Franchises have long been a part of the business world, offering many benefits for franchise brands and franchisees alike. Franchisors benefit by growing their business by opening new locations and getting their name out to the public much faster through their franchisees. On the other hand, franchisees get to enjoy the perks and benefits of running their own business while having the opportunity to use the resources of an already established brand.
However, traditional marketing strategies are no longer as effective as they used to be. The rise of e-commerce and digital marketing makes it easier for aspiring business owners to operate, manage, and even market their own business. Not only that but franchisors and franchisees may sometimes clash when it comes to marketing efforts, leading franchisees to create marketing campaigns that may not necessarily align with the brand’s interests or vision.
This is why it’s for brands to clearly establish the business goals and, if possible, even create a guide for franchisees to follow, which can help ensure a streamlined and uniform marketing effort. So whether you’re already in the process of shifting to digital or have already done so, here are a few ways you can use the internet and technology to your advantage to grow your business.
Create a Brand Guide for Your Franchisees
One of the most important things franchise brands need to provide to their franchisees is resources to help the brand and the franchise owners’ businesses grow. This usually includes training programs, proven business systems, and support, among other things. But one other important thing that brands need to provide is a brand guide. This would contain the brand’s mission, vision, and other useful information that will guide franchisees to unify the marketing efforts, as clashing marketing campaigns can confuse consumers.
Establish Your Online Presence
When people are on their gadgets and social media constantly, establishing a business’s online presence is as important as ever. However, creating a social media account for your business alone isn’t enough to make you stand out from the crowd and get your brand recognized.
Build a Website
While you may think that websites are old-fashioned, they’re still an important part of your digital marketing strategy. Compared to social media accounts, websites allow different kinds of information and content to be easily accessed by users without scouring your page for the information they need. Information like your location, how to get there, contact numbers, franchise plans, locations, and the like, should have a place on your website.
Keep in mind that your website also needs to be effective, meaning that it’s fast, user-friendly, and optimized for mobile devices. This is especially important as most consumers these days are on their smartphones, whether they’re reading the news or buying something online, and the number of people doing so is expected to grow in the future. Ensure that all the information is up-to-date, so you can keep customers and franchisees up-to-date with ways to contact you if they have any questions or concerns.
Create a Blog
As they say, content is king, and content marketing is the best way to prove this. Simply put, content marketing is a way for businesses to sell their brand by creating content that doesn’t directly promote a certain service or product but instead plants the seed, making the consumer interested in acquiring that certain service or product. In addition to this, it also helps build brand awareness.
Consider adding a blog page to your website where customers can read about franchising and how it can benefit them and other related and relevant articles that can help you catch consumer attention.
Implement SEO and SEM Strategies in Your Content
Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are important to help your future franchisees find you. Many strategies make SEO and SEM marketing, which include strategically-placed keywords, link building, and creating optimized content that helps increase your ranking on search engines, making it easier for people to find you online.
Establish and Maintain Your Social Media Presence
Most businesses these days have social media accounts as it is a powerful tool that can help you reach different audiences easily and simultaneously. Not only does it help you raise awareness for your brand, but it also gives you a platform to market your brand and engage with customers, whether it’s by providing them with quotations or answering their inquiries.
Use Data to Improve Your Business
Data plays a critical role in helping both franchise brands and franchisees alike make informed decisions for the business and also helps them figure out what works and what doesn’t more efficiently. This can help you find leads for your business and convert them into interested customers. However, if you have no experience analyzing online analytics, turning leads into customers can be difficult. This is why some businesses use franchise consulting services to help them make sense of all the information they’re getting from each digital channel.
Pay for Ads
Paid media campaigns are known to be effective, especially when you direct them towards a specific audience. Utilizing this strategy is one of the easiest ways to reach consumers closest to you and make your services or products known through custom and localized advertisements. Whether you’re managing the main brand itself or a franchise of the brand, geotargeted paid advertisements can help you focus on the consumers in your area.
Offer Great Customer Service
No one returns to a business with bad customer service, which is why it’s important to provide both your consumers and your franchisees the best service you possibly can. By doing this, people will not only be satisfied with your service, but they’re also more likely to recommend you to someone they know and even post about your brand online. Making sure you maintain a good reputation, coupled with a good rapport with your customers, will increase the chance of getting a good review and eventually boost business sales.
Keeping a business and its operations running daily is difficult, especially when you’re also trying to keep track of all your franchisees in the process. However, it’s important to remember that your franchisees are your most important customers. If you don’t get along with them well, it could lead to several problems for both you and your brand down the line.
In addition to that, digital marketing is as important as ever, and those who want to stay in business will have to take the necessary steps to utilize digital marketing tools and strategies to grow their business. And while the to-do list may seem long for both brands and their franchisees, accomplishing these goals will pave the way towards your digital marketing and business success.
