5 Ways to Market a Successful Franchise

Effective Ways to Market a Franchise

Franchising is one of the most popular forms of retail entrepreneurship. Each year more than 200 new franchise systems are started in the U.S. But not all of them flourish. While some franchise businesses thrive, some others fail miserably. What could be the reason for this? The dearth of requisite skills, insufficient working capital, and lack of training and support could be the possible causes. But there’s another not-so-obvious reason why many franchise businesses wither away before they blossom. It’s the absence of a smart marketing strategy. Even issues such as shortage of capital can be resolved by taking out a business loan or franchise loan. But without an effective marketing strategy, no business can survive. So how can you build a successful franchise? 

Most Effective Ways to Market a Franchise

Advertise

Innovative ad campaigns bring the best return on investment. Although ad campaigns are nothing new to businesses, the medium you use makes a lot of difference today. Advertising is not restricted to newspapers, magazines, TV or radio anymore. Today, internet advertisements play a lead role in improving your reach. Optimizing the use of Internet advertising is sure to bring about positive results.

Sell

The sales process determines the success of your franchise system to a large extent. Therefore it’s important to have a systematic process that your franchisees can adhere to. Sales methods may include direct mail, telemarketing, and the use of email and texting.  You have to present these sales processes in detail to the prospective franchisees. You should also ensure that the franchisees understand these sales processes thoroughly and can make informed decisions.

Promote

Attracting buyers is not easy. But special promotions always do the trick. One-day sales, sweepstakes, special events, and giveaways never fail to create excitement and attract buyers. And the secret to a successful franchise in this digital age lies in combining traditional promotional methods with the strength of social media. For instance, you could hold a special event and use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to promote the event. This is a super-smart way to attract potential buyers because the internet not only gives you great reach but is also inexpensive.

Leverage PR

Public Relations is always considered a very valuable tool for creating brand awareness. The internet age, however, has given PR a new facelift. A successful PR campaign no longer depends upon whether your press release gets the desired attention. Smart franchisors are now making use of their own blogs and industry blog platforms to reach potential buyers through informative and creative articles. This way they are even able to measure the results using analytics, which was not the case with traditional PR campaigns. And what’s more, these blog platforms are free in most cases!

Market Online

Marketing through traditional media has always been considered an expensive option. This meant that franchisors with more money had better chances of success than others. But with online marketing this difference is evened-out. So there is no need for big marketing budgets anymore. All you need is to use your creative online marketing skills to your advantage.

The bottom line is this: The types of marketing still remain the same. What has changed is how the internet is being used to make these methods more effective. Franchisors and franchisees are not just leveraging the internet for marketing their business, but are also using it as a means to source funds for their business. With a number of lenders available online, applying for a small business/franchise loan, commercial loan, or a franchise loan is now far simpler than it ever used to be. This shows that the internet has practically erased most of the barriers that come in the way of developing a successful franchise. So whichever way you choose to market your franchise, make sure you put the internet to the best of use!