Sponsored Content by Location3

Roughly five years ago, an industry shift occurred in franchising that saw many franchisors and their respective marketing teams hire multiple agencies, partners and vendors to conduct various marketing programs on their behalf. The basic idea behind the shift was that if your brand hired the best direct mail partner, the best brand agency, the best search marketing vendor and the best SaaS platform, your franchise would ultimately see positive dividends. However, what often emerged as a result were strategies and tactics that didn’t integrate with one another, poor communication across channels and partners, and a lack of transparency in understanding overall marketing performance. As we move toward 2019, let’s examine how a centralized approach to marketing your brand and franchise locations can produce better results and more revenue.

What Should Be Managed at an Enterprise Level?

Franchisor marketing teams must take control of how their brand is represented online, while still providing management and support of key channels that impact franchisees on a local level. Some key considerations:

• Own your website, and own your data. There are countless SaaS providers and subscription-based platforms that allow you to “host” your website, landing pages, local data and more on their platforms. This means that they own your data, handcuffing you to their system. Your brand should own and control all of your online accounts, your website and all of the data associated with each.
• Online Business Listings should be managed by corporate, not by franchisees. When profiles on places like Google My Business, Facebook and others are maintained individually a wealth of issues arises regarding brand standards and online performance. Managing your business listings in bulk, with centralized location data control, has proven to be the best approach.
• Enterprise advertising that supports both the brand and the franchisees. While often viewed as “brand awareness”, enterprise-level advertising still impacts your franchisees. Consider how you message to consumers, and the actions you expect them to take on a local level.

How Can Franchisees Increase Local Customers?

When marketing to customers online, it’s important to provide franchisees with a centralized strategic marketing framework that incorporates proven technology and local-level franchise support. Some key considerations:

•  Location-based digital advertising. Google, Bing and Facebook advertising provide efficient ways to target consumers online and convert them to customers in-store. Even a small, single location budget can go a long way when campaigns are executed effectively.
• Monitor, manage and respond to customer online reviews. Industry data shows that regularly responding to customer reviews improves both customer experience and your online ranking, increasing your chances of being visible ahead of your franchise competitors.

 A centralized marketing strategy gives your brand the opportunity to do sophisticated data analysis and explore marketing attribution models that paint a clearer picture of overall performance and ROI. No matter how you market your franchise, gone are the days multiple vendors and strategies that live in silos by themselves. Centralizing your approach can produce incredible results, no matter how large or small your franchise may be. 

 For more information, contact Location3