Marketing can be a complicated process to master for any business, but franchisee marketing is a whole different ball game. So let’s start with the basics, what is franchisee marketing, how does it work, and why is it so important?

Franchisee marketing is the process of creating and executing a marketing strategy for a group of franchise locations. That seems simple enough, but there are so many steps when creating a successful franchise market strategy. That’s why it’s important for any franchise to understand both the challenges and best practices that are involved in curating a successful strategy.

1. Why is Franchise Marketing so Important
2. The Benefits of Franchise Marketing
3. The Challenges of Franchise Marketing
4. Best Practices for Franchise Marketing
5. KidoKinetics Case Study
6. Our Final Word

Why is Franchisee Marketing so Important:

Franchise marketing is essential for any franchise to reach its business goals. The proper strategy helps to build and maintain the image and reputation of a brand. A proper franchise marketing strategy can also assist in generating leads to grow business opportunities.

At SocialMadeSimple, We build personalized marketing programs for franchises big and small. Learn more about a partnership with SocialMadeSimple, especially our offer of a 90-Day Franchise Pilot Program.

The Benefits of Franchisee Marketing:

In this post, we’ll explore some best practices for brand building and customer engagement for franchise businesses, with a focus on the benefits and best practices for franchisee marketing.

There are so many benefits to franchise marketing, but one of the most important is a staggering increase in overall brand awareness. Making existing and potential customers aware of your business and its unique selling points is invaluable. Simply put, the more people know your name and what you do, the more likely you will be to convert views into sales.

Consistent messaging and branding are also a huge perk to franchise marketing. Customers love consistency. Generally, people greatly appreciate knowing that no matter which location they find themselves visiting, the quality of what they are paying for is nearly identical.

Branding is no different. Franchise locations must have a consistent message, image, and presentation to turn first-time customers into business regulars!

Targeted marketing strategies are yet another beneficial perk of franchise marketing. When these strategies are correctly implemented into a new or existing plan, all locations will see measurable results.

The Challenges of Franchisee Marketing:

The magical world of franchise marketing is not without its unique challenges and difficulties. The concepts are potent and effective when implemented correctly. The hard part is making sure they are fully implemented.

Maintaining consistency across franchise locations is a major challenge. Think of your favorite chain restaurant as an example. If you have a great meal at one location but order the same meal at another, and it is missing key ingredients, you will be disappointed. These little details are what keep customers coming back time and time again.

Franchise consistency is not the only challenge; another major factor in a franchise’s lack of success is whether or not they can adapt to their local markets. Each neighboring market is different because the demographic of people is different. For example, some areas value community, and some value privacy.

The primary point is that the more market research you can perform, the better you can understand your consumer. You may think this is counterintuitive in regard to maintaining your business’s branding. But once you understand your markets, you can craft a franchise marketing strategy that is on-brand and location-specific.

Lastly, outside of the obvious difficulties in franchise marketing, there are other potential roadblocks to a franchise’s success. It can be very challenging to know how to balance national and local marketing efforts. You want to build a reputable national name for your business while also remaining plugged into the local community.

That’s why you should consider working with a team like SocialMadeSimple! You can, at the very least make the most of our Resource Center to help you better understand the franchise marketing environment and how to better balance your marketing efforts.

Best Practices for Franchisee Marketing:

The good news is that these potential challenges can be 100% avoided as long as your franchise is committed to following the best practices. You may be asking yourself, what are franchise marketing best practices? How can I implement them from day one?

Best practices are as simple as establishing clear brand guidelines. These guidelines will give your franchisees the proper instruction for how your franchises should look, perform, and engage with customers. Knowing the guidelines is the first step for franchises to cultivate brand consistency.

Franchisees deserve all the tools they need to thrive. One of the most important tools is training. Organized training empowers employees and allows that consistency to extend to the quality of the workforce. If every employee is trained in a certain way to do a task, the outcome should be consistent across all locations.

Leveraging technology to assist in the streamlining of marketing efforts is a best practice that has the power to change your business for the better! With technology like SocialMadeSimple’s platform, SocialModo, franchisees have the ability to view and manage their content calendar, campaign stats, and aggregated messages across Facebook and Instagram in real-time with 24/7 access.

Best practices can be simple; one of the most powerful practices you can implement into your business is franchise collaboration. Building an open line of communication with franchisees can help to further develop effective marketing strategies that can be implemented on a national scale.

Continue reading for a SocialMadeSimple franchise marketing success story!

KidoKinetics Case Study:

Kidokinetics is a children’s fitness franchise offering all-around sports fitness programs for kids of all ages and fitness levels through local camps & classes. They needed a social media marketing strategy that could effectively boost brand awareness, drive web traffic, & generate class bookings. 

Five Kidokinetics locations participated in a free 90-day Franchise Marketing Pilot Program where SocialMadeSimple met each of their needs seamlessly. We created, monitored, and optimized lead generation ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram that drove sales leads by promoting pop-up playdates, offering the chance to win a free field day, and more. Users submit a form without leaving Facebook/Instagram. Lead information is delivered directly to Kidokinetics in real time. Lead generation forms are completely customizable & make it convenient to book a pop-up playdate.

SocialMadeSimple posted 3 custom content posts per week to each location’s Facebook Page to build credibility, showcase the brand, and position Kidokinetics as a leader in the industry. These social media posts were skillfully crafted, maintained a consistent posting frequency, and were continuously optimized for the best results in the form of engagement.

With SocialMadeSimple’s platform, SocialModo, KidoKinetics’ franchisees have the ability to view and manage their content calendar, campaign stats, and aggregated messages across Facebook and Instagram in real-time with 24/7 access. 

After a successful 90-day Pilot Program, SocialMadeSimple has become the preferred social media vendor for Kidokinetics. The client continues their growth on social media through strategy-driven ad campaigns & expertly crafted organic content posts. 

Our Final Word:

The importance of franchise marketing in brand building and customer engagement is invaluable. Franchise marketing not only creates stability and consistency within the franchisees. But it also has the power to help a franchise reach its complete branding and revenue potential. When looking at KidoKinetics’ international success, we can see that SocialMadeSimple’s franchise marketing campaigns have helped to drive their locations’ growth… Finally, ensuring that franchise marketing strategies are cohesive is the foundation for reaching a franchise’s ultimate goals

To achieve measurable success with your franchise marketing investment, get started with SocialMadeSimple’s free franchise marketing pilot program.