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Navigating the world of franchise marketing services can be complicated. There are many working parts, and standardization is a must, yet you must also find novel ways to present your solution to stand out online. Finding someone who genuinely understands what you do and can bring everything together is a challenge on its own too. I get it. As a digital marketing consultant with decades of experience, I’ve helped countless businesses and even worked inside some of the world’s largest franchises. I can help your business scale to new heights too.

Types of Franchise Marketing

When you look into your franchise marketing options, you’ll see solutions targeting franchisors and franchisees. They’re different subsets. Some marketers provide one type or the other, and some provide both types. I work with franchisors across both types of digital franchise marketing.

Franchise Development Marketing

When franchisors want to sell more franchise locations, they engage in franchise development marketing. The goal is to attract business-minded individuals or franchisees who appreciate the value of a proven concept and have an interest in running their own business using the model.

Operational Franchise Marketing

Both franchisors and franchisees will engage in marketing activities to attract and acquire new clients. This is referred to as operational franchise marketing.

Types of Franchises I Serve

Most businesses will benefit from working with a franchise marketing consultant. However, if your franchise fits within one of the following industries, the insights you gain from working with a specialist may prove invaluable.

  • Automotive
  • Caregiving (children, seniors, special needs, etc.)
  • Food and Restaurant
  • Health, Wellness, and Beauty
  • Home Services (repair, maintenance, cleaning, pest control, etc.)
  • Professional Services (legal, payroll, accounting, consulting, staffing, etc.)
  • Retail
  • Travel
  • Vending

Franchise Digital Marketing Strategies

You’ll need a tailored digital advertising franchise marketing strategy to succeed. I blend tested strategies and proprietary techniques to give my clients the best of all worlds.

Digital Marketing for Franchises

Digital Marketing for Franchises

From establishing an online presence to generating new client leads, the right online marketing campaign can deliver a wide range of benefits for franchise owners. Depending on your needs and goals, a few digital marketing strategies I apply for franchises include:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Online Advertising and Pay Per Click Ads (PPC)
  • Social Media Marketing (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
  • Content Marketing (Blog, Articles, Case Studies, etc.)
  • Online Reputation Management
  • Conversion Optimization
  • Lead Recovery

Four Digital Marketing Tactics Franchises Should Apply

The following four tactics may be employed, whether you’re advertising franchise opportunities or working to attract more clients for your franchisees.

1. Influencer Marketing

Nearly two-thirds of consumers trust recommendations from influencers, according to Shopify. By working with macro-influencers or those with a small, loyal following, you can instantly attract more consumers in a highly targeted way. This can be helpful when you’re trying to attract new franchisees as well, especially if any of your current franchisees are known in the industry. 

2. Chatbot Marketing

Chatbots are often thought of as automated customer service agents, answering questions 24/7 and directing customers to the information they seek. This is an excellent use for them, but they’re also an invaluable sales tool that can collect lead data and ease prospects through your funnels.

3. Email Marketing

On average, email marketing campaigns deliver $36 for every $1 spent, according to HubSpot. The agency reports that more than one-third of businesses are also increasing their email budget. This helps companies focus on delivering value with every send, optimizing for mobile devices, and ensuring they have the technology to get results. 

4. Content Marketing

When it comes to online advertising, franchise marketers often overlook the value of content marketing. It’s a broad umbrella that includes things like blogs, infographics, and videos. By incorporating content marketing into your overall strategy, you’ll attract organic traffic to your website and build stronger relationships.

Disadvantages of Hiring a Franchise Marketing Agency Instead of a Consultant

You have options when choosing between the best franchise marketing solutions, but not all providers deliver the same services, let alone results. A franchise advertising agency, or digital marketing agency that caters to franchises, will not deliver the same experience as a consultant. A few key differences in the approach include:

  • Lack of specialized resources. Franchise advertising is different than advertising on behalf of an individual business, but many franchise marketing companies approach them the same way. For example, they might use keywords that attract clients rather than franchisees. They may focus more on Google ads while overlooking potential opportunities like local bar associations for legal franchises or advertising through load boards to encourage truckers to become owners or operators.
  • General expertise versus specialist expertise. Agency owners have historically been website designers who branched out into other areas. However, we’re seeing other specialists, such as web content writers and social media managers opening up digital marketing firms. These individuals may be experts in the fields they started in. Still, you don’t want a web designer managing your digital ads or a social media manager creating your SEO marketing strategy. These things require specialized knowledge.
  • Lack of internal knowledge. Agencies are outsiders. They often start with an onboarding call to get to know you, but you really need someone at the heart of your business managing your digital marketing. Is an agency going to live and breathe your brand? Will the agency know how to respond to a customer query about an upcoming product launch? Probably not, which is why keeping certain aspects of your digital marketing in-house is usually best.

Reasons to Hire a Digital Marketing Strategist for Your Franchise

I have a different approach than most agencies. First, I’ve worked in digital franchise marketing for decades and have expertise across a variety of industries.  I also get to know each business I work with and become part of the team. Moreover, I believe bringing in an expert in each area is essential. For example, if we’re running pay-per-click campaigns, you will have a pay-per-click expert managing them. These approaches make all the difference in the outcome.

Your Tailored Franchise Digital Marketing Strategy

Although each franchise has unique goals, I have a proven strategy or “recipe” to bring to each project.

Discovery/Consult

The first step is always a complimentary consultation. This is an opportunity for you to get to know me and my philosophies a bit better. I’ll also ask you about your goals and the company’s current position. We’ll work together to uncover opportunities and ways I can help.

Competitor Analysis

While I don’t believe businesses should focus too much on what their competitors are doing, when it comes to marketing a franchise, I do see the value in performing an analysis at the onset of a project. This allows us to identify how you can apply your strengths and work on potential weaknesses to overtake them in the market. This will be one of the first things we address and include in your franchise marketing plan because it will ensure your marketing budget is applied to maximize impact.

Demographics and Personas

Let’s say you’re trying to attract new franchisees to your law franchise. Your ideal prospect may be a new graduate, a seasoned attorney breaking out on his own, or even a non-lawyer who works in the field. Each of these people will respond to different messaging. In addition, each franchise within each industry will have different groups of prospects in the same way. Because of this, we also create personas as one of our first initiatives. It allows us to craft all your marketing messages and materials around those who are likely to take action, so you convert more often and your spend is focused.

Digital Marketing Roadmap

Digital marketing initiatives perform better when they’re deployed one area at a time because it allows the marketing team to fine-tune each area before moving on to the next. Rolling things out a little at a time also minimizes growing pains, streamlines the process, and allows you to start generating revenue from earlier initiatives that can be rolled into later ones. Although each roadmap may differ some, yours will likely include:

Talent Sourcing

Performance is better when a specialist in that area handles each role, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every role should be outsourced. I’ll work with your existing team as much as possible to ensure they have the skills and resources necessary to succeed. In cases where it makes more sense to outsource, I’ll help get an expert in the role as we hit each area on the roadmap.

Implementation

Each digital marketing campaign and initiative will be rolled out one at a time to start. By building your engine slowly, it’ll become a powerful machine that generates better results.

Results, Monitoring, and Building

As one of my franchise marketing clients, I’ll keep an eye on your rankings and visibility on Google, as well as other metrics related to each campaign and initiative. We’ll constantly test ideas that will help build your digital presence and promote your business, too. That way, we can fine-tune our marketing efforts as we go to ensure you’re always getting the best results and ROI.

Improved Local Visibility for Digital Marketing Success

To grow your franchise business, implementing localized digital marketing strategies is necessary. You can boost your search results visibility by focusing on local SEO and optimizing your Google Business Profile.  This improved visibility attracts potential customers who are actively searching for the services you offer. Tailored advertising campaigns on social media platforms can also amplify your presence, turning local interest into tangible gains. Effective internet marketing leverages these tools to position your franchise as an authority in your industry, driving both engagement and conversions. Incorporating these best practices into your franchise’s digital marketing efforts promotes your local business and integrates seamlessly with broader digital marketing success strategies, ensuring a cohesive and effective outreach to your target audience.

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation for Your Franchise

Are you excited about growing your franchise with digital marketing solutions that work? I welcome the opportunity to hear about what you’re doing and discuss the best ways to get you where you want to go. Contact me for a complimentary consultation.

 

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