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The Marketing Machine

by @MDGadvertising B THE MARKETING MACHINE HOW FRANCHISES CAN MARKET LIKE A PRO Marketing is a crucial part of a franchise's success. It keeps customers coming in, drives brand awareness, and helps develop new franchise locations. Here, we take a look at how smaller franchises can market like the pros. DUAL DUTY Marketing a franchise organization is a complex task. Franchisors need to excel in not just one market, but two: Marketing to Potential Franchisees Marketing the Franchise's Products or Services to Consumers MARKETING TO POTENTIAL FRANCHISEES A franchise's success can be measured many ways, but one key component is its ability to expand with new establishments. To effectively market to potential franchisees, it's important to know what motivates them to start a franchise, and how they find information about available franchises. Based on a survey of 400 franchisees, this is what motivated them to invest in a franchise: WHAT THEIR MOTIVATIONS ARE More surveyed franchisees were Name recognition/known business name 22% drawn to start a franchise because Franchise support and training 18% of the name recognition that came with it. Ease of running the franchise 11% | 10% The opportunity was available Why did you choose to start a franchise rather than start an Higher chance of success/less risk 10% independent business? | 9% The concept appealed to me WHERE THEY LOOK Most potential franchisees visited Talked to franchisees 87% franchise locations, talked to ex- Visited franchise location 84% isting franchisees, and read up on the franchise before starting. Read company material 83% Met personally with company reps 81% Top sources of information for Researched company website |51% evaluating franchises Read franchising publications/directories 48% WHO THEY TRUST Existing franchisees are among the Talked to franchisees 47% most trusted sources of informa- Company sources 36% tion when it comes to surveying potential franchise options. Met personally with company reps 20% Visited franchise location I 12% Most credible sources for | 7% Read company material evaluating franchises FRANCHISE CONSUMER MARKETING A recent survey polled top marketing executives from more than 50 franchise firms. On a 1-5 scale (not important to extremely important), executives ranked the importance of consumer franchise marketing in contributing to the following: FRANCHISE FINANCIAL SUCCESS FRANCHISE SATISFACTION Weighted Score: 4.41 Weighted Score: 4.15 1: I 2% 1: 4% 2: 4% 2: 4% 3: 5% 3: 11% 4: 20% 4: 23% 5: 53% 5: 42% No Answer: 16% No Answer: 16% EXISTING FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT NEW FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT Weighted Score: 3.93 Weighted Score: 3.91 1: 2% 1: | 2% 2: 9% 2: 9% 3: 11% 3: 16% 4: 33% 4: 20% 5: 29% 5: 33% No Answer: 16% No Answer: 16% 5 SIGNS OF A FINELY TUNED FRANCHISOR MARKETING PLAN Marketing is a crucial part of a franchisor's/franchisee's success. It needs to attract customers and interest franchisees. It is consistent and true to your brand within both audiences. It must incorporate franchisee input and needs. Input from the front line is critical. They are the lifeline to the consumer and their buy-in is important. It has to appropriately allocate marketing funds. It evenly distributes funds among branding, franchise development and (customer-attracting) account sales. It is thoughtfully and thoroughly documented. Information is shared company-wide through training manuals, intranets, and online tools. It is quantifiable and qualifiable. Developing and implementing a healthy plan is not enough. It must be flexible and updated regularly based on trackable, measurable results. WHEN FRANCHISES GET SOCIAL Social media has become a mainstay in the marketing landscape-particularly for consumer-oriented marketing. Here's how some of the top consumer-driven franchises engage customers through social media. Diversify Social Media Efforts The fast-food giant uses multiple social media channels to reach all users, including social networks, microblogging, blog relations, social bookmarking, and online videos. Create an Open Forum It's important to encourage self-expression in online communities. As some global health advocates attempt to tarnish its reputation, the chain keeps an open community forum to share what they're doing to fix problems. Engage Customers Starbucks stays actively engaged with its customers across social networking sites. On Twitter, the brand answers questions and retweets, acknowledging what people are saying about the brand. Update Regularly The brand constantly updates their Facebook page with videos, blog posts, events, and photos to keep customers engaged in and aware of the brand's activities. Select One Main Portal With several ongoing social media campaigns, decide on one that you'll drive your customers to. In 2010, Wendy's rolled out three promotions that involved Twitter and Foursquare, but that all revolved around the Frosty Facebook page. Be Creative Wendy's has touched on all aspects of social media involvement, including action-oriented contests and a fan-powered charity drive. This creativity helps drive brand awareness and rewards customer loyalty. mdg Sources: Entrepreneur | Franchise Update | FoodandDrink Digital.com | International Franchise Association franchisemarketingagency.com Twitter: @mdgadvertising Wendy's Starbucks McDonald's

The Marketing Machine

shared by judithgold on Oct 09
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This infographic provides information for how smaller franchises can market like a pro. It gives tips for where and how small franchises can advertise in order to gain brand recognition and loyalty.

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