What Is Franchise Marketing?
Franchises make business ownership accessible to thousands of American entrepreneurs. In 2023, experts estimated that there would be 805,500 franchise businesses across the U.S. Together, those franchises drove approximately $860 billion in revenue and employed 8.7 million people.
Keeping a dispersed franchise business thriving is challenging, but franchise marketing makes it possible. When a franchise can reach both national and local audiences with consistent yet specialized messaging, everyone benefits, from franchise owners to individual locations and communities.
The more you understand about franchise marketing, the more effectively you can promote your brand. Whether you're new to the franchise market or looking to grow, here's what you need to know.
What Is Franchise Marketing?
Franchise marketing is an umbrella strategy that promotes the larger parent brand and drives business to individual franchise locations.
Think of your local NAPA Auto Care shop. Although NAPA Auto Care is a nationally prominent brand, the shop you visit is still a locally owned maintenance center. You get a large company's stability and consistency, plus a small business's personal attention.
A franchise marketing plan capitalizes on that balance. It promotes the larger franchise company and establishes a strong brand identity so customers across all markets will recognize and trust it.
Most franchise marketing campaigns fall into two categories: operational and development marketing. When you learn how each one works, you start understanding how they fit together.
Operational Franchise Marketing
Operational marketing is the most direct-to-consumer version of franchise marketing. It promotes the company's products or services to its target audience at the brand and location levels.
Franchisors and franchisees have their individual roles to play. The franchisor communicates the strategy and company-level goals to the owners of individual locations, ensuring each location can access branded materials and understand the campaign's message.
Each franchisee communicates that message to their local customer base using the provided materials and market knowledge. Some variation might be necessary to ensure local relevance, but the brand identity remains the same.
For example, a NAPA shop owner in Southern California would have different winter maintenance messaging than one in Minnesota or Maine. They'd focus on different needs, but each ad would feature the same brand colors and have a similar voice. A customer could click on any location's page and find a similar aesthetic.
Franchise Development Marketing
While operational marketing drives business at the consumer level, development marketing promotes the overall brand. Its two goals are to attract new franchisees and strengthen the brand's identity.
Each type of developmental marketing has a different target audience. Franchisee campaigns speak to potential business owners in areas where the company could gain a foothold. They promote ownership of a franchise in general, and that company, in particular.
For example, NAPA Auto Care's development marketing focuses on the company's strong brand identity and access to support. Meanwhile, NAPA maintains its branded marketing, promoting reliability and access to independent mechanics.
Both types of marketing efforts maintain the brand's uniqueness and help drive business. They communicate the benefits to customers and franchisees alike, although individual marketing assets may target one audience or the other.
Why Is Franchise Marketing Important?
Franchising is a unique business model with unique marketing needs. Franchisors and franchisees must work together to serve unique local markets, all while maintaining brand consistency.
Branding is the glue that holds the franchise together, and an effective franchise marketing campaign prioritizes that connection. Through a combination of social media, search engine optimization (SEO), email, and other forms of digital marketing, a franchise promotes itself at every level.
A successful franchise marketing strategy requires careful planning and a thoughtful approach. Marketers have to know the business and its locations and be able to pull it all together in a unified way.
How Can Optimize Help You Market Your Franchise Business?
Effective franchise marketing requires specialized skills and expertise. Only some agencies will have the knowledge you need to promote your business nationally while sending the right message to all local audiences.
At Optimize, we've partnered with brands like Tire Pros and NAPA Auto Care to market their franchises nationwide. We know what it takes to represent a local and national brand and apply that expertise to every franchise relationship we build.
We work closely with brand leadership and franchisees to understand everyone's needs. We're committed to properly representing each business and its unique qualities while aligning our messaging with the franchise owners.
Our dedicated team works diligently to show off the specialized skills and qualities local shops offer their communities while ensuring all messaging follows our franchise partners' guidance.
To learn more about how Optimize can help your franchise succeed online, schedule a free consultation today.