Panchero’s Mexican Grill, a Coralville, Iowa–based Mexican quick serve, was recently honored with two awards—including first place in the new Social Media category—and was recognized for its excellence in lead generation, recruitment, and industry-wide best practices in franchising at the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, which was held in Chicago at the Drake Hotel from September 23 through 25.

Rodney Anderson, founder and president of Panchero’s, accepted the awards. The winners are chosen by “response” results compiled by shoppers, who contact the companies by telephone, through the company’s Web site, and through social media channels. The franchisors with the best practices in generating leads and identifying qualified prospects received awards in five categories: Web Site, Telephone, Telephone and Web Site, SEO, and Social Media. Panchero’s also received the second-place award in response by telephone.

“We’ve worked hard to grow our online presence—specifically our involvement in social media portals—over the past year and we couldn’t be happier to be recognized for our efforts,” Anderson says. “Whether it’s through our blog or our Twitter account, we’re getting more and more people aware of and excited about our brand. It feels wonderful to receive an award for something we truly love doing.”

“Generating leads and qualifying prospects are the growth drivers of the franchise industry, and recognizing successful strategies provides validation for the winners and an example for other companies looking to improve their practices,” says Therese Thilgen, president of Franchise Update Media Group. “The addition of the SEO and Social Media categories highlights the importance of utilizing all of the communications options that are available to franchises for their outreach initiatives and recruitment programs. We want to congratulate this year’s winners for implementing and executing the processes, procedures, and systems that help them achieve their growth objectives.”