Franchise Marketing Techniques to Increase Franchise Sales
For franchise owners it is important to continuously be growing your business. By expanding your business, you are coming into contact with more patrons and potential franchisees. Unfortunately, in economic recessions this task can prove to be more difficult. This is the reason you should always be watching for new franchise marketing techniques to pique the interest of new franchisees and increase your franchise sales. Eye catching franchise marketing can prove to be an important part of your business model. Below are five techniques to help grow your business.
In-Store Advertising
Although it may seem simple, you can use your own stores to broadcast your business. Franchise owners are able to use the popularity of their stores and the frequent visits from customers to promote new franchise locations. Each new store has the opportunity to further promote future franchisees, while bringing your products into the lives of new patrons.
Networking
Typically, when people think of networking, many think of finding a job. But in franchise marketing it is the opposite, you are seeking individuals who you can offer jobs to. By networking, you will be able to connect with new franchisees, while promoting your business and helping to create a larger employment pool. There are many different types of networking, ranging from email, to in person, to online on LinkedIn and other social networking sites. Knowing the right people can cause an increase in your franchise sales.
Media
The media provides another option to increase your franchise sales. Although different strategies apply, you can use both the local and national media to expand your business. The local media is an important tool for lead generation and allows you to target geographic areas where you would like to grow. National exposure provides the largest scope and can attract large amounts of attention.
Internet Marketing
One of the largest and most powerful franchise marketing tools is the Internet. Franchises are able to utilize online marketing tactics both through advertisements, social media and email campaigns. Companies can utilize both paid and organic marketing to connect with users.
Trade Shows
Tradeshows are another way to meet prospective franchisees. The event will provide an insight for potential franchise owners, while promoting brand awareness and product visibility. Tradeshows also provide an opportunity to promote new and current products and drive sales.
About the Author: For a franchise business to be successful, it is important to continuously work to find new leads and increase franchise sales. Franchise marketing is a proven way to generate new leads and expand your business. For more information, contact Upside Group Franchise Consulting today!
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How to Be a Successful Franchisee
As a follow up to a recent article we ran, Is a Small Business Franchise the Answer?, Sebastien Page of WorldFranchising.com submitted this guest post on steps you can take to ensure your small business franchise is successful.
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By: Sebastian Page
A franchise can be a good option if you are thinking about starting your own business. Franchises are considerably less likely to fail than independent businesses because they benefit from name recognition and a proven business model. But if you are thinking about buying a franchise, remember that it is not foolproof. There are things you will have to do to be a successful franchisee.
The most important step to being successful in buying a franchise happens before you even purchase the franchise. This stage involves a great deal of self-assessment. First, you need to figure out if buying any franchise is right for you at all. Franchises are less risky than independent businesses, but they also require you to follow rules and run your business within certain parameters. You will be your own boss, but you also have to answer to the franchisor, and follow their rules. Furthermore, do some self-assessment to figure out what kind of franchise you want. You need to pick a franchise concept that you can believe in. If you cannot commit to the product or service your franchise offers, you will not be as successful.
Once you have bought the franchise, there is more work to be done. Stay organized, keep within the parameters of the franchisor, and communicate with them if there are any problems. Remember, if you become a franchisee, you may have to deal with things like hiring and training employees, buying supplies, and working long hours. If you are not committed to doing these things when you purchase your franchise, you are unlikely to be as successful.
Even if you pick a franchise you really believe in, follow all the rules, and work hard, there are still some things that can cause a franchise to fail that would be completely out of your control. Even if your franchise is successful, if your franchisor runs into trouble, you could be in trouble too. Franchisors can have financial difficulty for a variety of reasons.
If the franchisor is relatively new to franchising their company and doesn’t have a track record of franchised businesses, they might have a flawed franchise structure. To avoid this affecting you, as a franchisee, look for franchisors that have been franchising for a long time or at least make sure that they have done sufficient testing so that you can be sure that their model is sound.
Another thing that could cause problems for your franchisor is poor performance on the part of other franchisees. Even if you are working hard and are successful at your franchise, your fellow franchisees may not be so lucky, or may not be doing a good job, which can put the franchisor in financial difficulty. A franchisor should have a rigorous selection process to avoid acquiring franchisees who are not very competent. If it seems too easy to sign up for a franchise with a company, consider avoiding that company – their other franchisees could be a big problem for them and for you.
Sebastien Page is Vice-President of Marketing for WorldFranchising.com, a website that provides franchise opportunities information to potential franchise buyers.
Is a Small Business Franchise The Answer?
Ever thought about starting your own business, but can’t decide what business to start? Buying a small business franchise could be the answer. But before you jump head long into franchise ownership, you’ll want to carefully weigh the pros and cons of buying this kind of business. Below is a short list to get you thinking about the positives and negatives of buying a franchise.
Immediate Brand Name
- A definite benefit of buying a franchise is the brand name that goes along with it. Most likely you will not have to build awareness of your product or service with the target market as the franchiser will have built that over time for you.
Support Structure in Place
- Usually the franchiser has support available for the new franchisee. This support could be help with hiring, daily business operations, coaching, mentoring, training, or a host of other support functions to help you be successful running the business.
Established Customer Base
- Most franchises are business that have been operating successfully for some time. They have a time tested product or service and have an established customer base. When you buy a franchise you leverage the businesses hard work in acquiring a customer base so that you do not have to build up clients from scratch.
Leveraged Marketing
- When you buy a franchise you’ll also be getting all of the marketing benefits of the franchiser. There is usually a fee for this, but it is much less than you would expect to pay if you were initiating the marketing campaign yourself. For example, if you buy a Subway sandwich shop all of those advertisements on national TV will be bringing business your way.
Reduced Risk
- Your risk is reduced due to the many pros listed above. When starting a business on your own you need to build everything from the ground up, establish your support networks, do your own advertising, and hope to capture a customer base…when you buy a franchise many of those things are already in place, and your chance of failure is reduced.
Less Freedom
- You will certainly have a set of rules to live by when you buy a franchise. You may not be able to offer sales, incentives, or do your own marketing. Your actions with your business will be governed by the rules set forth in your franchisee contract that you sign prior to taking ownership.
Large Startup Cost
- Buying a franchise can be expensive, and can require a large amount of capital up front to purchase. The stronger the brand name of the franchise you want to purchase, the more cash you’re going to have to come up with. Franchises can run anywhere from $10,00 to hundreds of thousands depending on the brand and strength of the franchise. Also you may be required to show a certain level of financial stability personally before you are able to purchase the business.
Dependent on Franchise Success
- Your success as a business owner largely depends on the success of the franchise. Their actions, or poor business decisions will have a trickle down effect on your business. If a Subway in New York has and e. coli breakout , your business in Los Angeles will be affected. Same can be said if Subway decides to stop advertising, or begins to make questionable corporate decisions that affects public sentiment.
Locked in by Contracts
- You will contracted to some extent by the franchiser. This could include a long term operational contract where you will be, in essence, required to remain in business even if you find out the business isn’t right for you.
Franchise Expense
- Not only do you have the up front cost to buy a franchise, you will have many ongoing cost as a result of being a franchisee. Royalty, or a percentage of your profit, is usually paid to the franchiser. Advertising, and marketing expenses are usually passed along to the franchise owners, and other operational expenses could make their way into being your responsibility.
Do Your Homework
There are a host of resources on the internet for those of you interested in buying a franchise. A simple Google search returns a myriad of information, on any franchise you can think of. Be sure to do your homework on what it takes to start a franchise, franchising options avaialble, and have an understanding of the pros and cons of buying a franchise before you jump in.
Seek Advice
When buying a franchise you need to fully understand the contracts and agreements that go along with it. If there is anything in the process you don’t understand, be sure to seek legal advice from a trusted source before you sign anything.
Make Sure the Franchise Fits You
Buying a franchise, or any business for that matter, is not much different than deciding to start your own company. Making sure the franchise fits your interest, personality, and is something you can be passionate about. This will go a long way in ensuring your continued success after you’ve signed the final papers.
Have any pros or cons of buying a franchise? Please share them with us in the comments section!
