As a franchisor, you know that operating a franchise presents unique challenges compared to a multi-location business. And from a marketing point of view, you have to do things a bit differently in order to succeed.
The following are some common franchise marketing mistakes:
Not maintaining control over digital properties. It’s important for corporate to maintain administrative control over websites and all social media platforms. Not doing so can present many risks should an individual franchise “go rogue” and start going it alone — like hiring their college-age nephew to post to their social media account.
No centralized information portal. An easily accessible online portal with company and industry news, marketing resources and a comment board allows franchisees to conveniently share what’s working and what’s not. This allows corporate to remedy potential problems much earlier and often before significant damage is done.
Lack of centralized marketing support. Individual franchises will naturally vary in their ability to promote themselves effectively. Having a knowledgeable central resource for franchises to use when they need marketing support can help owners who struggle with getting their message out.
Inconsistent messaging. Brand messaging can degrade when corporate does not control marketing platforms and individual franchises start using a DIY approach. This can happen with both traditional and online marketing channels, and especially on social media. Inconsistent messaging across franchises can dilute the integrity of the brand and, in the worst-case scenario, cause reputational damage.
Overlaps in search engine optimization (SEO). Since franchises operate independently and usually unaware of other locations’ promotion tactics, they can accidentally create inefficiencies for the entire brand. This is because multiple franchises can drive up costs by targeting the same keywords and geographic areas.
Takeaways:
- Maintain control of all digital properties, websites, social media accounts, etc.
- Implement franchise-wide policies, guidelines and best practices for advertising as well as digital and social media marketing.
- Engage a professional to provide centralized marketing support for franchises that require additional assistance.
- Provide clear guidance for all brand messaging, including tag lines, visual branding, signage and customer communications.
- Create a centralized online portal for the organization and management of digital assets to assist your franchises in their marketing efforts and to communicate what’s been working for them and what they’re still struggling with.
- Assign one person to review cross-franchise paid search campaigns to determine whether any overlapping strategies are driving up expenses.
Kymera provides consistent corporate and local social media management, business citation/directory syncing, PPC advertising and hyper-local direct mail campaigns that can be targeted for individual franchises as well as for corporate and local SEO — all with a single account manager to coordinate all marketing efforts.
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