Signs Express: Scaling Trust and Visibility Across 60+ Franchise Locations

By mid-2023, the Signs Express marketing team was stretched thin. Paid campaigns were becoming more expensive and less effective, while review generation across locations remained manual and inconsistent. Social media was managed through Hootsuite, which required jumping between individual franchisee accounts. The team needed a more centralised and efficient way to build trust, maintain visibility, and support franchisees with scalable digital tools.

As Signs Express began shifting its strategy from paid lead generation to long-term brand-building, Birdeye offered the right tools and structure. After vetting alternatives like SocioLocal and Uberall, the team chose Birdeye for its all-in-one platform, ease of use, and hands-on support.

• Centralised email campaigns streamlined review requests
• AI-suggested replies accelerated response time and improved Google visibility
• Review sharing tools eliminated the need for manual design work
• Listings management improved consistency across 30+ directories

Before Birdeye, review collection across the Signs Express network was largely manual, placing extra pressure on franchisees already managing daily operations. The marketing team had provided templates and resources, but adoption varied, and opportunities to build trust through social proof were being missed. 

In less than a year, Signs Express has generated over 600 new reviews across their locations, increasing the average rating to a consistent 5.0 stars. The ability to send review invitations through centralised email campaigns alongside AI-suggested replies has not only improved efficiency but also helped reinforce authority on local search.

Managing content for more than 30 franchisees had previously required jumping between Hootsuite dashboards and Google profiles. By consolidating these efforts within Birdeye Social, the Signs Express team gained the ability to schedule and publish content from one platform. 

Since switching, the team has published over 3.5K posts, resulting in 256K social profile impressions and 17.4K engagements. They’ve also seen more than 5K link clicks, clear indicators that the content is driving interest and traffic back to local centre pages. Birdeye’s automation and AI have helped the team deliver relevant, localised content with significantly less friction.

In addition to Social AI and Reviews AI, Birdeye’s Listings AI played a key role in strengthening local SEO. With over 30 directories now automatically updated through the platform, franchisees benefit from consistent, accurate information across the web. 

The cumulative effect of improved listings and an increased review volume has led to more than 513K profile impressions and 28K website visits since adoption. These aren’t vanity metrics, they reflect stronger discoverability in local markets and a clear shift in how prospective customers are finding and evaluating Signs Express. As the team continues its pivot to brand-led marketing, this visibility provides a critical foundation for long-term growth.

Signs Express is proving that digital marketing doesn’t have to be fragmented or manual. With Birdeye, they’ve created a scalable system to build trust, improve visibility, and support growth across 60+ local markets.

If you are looking for a scalable solution. Call or email us today.

📞 Call us at 0800 561 3357

📧 Or email us at sales@birdeye.com