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Red Flags Of Franchise Marketing
Creating a strong and effective franchise marketing plan can help franchisees and the entire organization to flourish. However, creating this type of plan isn’t easy. Whether you’re in the process of creating a franchise marketing strategy or are concerned that your current plan has some significant issues, there are quite a few pitfalls that can come up during the planning and execution of marketing. Through our franchise marketing services, we’ve had direct experience seeing and helping to resolve many of these pitfalls. That’s why we want to share four red flags you’ll want to watch out for with your own franchise marketing efforts:
1. Inconsistency
One of the advantages franchises have is the ability to use their scale to continue growing their brand. However, many franchises miss out on making the most of this advantage. This is because they don’t create a consistent experience across their entire brand. A surprising finding of a franchisee survey was that 49% of franchisees “are not required to follow specific corporate recommendations on marketing strategy.” So even though it is helpful to get input from franchisees about what’s working best and which areas need improvement, your marketing plan should ensure consistency across all operators.
2. Scattered Campaigns
Both direct mail and email are channels that can work well for franchise marketing. While plenty of franchises are aware of these channels, they often make a significant mistake when trying to use them. That mistake is not managing these efforts through an integrated platform. Not having a centralized platform will increase marketing costs and decrease the efficiency of campaigns.
3. Lack of Budget
With marketing channels like social media, it’s possible to get more bang for your buck by creating campaigns and content that gain organic momentum. Although increasing marketing ROI is great, getting campaigns up and running still requires having a budget. So if a marketing plan doesn’t include getting at least some financial support from franchisees, chances are very good that it’s going to significantly hamper results.
4. Forgetting About Personalization
As a franchise, you probably want your presence to spread well beyond your home base. It’s normal to have aspirations to create an established presence on a national or even international scale. One important thing to keep in mind as your franchise is opened in more locations is marketing efforts should be personalized to the area. When franchises don’t take regional or cultural differences into account, they miss out on a big opportunity to tailor their marketing efforts in a way that helps them to resonate even more (while still maintaining a consistent brand image).
To get even more help with your marketing and other franchise operations, be sure to take a look at our franchisor services.
This article is an original contribution by Michelle Hummel
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