Franchise business leaders struggle to get maximum engagement for each local branch because marketing is a difficult task for someone lacking experience. They need to trust their local franchises to do their job, but they can be successful only if the business leader ensures brand consistency with franchise marketing system.
For a franchise to be successful and build a larger customer base, it needs marketing and public relations across the business. So, what is the job of the franchisor when they want to maximise the marketing potential of the business? They need to look for creative ways to stand out in the crowd and compete against competitors. What does that mean? The next strategies can prove useful in promoting franchises locally, nationally, and internationally.
Build a referral program
Buyers trust their friends and family’s advice more than anything else, so when they want to purchase something, they ask for recommendations. A Harris poll reveals that over 80% of people consider recommendations crucial in deciding if they choose a brand or not. When existing clients love the products you provide, they praise their benefits to their peers and you can retain new clients.
Companies hire celebrities and social media influencers to work as brand ambassadors. But you can turn your clients into organic brand ambassadors. You should set a referral program that rewards the customers who promote your products to the public.
Some organisations establish membership programs to register their loyal clients and provide them with discounts for every new member they bring. You can set a membership program for your franchise and offer rewards to the brand ambassadors who attract new clients.
Social media is more powerful than ever
Social media addresses a global audience, so it’s one of the most powerful marketing tools franchises can use to promote their products.
Social media allows you to interact with existing and potential clients, and engage them with your services. It works as a gateway for local branches because it promotes product launches, and it allows you to identify subtle changes that influence local market trends. The market is facing a general trend, but locally it suffers changes and you must customise social media content accordingly, to meet requirements.
Social media helps franchises boost engagement more than any other marketing method. Encourage all branches to run their own accounts and establish a social media presence. This way, they’ll approach their local audience and cost-effectively increase their reach.
How to start up a social media campaign for a franchise?
- Promote social media accounts everywhere you can, on your website, at your branches, in print, through TV commercials, etc.
- Encourage the public to follow your pages to find more about the company, ask them to post pictures, comments, and write reviews after they use the products.
- Run contests to boost engagement and encourage clients to post pictures with products.
- Integrate seasonal themes in your social media articles.
- Create branded hashtags, clients can use when speaking about your business.
- Provide information about the niche you operate in. Use your social media pages to share the latest news in the industry, ask for opinions and post information that interests your audience.
Ensure brand consistency across the franchise
The core of successful marketing is building a brand. What is there for your marketing campaign if you don’t have a strong brand identity that tells the story of the franchise? Your marketing strategy promotes your brand online and offline, so you need to create something worth sharing, a message that influences and generates emotions.
Often, franchises lack brand consistency and they find difficult to gain their public’s trust. Understandably, you want to do things your own way, but when it comes to branding you must follow general rules. Establish branding parameters and create something unique and different from anything else in the industry. Create a brand image all branches promote, and if you want to innovate and improve it later, ensure you do it for all local franchises. A local branch shouldn’t consider innovation on its own, because it distances itself from the core.
Content can boost sales for local franchises
Content marketing is a hot subject in franchise marketing because it does more than engaging audiences, it’s SEO friendly and works as the gateway in SERPs. All branches should create personalised content to meet local requirements, rank higher in local searches, and position the franchise as an authority in the market.
But because the employees may lack content creation knowledge, it’s wise to hire a company to handle franchise marketing for you. They are professionals with experience in the domain, and can analyse the local needs of each of the branches and create strategies that meet particular needs.
When creating content for franchise marketing source keywords relevant for each location, and create article headlines relevant for the target public. Each franchise should diversify the content offering from video content to audio content, written articles and even gifs. Content fuels email marketing, social media promotion and blog posts, so it’s a key factor in boosting sales.
Word of mouth marketing attracts new clients
It’s surprising to find out that word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, but it can raise brand recognition and awareness. Word of mouth also works wonderfully for the franchises that want to establish a trustworthy relationship with the market because the modern customer trusts their peers to make recommendations.
And what’s more, potential investors searching for franchisees to start in their region can read your clients’ testimonials and decide your business is worth their financing. When investors are looking for franchisees to open, they ensure the brand they select has an established public that provides honest opinions about products’ quality.
The secret to building a strong word of mouth marketing strategy is to provide high-quality products, professional customer service and top-notch company culture.
Ensure all branches establish a strong relationship with clients to encourage them to speak about the brand and recommend other people try the products.
