3 Do’s and Don’ts of Franchise Marketing
The marketing function within a franchise organization is unique and specific. It must be structured correctly in order for the franchise to grow to it’s potential.
“Correct” in a corporate marketing structure is very subjective. There are many different ways to structure your marketing efforts. But in a franchise system, “correct” is more black and white. Correctly structuring your marketing efforts is critical to the success of your franchise.
Here are three of the biggest do’s and don’ts of franchise marketing:
DO: Play the franchise marketing game.
Franchise marketing is a different game with different rules. It has to scale and roll up but also be fair and equitable down to the single location.
In most systems, franchise owners contribute a portion of their revenue into a national marketing fund. As a steward of that fund, you have to show value delivered for that contribution. A good rule of thumb is to allocate at least 50% of the national marketing fund into national media to drive demand for the owners.
The goal is fair and equitable results… while also protecting the brand. Results first. Brand always.
Brand has to pull through everything you do. Reiterate your brand values as much as possible and use them as guard rails to keep everyone running in the same direction.
If your brand values don’t function like guard rails, rewrite them.
DON’T: Force traditional marketing playbooks
Don’t expect to use the same playbooks from a company owned marketing function. Traditional playbooks can allocate dollars to brand-building plays, partnerships, and initiatives that generate impressions and indirect results. This type of awareness play should be no more than 20% of your national marketing fund budget.
“Results” in franchise marketing means revenue. Impressions and website traffic don’t matter to franchisees. You want to track your indirect results but you have to realize that the closer you connect your efforts to revenue, the more franchise owners will be bought into you as a marketing leader.
DO: Get out in front of franchisees.
As a franchise marketer, you must be proactive and get out in front of your franchise owners. The easiest way to do that is to collect input from franchisees or a marketing committee and create a marketing calendar. Build an entire calendar year of promotions (knowing that it will change frequently) and present it to your franchise owners so they know what you will be building in what windows.
Share projections for calendar initiatives. And when you’re through a calendar window, share results generated. If the results aren’t great, communicate with transparency and tap the best brains in the system to refine your promotion and update the upcoming months of the calendar based on the learnings. You will build the best mousetrap if you build it together.
DON’T: Allow franchisees to dictate marketing efforts.
You will spin yourself in circles if you’re sitting in a reactive seat in a franchise environment. Different franchise owners will have different visions for what is needed and your hours will be spent fulfilling requests. Your brand’s marketing will appear inconsistent and disjointed as each owner is interpreting his vision for the brand in his unique way.
The power of a franchise system is in consistency and repetition. As the marketing leader, you need to set initiatives and guardrails so consistency and repetition can come to life.
This doesn't mean you force the issue either.
As much as possible, let franchisees opt out of what you’re doing. Once they see the quality, strategy and results, they will choose to participate.
DO: Leverage your team.
Your team is more than just the people you hire to support your brand. Your team includes franchise owners and the people they hire. The power of a franchise system is consistency and repetition. You need everyone who touches the brand or represents the brand in any way to be aligned.
Franchise owners invested in the brand because they connected to it. Leverage their passion for the brand by bringing them into your marketing process. Build via collaboration. Assign homework to owners based on their skill set. Tag owners in to test promotions or any changes before they are rolled out to the system.
At its core, franchising is a people business. Treating your franchise owners as equal partners goes a long way. Show that you care and that you value their passion and support for the brand.
DON’T: Build on an island.
Franchising IS a people business. So if you’re building on an island, you’re doing it wrong.
Even the best marketers in the world will have blind spots in certain aspects of the business. You illuminate any blind spots by building with others, whether that be cross-functionally on the support team or with franchise owners.
Most importantly, when you step into a franchise marketing role, network with other franchise marketers. They will likely have their own set of Do’s and Don’ts to share.
Stepping into a franchise marketing role when your experience is based in traditional marketing is a harder transition than switching into a different industry. Do your homework. Re-read these do’s and don’ts and do your best to follow them.