5 Things You Need to Know About Marketing Your Franchise

Bill Gates once declared he would spend his last dollar on PR, but would you?

As a franchisee, your brand will be defined by your franchisor but ultimately marketing decisions are down to you. To start, don’t think about your last dollar. Focus instead on this tried and tested marketing advice for franchisees.

Follow the guidelines

Marketing is an inherently risky sport. Knowing which techniques will work, and which won’t, is a mystery for most. But franchisees are in the unique position of having a blueprint for success. Franchisees will do well to heed the advice of the franchisor and fellow franchisees in nearby territories.

It might be email marketing, social media, radio advertising or networking that works best for your brand. Observe those around you and mimic the activities that best fit the stage of your business and the audience you’re targeting. Just because Bill Gates says PR is a great idea, doesn’t mean it will be for you.

Be on brand

As a franchisee you have effectively ‘bought the brand’ - so use it. Use it consistently and well. An essential brand toolkit should contain logos in various formats, a colour palette and fonts, along with guidelines for tone of voice and imagery ‘dos and don’ts’.

Armed with this, you’ll be in a strong position to brief graphic designers, website developers, copywriters and other marketing professionals to create material and run campaigns in the right guise for your franchise.

Misuse your brand and you’ll confuse your market. You risk looking unprofessional and amateur. Initial impressions are everything and as visual creatures, people look first and ask questions later.

Budget

When you’re just starting out in your franchise budgeting might seem futile and frustrating, but it’s worthwhile on two counts.

Firstly, it allows you to make decisions more quickly. Designate a set amount to a marketing activity and you won’t find yourself quibbling over one choice or another half way through. Your budget, in the main, will have defined the choices you are able to make. This ensures marketing activities come to life more quickly, and don’t spend months in the pipeline.

Secondly, a budget helps you stay profitable. Cash is king and its flow into your business is vital for success. It’s wise to allocate a percentage of revenue to marketing activities. How much is dependent on your industry. Your franchisor should be able to guide you.

Measure and grow

What you can measure you can grow. If you’re able to pinpoint what’s working, and establish simple growth metrics for your business, you’ll be able to apply effort in the right places and see your franchise soar. Again, your franchisor may well be able to provide these metrics and it might be an essential part of your franchise agreement.

For marketing, a good starting point is to find a measure of awareness (social follows for example), a measure of engagement (such as email subscribers or open rates) and a measure of success (converting new clients). Start measuring them, monitor what works, and apply effort in the right places.

Reputation wins all

There is no marketing technique more powerful than a happy customer - a customer so happy, they’re willing to tell the world about you. This is powerful because a happy customer will do your marketing for you. Your role then, is to ensure they have the best possible experience and are able to effortlessly tell others about you.

A clear proposition is key. Clients should be able to explain what you do in a sentence. Prompts and incentives to talk about your business may also be useful. Think of coffee shop loyalty cards – they keep you coming back for more and bringing your friends along with you. How can you incentivise your happy clients to come back for more?

David Banfield is President of The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North America’s largest alternative funding source for business.IFG provides short-term working capital funding in the form of a unique Invoice Discounting service. The company serves clients in the manufacturing, service and construction sectors. Interface delivers their service through a franchise base in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. IFG’s innovative Invoice Discounting service is a fast and easy way for businesses to turn receivables into cash.

Please submit a request form for further information on the Interface Financial Group Franchise Opportunity