Establishing a franchise business is hard enough. But taking it to the next level is just as hard.
We might think that once the company is operating, it just stops there. Some do get overwhelmed with the company’s everyday operations, resulting in neglect of the possible ways to expand the company.
However, some entrepreneurs constantly strive to improve their competitive edge in the market. This ensures the business’ continuous increase in sales, progressive visibility, and staying in the consumers’ top of mind; hence, guarantees the company’s sustainability and survival.
To do that, you must form exceptional franchise marketing strategies to promote the company’s growth.
Marketing strategy, in essence, is the business’ master plan to heighten its brand visibility to reach out to as many potential customers as possible and persuade them to become one of the company’s valued clients.
Here are 10 Franchise Marketing Strategies you can utilize to grow your franchise business.
Engage with your Consumers
Engaging with your consumers is highly advantageous. It develops a good relationship with them; hence, an improvement in your brand identity. You can also obtain crucial customer database information.
You can get client involvement by asking them for feedback and evaluation and, for example, asking for their input on a new line of perfume scent or a new product and service. You may also get testers from different demographics so you can roughly distinguish what sells on a certain age group.
This will lead you to know your clients’ behaviors, expectations, and what they want. You can use this information for your product and services improvement to fulfill your customers’ desires.
Utilize Social Media
Nowadays, personal engagement may not be a choice for all of us. You can use social media as a franchise marketing strategy to engage with your consumers - for example, creating polls to collect inputs.
The wide-ranging reach of social media works well for brand exposure and awareness. Utilizing social media as a marketing tool is highly convenient, free, and will reach many audiences in a short period.
While that is true, it takes time and immense effort to establish social media presence and increase your audience.
If you want to step it up, an extension of this franchise marketing strategy is to tap on influencers. And this does not immediately indicate influencers with millions of subscribers or followers. Always pick the most suitable influencer in line with your business niche, so you know you are targeting the right client base.
You must understand your franchise business to map out your consumer prospects. If you do this, you might be able to spend less yet reaching the right audience for your company.
Integrated Marketing
Consistency is key. This franchise marketing strategy refers to implementing consistent brand image and message through diverse marketing channels integrating various promotional practices in reaching out to customers and prospects.
Integrated marketing comprise advertising, sales promotion, promotional sales, copy ads, social media, etc.
Staying consistent in marketing your franchise business will make people aware of your trademark. It also increases credibility and recognition for your brand.
This is how you make your brand stick to the minds of your customers. Persistently being on their top of mind; hence, they can identify your brand no matter what method or channel of marketing your company uses.
Advertising
Advertising, as part of franchise marketing strategy, is all about ads. This includes banner ads, social media ads, billboards, magazine ads, etc.
Basically, in advertising, the company or brand pays for the message they want to disseminate on a particular platform. Your advertising expenditure depends on the chosen platform's reach. For instance, an ad page for a regional newspaper (say, Manorama, Dhina Thanthi, or Lokmat) will cost less than a national newspaper (say, Amar Ujala or Ananda Bazar Patrika). For TV exposure, you pay more on commercials shown during primetime TV shows than TV local channels.
You must identify your target audience to execute and choose the right advertisement based on your particular franchise business to avoid unnecessary advertising expenses.
Support your Community
The community is a big source of customers. It is beneficial for your business to support this client base in scholarships, donations, sponsorships, fundraising, etc., to get their trust and support.
This franchise marketing strategy aids in improving customer relationships and brand support. Extending your company’s presence through being supportive and generous towards the community will significantly boost your brand image.
Companies like Apple, Biskut Bar, Henri London, Lego, Monica Vinader, and more have extended a helping hand and donated for India’s COVID-19 second wave crisis.
Integrate Public Relation
Having a good franchise marketing strategy includes cost-effective measures. In this case, integrating public relations helps. A potential outstanding franchise should spark creativity within its campaigns.
Present customers are particular to seeing much information, and some franchise marketing strategies might not appeal to their favor. Integrating public relations improves five essential things; developing a leading brand personality and brand ambassadors, gaining more public exposure, better franchise pitch, creating stable credibility, and continuing dialogue with its loyal or potential consumers.
Overall, the role of public relations is to make your franchise known. All you need to do is find a team that could provide unique and consumer-relevant franchise marketing ideas.
Content Marketing
Content is the answer to your target consumers' questions. This is how you can build trust with them and further connect to your franchise offers and wants.
Content marketing is a crucial franchise marketing strategy to any business, more so to franchising. You can engage with your existing and future customers (or personas) through blog posts, one-sheets, or video testimonials. Content provides the avenue for them to know better about your franchise and keep track of your customers' participation and growing loyalty.
For this franchise marketing strategy to work best, franchisors provide the whole plans or tools while seeing that the franchisees can execute the projects’ desired outcome.
Content marketing is a tedious process. However, this pays off a large boost of credibility, exposure, and validity to your franchise.
All you need to do is stay relevant to your content and keep up with the demands and trends in the franchising market. Knowing the favorable changes of your target customers is also vital.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO refers to the optimization of your business website to gain ideal traffic from search engines. Utilizing SEO for ranking in search engines like Google is one of the greatest ways to increase leads and sales.
The internet is highly accessible, and most people rely on it to search for anything they want to know. Your ultimate goal to maximize the use of SEO is to rank first on the search engine results. There are several methods you can apply to achieve this.
Such as researching for popular keywords that your target market will most likely use, ensuring the quality of your content (that is, well researched and packed with relevant and reliable information, links and off-page promotions, and so on.
In any case, you must yield a great understanding of SEO for you to make it work.
Podcast Marketing
More and more people have turned online - in education, work, and entertainment; hence, the emergence of more marketing channels. As the numbers go up, there has been a compelling increase in podcast popularity.
The podcast is a promising franchise marketing strategy. It is something you just cannot take for granted.
This offers a new way of interacting and connecting with your target consumers. Simple blogs may not appeal as much now. Podcasts make you a little closer to your audience than written content can. Plus, you can express your emotions more when talking, deepening that bond with your clients and building trust.
Besides brand development, increase in traffic, and credibility, creating podcasts is cost-effective and easy to develop and produce. Podcast marketing is an efficient and effective way of increasing your company's media presence.
Referrals
A satisfied customer is always good for a franchise. If you are new to the business, referrals would be one franchise marketing strategy to ponder.
The customers will always find sales or service experience, and a new franchise would commonly not be the top choice. Your franchise could have strong validation but lack referrals.
This franchise marketing strategy could be generated from joining and learning with fellow franchising people that could affiliate your franchise. This widens the reach of your franchise market and levels or increases your favor on competitors.
It is also important that a franchisor should actively communicate with franchisees. Make your referrals schemes or programs easy for your customers. Keep track of consumers by setting up your tracking systems (manual or automated).
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