Franchising's greatest strength is likely its mandated centralization of marketing initiatives. When franchisees in a system pool their resources, they have a much bigger impact in the marketplace. No single franchisee would be able to afford the kinds of investments that could be made with this core fund.
In addition, the money can be used to commission promotional materials of far superior quality than the owner could achieve on their own.
It is crucial for a potential Franchisee to know that the Franchisor has a solid marketing system in place before investing in the franchise. These are some of the fundamental components of a successful franchise advertising strategy.
As the first step in any promotional strategy, ensuring that more people end up buying the Franchise's wares is essential.
Also, be open to feedback from franchisees. They have hands-on experience in the industry, so they know what works and what doesn't. Even if the franchisor ultimately makes the decision, its franchisees will be grateful for the chance to weigh in.
Form an advisory board for your franchise business with input from franchisees. They need to get together with the franchisor's marketing department to discuss upcoming initiatives and campaigns.
The bulk of your marketing budget should go into paying for administrative charges (internal expenses, agency fees, etc.). Then, they pay for the price of making promotional materials (print, direct mail, radio and television ads, etc.).
Last but not least, they foot the bill for media placement of these ads for the benefit of the contributing franchisees. An often-heard complaint from franchisees is that money is being spent too lavishly in one area while being inadequately allocated another. Obviously, a reasonable compromise between these requirements is necessary.
Don't put more money into promoting your company's name than you are willing to put into attracting new clients. Though establishing a name for the company is essential, client acquisition is crucial. A brand's value is proportional to the number of people it attracts. It is important to keep detailed records of the marketing strategy.
The franchisor probably won't provide out all of the confidential marketing materials they have on file, but you may request the table of contents for any franchisee-facing marketing support materials.
A thorough understanding of the marketing methods they teach franchisees to use will become clearer after reading this. As an added bonus, this will indicate that their systems are so much more refined that they have documented them in user guides and other reference materials.
Asking current franchisees is a certain approach to find out whether the advertising campaign is paying off. There are few things that are dearer to their hearts than marketing, thus you'll find that they are highly flexible on this issue. Specifically inquire as to the effectiveness of their marketing in attracting new consumers.
Inquire further as to whether or not they appreciate the marketing fund they are compelled to contribute to. If you discover a franchise system where the vast majority of current franchisees are dissatisfied with the management of their advertising funds, you should expect new franchisees to share their discontent.
Franchisee happiness extends to many areas beyond only the marketing fund if majority owners are content with that area.
Explosive Growth Strategies for Franchises
If you want to grow your franchise, you need to use strategies that get your message in front of the right people. There are two components to franchise promotion.
Franchisees and their customers come first. While they may both profit from the same marketing strategies, the end outcomes will be very different. Sadly, many franchise businesses overlook this crucial detail in favour of focusing their marketing efforts on just one of these factors.
Internet Marketing Using Search Engines (PPC & SEO)
Advertising your business on search engines, either directly or indirectly via organic search results and sponsored search advertisements, is called search engine marketing. Knowing the distinction between how this aids your franchise's expansion and how customers will respond is crucial.
Consumers: Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can assist direct visitors who qualify to your franchisee's local page. As a result, you should notice an increase in qualified leads and conversions, as more potential customers will be exposed to your franchisee's physical location or information pages.
Since of your marketing and SEO initiatives, customers don't have to waste time searching for the information they need because they are directed directly to that page.
Franchise Growth: Every kind of advertising will assist get more people to your website, where you can then convert them into paying customers. Franchise growth may profit from this in the same manner that consumer spending does. Your adverts and natural search results are tailored to these individuals, so they bring in potential franchisees.
Promote Testimonials on Social Media.
An effective means of demonstrating your achievement and franchisee and customer pleasure is via testimonials. Though the reviews you choose to include on your site may have a significant impact, the fact that you have control over them is important.
It's crucial to incorporate testimonials from happy customers on your site to sway potential clients and consumers.
• Franchise Growth: Testimonials help attract new franchisees by providing insight into the success of existing locations and the franchisees' interactions with the franchisor.
Growth of Franchises
If you don't currently have a franchise in a certain area, then you should try to attract franchisees there. By showcasing the prospects your company provides adjacent to your target demographic, social media may help make this a reality.
Your social media followers are your intended audience, so it makes sense that they would congregate in one spot to check out your latest offerings and connect with others who can relate. The more you learn about your most engaged social media followers, the better you'll be able to tailor your messages and communications to them.
Create a name for yourself in the press.
This is a crucial part of franchise advertising that has increased in significance over the last several years. You may discover stability for your two aims by increasing brand recognition in the media.
• Viewer: Neighborhood news is important to local newspapers and TV stations.
In order to maintain the attention of media professionals, it is always a good idea to keep in touch with publishers, editors, and producers and provide press releases about anything noteworthy that has happened at your company.
Make a news organisation an offer they can't refuse by offering to write a helpful piece for free. There will be a great deal of attention paid to your company by the local press.
If you want to work with the media, you must provide them with relevant information and have something to give in return.
• Franchise Growth: Network with media organisations, and share the results of any internal studies you've conducted on the franchise system and the industry in which you operate. You need to make sure that the information you provide to the public is useful and entertaining.
Infographics
The data is presented in an easy-to-understand but nonetheless visually appealing format. Get together some numbers and data to use in an infographic to convey your business's messages. You are free to publish them in books, online, or share them on social media.
Planning Your Speech
Plan out how much it will cost to create your infographic. It's a good idea to use free resources like software and design templates while making an infographic. The collection of data and developing charts and graphs may be time intensive. Still, it's possible that the reward will be considerable.
Pick your language and your message.
You want to present information about your company in an easy-to-understand infographic. Avoid sending any communications that seem like they're trying to sell you anything. The message, "Buy our goods," is not effective.
Better wording would focus on how the product enhances one's life or helps to grow a company. Infographics aren't only useful for businesses; they can also help nonprofits, schools, and people. To convey a narrative to prospective clients, infographics are often more effective than words alone.
Create evidence that backs up your claims.
You may either put together your own data set or use existing data sets that you know to be accurate. If you can't gather data yourself, try looking in these locations instead:
StatPlanet is a global data provider.
To get credible data, you could look at official websites like the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Professional publications and academic papers are excellent sources for hard evidence.
• At the end of each visual component, cite your research materials. Put your confidence in the most reliable resources you can discover.
Make use of Ibisworld.com's market research studies.
Spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel is ideal for this task. Using an Excel spreadsheet, you can input your collected data and immediately begin making charts of various kinds for use in your infographic.
Methods for Generating Infographics
One who works in visual communication. One option is to hire a professional designer to create a one-of-a-kind infographic just for you. Rates vary per designer so make sure your budget is adjusted appropriately. It's recommended to employ a graphic designer if you want to utilise the completed infographic to boost website visitors or social media posts.
A skilled graphic designer is a huge asset. Put a big emphasis on the headline. Do not reduce the font size in an effort to save space. Get the reader's attention by using a large, legible typeface.
Use your logo.
Make sure your logo, website, and social media URLs are visible in your infographic if you want them shared and visited. Don't bother with this if your message is generic and you just want it to get viral.
Consider using photographic evidence.
Images may replace diagrams if that's what you desire. Include anything from one to six images. It's important to give yourself some breathing area between photos and text.
David G Komatz has studied franchising extensively and is an experienced leader and manager. He is skilled in the various facets of franchising including developing the manuals and rules utilised in new franchisees.