally, with the unprecedented times that we are in, we're in need of monitoring conversations that not just involve our brand and industry, but conversations about the world that may affect the sentiment of our content as well as our customers and crew in our stores. We've been using the platform to be able see those conversations and know when to pause or adjust our content worldwide.

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2020 Customer Awards: Five Guys - Rookie of the Year