Chances are that you, as a franchise formula, are still struggling with your online marketing. Don't worry, you're not the only one. I see that many retailers still struggle to properly coordinate local and national marketing. This is especially true for franchise formulas that have to take independent franchisees into account. In this article, you can read how you, as a franchise formula and as a retailer (with only your own branches), can make optimal use of online and social marketing opportunities.
In this article I will also explain how you can achieve more turnover without your brand suffering.
Franchise marketing is complicated, because franchise formulas are structured differently than other business forms. The biggest difference is that the head office (the franchisor) works together with independent local entrepreneurs (the franchisees). Driven independent entrepreneurs with many ideas, who often go the extra mile. Which company doesn't want that? And with franchise formulas, this is already baked into the DNA.
However, with their own opinions and interests, franchisees often make it difficult for the franchisor to march in the same direction with the entire organization. Different service areas also often require a different marketing approach. An offer for garden furniture works well in family neighborhoods, but probably less so in the center of Amsterdam.
The marketing fund
Marketing budgets of franchise formulas generally consist of two pots:
The national marketing fund, which consists of a philippines whatsapp number free contribution from local franchisees and is managed by the franchisor.
The local marketing budgets that each franchisee invests at his own discretion in promoting his own branch(es).
Often the total of local marketing budgets is greater than the central marketing fund.
Many franchisors and their advertising agencies focus on how to best spend the national marketing fund. They often forget to help their franchisees use their local budget effectively. In fact, they often find local marketing campaigns disruptive and of inferior quality.
We also know examples of franchisors who barely saw the local campaigns of their franchisees. They had no idea whether those campaigns yielded anything at all. This leads to fragmentation of the marketing approach, resulting in:
Diverse marketing strategies and objectives.
Unwanted (off-brand) advertising.
Inadequate or incorrect measurement of advertising expenditure and results.
This does not play a role in retail formulas with only their own branches, because the local branches do not advertise themselves.