Merchant Centric, a leading reputation and analytics management company focused on the restaurant, automotive, healthcare and veterinary industries, welcomed experienced sales professional Allan Guarino as Senior Sales Director. Bringing more than 15 years of experience in the restaurant space, Guarino will join Merchant Centric’s skilled sales team in growing the company’s impressive roster of clients while maintaining Merchant Centric’s best-in-class 98% client retention rate.
“Allan’s experience is a perfect fit for our growing team and business. We are keenly focused on growing our restaurant industry roster and providing clientele with a full suite of analytic insights, comprehensive reporting and excellent client services that far exceed the industry standard,” says Peter Wells, Executive Vice President of Merchant Centric. “He clearly understands how these brands and concepts leverage our proprietary solutions to grow their business significantly, and that’s the type of professional we need leading our sales team during this pivotal growth period.”
In his new role as Senior Sales Director, Guarino will be responsible for consulting with top brand executives to educate and share how Merchant Centric can significantly improve revenue through better insights and guest engagement. Before joining Merchant Centric, Guarino held executive management positions at ADM Marketing, Kraft General Foods, Westinghouse and Sara Lee Knit Products, where he was directly responsible for driving new business, developing sales and marketing strategies and increasing company revenue.
“My passion is building a 1 to 1 relationship with clients by providing technology and services that help them engage with guests to drive profitable sales, and Merchant Centric’s best-in-class retention rate proves they more than deliver on those promises,” says Guarino. “I am excited to join the Merchant Centric team and leverage my decade-and-a-half of experience to introduce the company’s impressive business intelligence and profit-driving tools to the top restaurant chains.”
Guarino, who has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Colorado State University and a master’s from USC with an emphasis in Marketing, arrives at a significant moment in the history of Merchant Centric. Brand momentum is at an all-time high as the company continues to maintain its high ranking within the restaurant data and reputation management space. As more clients choose Merchant Centric’s proprietary business solutions, bolstering the team with a seasoned sales professional was paramount.
Earlier this year, Merchant Centric released its first national restaurant data report, What 24 Million Guests Said About Restaurants in 2020, which showcased the company’s vast data capabilities by identifying key themes and ratings trends pulled from every restaurant guest review posted in 2020. Additionally, the company plans to roll out an early 2021 restaurant data report in October and launch new business intelligence enhancements to its popular STARS platform, thus solidifying the need for a strong, knowledgeable sales team to connect with new and prospective restaurant clients.
