There is a big disconnect among franchise executives when it comes to local marketing by their franchisees. On one hand, they freely acknowledge that, at best, only 30% of their franchisees actually spend the local advertising dollars required by their agreements. Privately, many admit the percentage is probably even lower than that. On the other hand...
...those same executives claim that local marketing by their franchisees is one of the top three most important factors for growing their companies.
Local marketing and advertising is vital to franchise success—but relatively few franchisees actually do it. Why?
Time, Money and Know-How
Sightly's Ryan K. Vaspra succinctly explains the reasons why franchisees struggle with local marketing in the June issue of Franchising World magazine:
- Most franchisees don’t have the resources, tools or know-how to create the right marketing mix and execute it in their local markets. The result is they “throw darts.” They’re constantly bombarded with calls from marketing companies, so when one tactic doesn’t work within 30 days, they abandon it and try another. The results are frustration and wasted money.
- Franchisees complain that they already contribute a substantial amount to advertising through royalties—and they don’t get anything in return at the local level from national ad campaigns. If only corporate would use that money in a way that directly benefited local franchisees, that would solve the problem.
- Most franchisors don’t have the resources to consult with every franchisee to set up and manage their local marketing mix, especially if they have to research and source local vendors to provide the services.
[From "Local is the New National: Solving the Local Advertising Spend Problem with Technology," Franchising World, June 2014]
The two main challenges are what to do and how to fund it.
What to Do: Centralize Local Marketing
Franchises can now easily manage local marketing at the corporate level by leveraging technology that enables them to cost-effectively advertising/marketing tactics that cover the full funnel--i.e., reach prospective customers on every device, at every stage of the purchase cycle as illustrated below.
The ideal local advertising/marketing mix includes:
- Online video advertising through YouTube and other broad networks
- Search marketing & SEO
- Directory & reputation management
How to Fund It: National-Local Ad Fund
Corporate would love to have a bigger budget for the national advertising fund to build the brand. And local franchisees would love to see measureable results in their own local areas from the national advertising funds they contribute.
The solution? Franchisors combine national and local advertising programs into one local program with centralized management of online video ads, SEO/PPC, display, directories and reviews across all franchises.
Franchisors that combine their national and local advertising funds and centralize management of video advertising, SEO, search, display, directory management and reputation/reviews for the entire network can win franchisee participation and accelerate franchise-wide growth by enabling the most effective and cost-efficient ad programs where they matter most—in the local area markets.
Get the 5 Best Practices for Franchise National-Local Advertising Programs Guide, which includes the 5 best practices franchises should follow to set up and run growth-driven local marketing--plus the technologies they should use to make it happen quickly and affordably.