The franchise industry is the one of the most competitive industry in the business space. To survive, you will need to build a solid marketing presence; this usually takes time, money, skill and a great deal of effort. As a franchise owner , it is your responsibility to create a strong overaching marketing strategy that will help all your branches to maximise their marketing potential. It is also your job to ensure that you also maintain your brand consistency every step of the way.
To help you with this, these are some of the tips to consider that were extracted from various top industry experts in the marketing and franchise industry.
1. Start small
When it comes to running a successful franchise, the best way is to start small, and the best way to about it is to start by marketing your brand locally. You will be able to reach the key people needed to grow your business and in the process, you will help put your business on the map. In addition, spreading awareness and networking by participating in local events; setting up an information table at various community events such as health fairs, block club conventions, information fairs, breakfast events and others. Make sure to take samples, fliers, and a welcome basket with you when attending these events. You must also learn about every other business or school, apartment complex, large businesses, or employers — all potential customers in your immediate trading area. In the process, give back! Find a local organisation, cause, or school to give back time, effort, products, and money. I mean let’s face it, companies that do good are becoming the choice of today’s savvy consumers, and the next generation. They will look for franchises that do good to patronise.
2.Use digital media
If you want your franchise to rank higher in local searches and position your brand as the authority in the local market, you will need to take content marketing seriously. Digital marketing is the in thing now and content creation plays a big role in this space. Not only is content marketing important for audience engagement, but it is also SEO-friendly. It truly is the gateway to the top spot.
To help your franchises produce great content, focus on the following:
- Source keywords relevant to each local market.
- Create article headlines that are relevant to the local demographic.
- With SEO in mind, motivate other branch owners of your franchise to craft compelling and in-depth articles that will benefit the local readership.
- Make sure all branches branch out their content by creating written content, audio content, video content, as well as compelling imagery and infographics with proper optimisation.
- Your local franchises can use all of these content types to fuel their email campaigns, social media profiles and blog pages.
Equally pivotal for a franchise is social media, another great tool you can use to attract your local market and promote your brand. Make sure that every branch
runs their own social media accounts within the overarching brand parameters. This help you to create a vast network and increase your reach in a cost-effective way.
3. Use word of mouth
One of the most powerful tools every marketer and franchisor should have in their arsenal is word of mouth. In fact, word of mouth has become more important than ever in our online - oriented society. Incentivizing and encouraging people to spread the word about your brand is a sure way to raise brand awareness and recognition, and most importantly, create a trustworthy relationship with the consumer market. Majority of the most successful business have realised that an effective way to give their brand exposure doesn’t come with a big price tag; instead, they rely heavily on word of mouth. You may have a marketing, digital, social and PR strategy but if you don’t have word of mouth in that equation, it will be difficult to promote your franchise as a credible business that people can rely on for excellent services or products. In fact, according to research, the great thing about word of mouth is that it influences 59 -91% of all your sales, yet no one has a strategy for it. While most companies are busy inflating their paid social media budgets or expanding their video personnel, precious few are focused of the simple power of something less expensive, more personal, and typically more effective: word of mouth.