Why Great Franchisees Aren’t Always Great Marketers
Sponsored content by ActiveCampaign.
Marketing any business is tough, and franchises are no exception. While many franchisees feel right at home when it comes to operations, customer service, and sales, marketing presents its own unique set of challenges. Ones that even the most successful franchise operators might not be prepared for.
What’s more, franchisees without a good grasp of marketing fundamentals might inadvertently limit their potential. Basic mistakes can hurt long-term performance, and can turn into bigger problems down the road when your business is ready to scale.
That's especially true for operators who haven't had any marketing experience before, and might not be sure how to set up their business for sustainable growth with a solid marketing strategy. Fortunately, there's a way around that.
Why franchise marketing is difficult
One of the franchisees' most significant challenges is maintaining consistency in branding and messaging. Franchisees need to keep a consistent brand image to build trust and credibility with customers, but this can be difficult to achieve if franchisees use different branding and messaging throughout their marketing channels. This lack of consistency can lead to confusion among customers and ultimately hurt the franchise brand.
Another challenge for franchisees is the gap in marketing expertise compared to their franchisor. Franchisors often have entire teams and budgets dedicated to creating polished campaigns, but franchisees don’t always have the know-how or resources to make those campaigns work at the local level. For example, a franchisee might struggle to tweak a national ad so it really speaks to their local audience or figure out how to run a cost-effective social media campaign. Without the right marketing skills, it’s easy to waste money or miss out on potential customers, which means fewer leads, lower sales, and a business that isn’t reaching its full potential.
A third challenge that franchisees face is a limited marketing budget. Franchisees may need more money to invest in expensive marketing campaigns, so they may struggle to generate leads and drive sales. Without a budget to invest in marketing, franchisees may rely on cheap or ineffective methods, which can ultimately hurt their business.
A fourth challenge that franchisees face is a need for a higher level of digital marketing know-how. With the ever-changing digital landscape, franchisees may need help to keep up with the latest digital marketing platforms and strategies. Without proper training and resources for the specific platforms their customers use, franchisees may not know how to effectively leverage digital marketing strategies, which can ultimately hurt their business.
Overcoming franchise marketing problems
It's important to note that many of these challenges can be overcome with the proper support and resources from the franchisor.
By providing clear guidelines, training, resources, and cost-effective solutions, franchisors can help franchisees develop effective marketing strategies and maintain a consistent brand image. Effective marketing strategies will help franchisees generate leads, drive sales, and succeed in their business.
With the proper support and resources from the franchisor, franchisees can overcome these challenges and ultimately succeed in their business.
Franchise Marketing with ActiveCampaign HQ
One of the easiest ways to overcome franchise marketing difficulties is by using marketing automation.
Marketing automation is a way to set up specific marketing communications and efforts for specific people. That means franchisees can do less one-on-one marketing and focus on other important tasks while your marketing is done for you.
ActiveCampaign HQ is specifically made for franchise owners who are looking to keep brand messaging the same across multiple locations, personalize content for different businesses, and make sure they're able to react to local reviews both positive and negative.