Marketing your franchise may help you better differentiate your business from competitors.
According to the International Franchise Association, there were over 883,000 franchises in the United States in 2009. Although these numbers were expected to grow in 2010 and 2011, the franchise business can still be very competitive. Franchises that effectively market their product and service offerings can increase their sales, profits and visibility among their target audiences.
Email Marketing
According to Constant Constant, an email marketing service provider, there are five things you need to do to implement a successful email marketing campaign for your franchise. First, you need to define your franchise objectives. Then you need to build a permission-based list of customers by asking people to sign up for your newsletter at multiple customer touch points for your franchise, including your website, over the phone or in your store. Next, you should listen to your customers and gather feedback by offering surveys in your store and on your website. Next, send only useful, relevant email communications based on the feedback you gathered. For example, if you run a fast-food franchise, send information about menu updates and money-saving coupons and offers. Finally, be sure to use branded email templates to increase brand visibility for your franchise.
Blogging
Another tool you can use to market your franchise is a blog. Franchise Marketing Daily says that there are several tips you can use to create an effective blog. First, use "how to" titles with specific numbers that appeal to customers and offer solutions to their problems. For example, "5 ways to save hundreds of dollars a year on dry cleaning." Or, use "mistake" titles for your blog, such as, "The biggest mistakes to avoid if you're trying to lose weight." The key to a successful blog is to provide relevant content that keeps your readers coming back.
Direct Mailings
Direct mail is a good marketing tool for franchise owners because you can send targeted marketing messages directly to your key customers. For example, if you know the target market for your franchise consists of women over 40 who are health-conscious, you can work with a direct mail vendor to develop a list of women in your geographic area with these characteristics. Then you can create a mailing that appeals directly to this audience. It's best to hire an experienced direct mail vendor and copywriter when using this as a marketing tools for your franchise.
Coupons
One of the easiest ways to get more customers to come into your franchise is to offer coupons, and there are several ways to do this. You can create printable coupons on your website, which can also help increase your web traffic. You can hire a company like Valpak to send a monthly coupon to people in your local area. Or you can distribute coupons directly to patrons of your franchise, which may entice them to come back.
Tags: your franchise, your website, direct mail, direct mail vendor, email marketing
