4 Ways to Set Your Franchisees’ Local Marketing Efforts Up for Success
4 Ways to Set Your Franchisees’ Local Marketing Efforts Up for Success
When it comes to marketing at the local level, even your savviest brand champions can struggle with the balance of representing the national brand while catering to the interests of their communities.
Fortunately, as a franchisor, there is a lot you can do to set your franchisees up for success and mitigate any potential branding snafus. Help your franchisees spend less time worrying, “Can I post that?” and more time enjoying a great ROI on their marketing strategy with these tips:
1. Develop Written Brand and Marketing Guidelines
The elements that make up a brand are notoriously hard to pin down. You may have a feel for your brand at the corporate level, but when onboarding new franchisees, a picture of the logo and some anecdotes about what your company stands for are not going to cut it.
If you want your franchise locations to replicate the look, feel, and communication style of your national brand, you need to provide detailed brand guidelines. Once the brand guidelines are developed with the help of your company’s marketing team, a consulting team, or even your franchisees themselves, set them in stone with a brand book. Then, when a franchisee is wondering what tagline to use in a radio commercial, they can choose from a list of approved ones in the brand book.
2. Train on Brand Guidelines
Having a brand book is just the first part of the equation. Investing in training specifically about your brand guidelines is key to your franchisees putting them into action. You probably already have an extensive training program for new franchisees on the day-to-day business of operating a franchise. However, educating them about your brand is equally important. It will show them what it means to be a franchisee of your company and will help them differentiate themselves from their local competitors.
3. Provide Preferred Vendors
Do you want your franchisees’ business cards to look consistent whether they’re located in Tucson or Omaha? Then you can’t rely on the local print shop. Provide them with a list of preferred vendors for all their supply needs. If you do the investigation and contracting with vendors beforehand, you will give your franchisees easy access to the level of quality you want. The vendors you work with may also provide cost savings and perks for you, a win-win.
4. Listen to Their Ideas
Don’t take your franchisees for granted. Instead, build a collaborative culture. Your local owners are in the field with customers daily and have insight into what will pique their interest. If a franchisee comes to you with a marketing idea that’s a little out of the ordinary, don’t write it off immediately. Work with them to understand how it could be implemented while still honoring your company’s brand guidelines. You could end up making magic.
About Xpressdocs
Xpressdocs has been partnering with well-known home services franchises to provide brand management and direct mail solutions for over 20 years. We can help you with a personalized marketing plan to guarantee brand consistency across your many locations – just contact us.