DO YOUR OWN MARKETING
Franchisees have to play their part in brand promotion.
Brand promotion is essential for a business. And franchisees have to play their part.
Buying a franchise is an exciting time. It is a great way to launch a business knowing there is an established network in place that works. However, there is a misconception that when purchasing a franchise, partners are relieved of some of the essential business operational activities.
The reality is, that when buying into a franchise, partners are leveraging from an existing proven success model. This includes the brand, reputation, systems and procedures. It is then up to the franchise partner to take this concept and grow it within their chosen area or territory and a big part of that is called “local area marketing”.
THE BENEFITS OF LOCAL AREA
MARKETING
Local area marketing (or LAM as it’s commonly called) is the essential ingredient in building a successful franchise. In order to succeed at a local level, franchise partners must completely immerse
themselves within their local community to understand its culture, people and key demographic. By doing so, franchise partners are able to build successful relationships and grow their business within the community. By understanding the local customer behaviour within the community, franchise partners have the opportunity to become a community hero, identify key market opportunities and from there grow their business.
THE ROLE OF THE FRANCHISOR WHEN IT
COMES TO MARKETING
In most systems, the franchise partner contributes a portion of their revenue to what’s called the “group marketing fund”. The group marketing fund is a pool of money that the franchisor’s marketing team invests in marketing activities that promote the brand at a national level. Every single franchise partner benefits from this investment. The franchisor and marketing team will decide how the funds get allocated based on the marketing strategy, customer insights, trends and whatever else is relevant within their industry. The way funds get allocated is usually through a multi-channel approach that includes but is not limited to television, radio, digital, social media or print. Essentially, the franchisor will invest in any channel that is best suited to create awareness and build a connection with potential customers.
THE ROLE OF FRANCHISE PARTNER
WHEN IT COMES TO MARKETING
The key difference between franchise partners doing very well and others doing less well is that the successful partners understand the marketing planning process and follow it. These processes are usually clearly explained during franchise onboarding and marketing training. They plan their time wisely, build relationships within their community, are consistent and understand the importance of following the process. Franchise partners are supported in their marketing initiatives by having access to marketing assets already created and provided to them by the franchisor. These assets typically include flyers, brochures, EDM templates, digital assets, social media support assets and promotional material. Another misconception is that franchise partners don’t need to invest in their own marketing as they already contribute to the national marketing fund. This is incorrect. Franchise partners are strongly advised to invest additional funds into their own local area marketing plan. They should use the national marketing strategy as a guide and adapt that into their own local area marketing plans.
TIPS WHEN UNDERTAKING YOUR OWN
LOCAL AREA MARKETING
DEVELOP A PLAN FOR ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS
Having a proactive plan in place for attracting customers is a good habit to get into. Thinking about it from a local area perspective, the plan should include marketing tactics to engage and influence customers to support the franchise business. The franchisor should provide a list of marketing tactics suited to the business. The plan for attracting customers should always be referred to, refined and evolved as market conditions change.
DEVELOP A PLAN FOR RETAINING CUSTOMERS
In today’s marketing landscape, data is king. Ongoing communication to a database that is unique to the local area is the ultimate way to build relationships. Think about ways to build value into the relationship that will keep customers coming back.
FOLLOW THE PROCESS
Don’t reinvent the wheel. The system is in place because it works.
INVEST
Invest time and resources into local area marketing. Having a presence within the local community, getting out and about, building those face-to-face relationships will pay dividends. Effort always equals reward.
DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE
Franchise partners wear multiple caps when starting their business. These include accounting, operations, HR, sales, plus more ... it can be very overwhelming! When in doubt, utilise the team in place who support the franchise partners and ask for assistance when required.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Having a consistent, multi-channel approach is key when undertaking local area marketing activities. Never focus on one channel to build awareness and engagement. The customer buying journey has various stages including Awareness, Consideration and Purchase. Therefore, responding with the right communication at the right place and at the right time in their journey will always ensure a consistent communication approach. Kelly Nikolakopoulos is director of marketing at Sport Star Academy franchise. Kelly is one of the Top 30 Franchise Executives for 2019.