Regarding franchise marketing, there are some telltale signs that things have gone off the rails. And they aren't limited to any one category. From pool cleaning franchises to accounting services and travel agents, these franchise marketing problems can rear their ugly heads in any industry.

All these red flags stem from the unique relationship between the head office and franchisees. Both parties have good intentions and are ultimately striving for long-term profitability. The ultimate win-win. But too often, they pull in different directions.

Key Takeaways:

• Empowering franchisees is essential. Without their involvement and trust, marketing strategies can lack local relevance and fail to leverage the franchisees' direct customer relationships. 

• To prevent the risks of brand damage from unprofessional marketing executions by franchisees, it's crucial to provide them with the right tools and guidelines.

•  Continuous and clear communication from the head office is vital to keep franchisees aligned with the overall marketing campaigns and to prevent any discrepancies in customer experience. 

This is what it looks like when your franchise marketing is completely broken.

1. No trust in franchisees

Make no mistake. If your franchisees aren’t empowered to do their local area marketing, you’re leaving a lot of revenue on the table.

By only marketing at the head office/national level, you risk running ubiquitous, soulless marketing campaigns that fail to connect. Remember, franchises are unique in that franchisees hold all the customer relationships.  To exclude them from your marketing activities is to omit real-world customer connections. With this, your marketing can be more effective.

2. Crappy marketing execution from rogue franchisees

The big fear of many franchises is brand damage from franchisees going rogue with unprofessional marketing.  Because, well, it does happen.

We’re talking hacky promotions, hand-drawn posters, and social media posts of questionable taste.

Crappy marketing execution is the reason some franchises flat-out ban their franchisees from doing their local area marketing. The solution lies in having the right tools and processes.

Firstly, tools. Franchisees should be able to produce professional marketing communications for digital and print.  This is where Digital Stack comes in. It enforces brand guidelines while allowing franchisees to localize their stories and offers.

Processes are important, too. There will always be a need to monitor and police local area marketing. Diligence here in the early days will pay off.  A simple 3 strikes policy and the usual legal protections in the franchise agreement should be more than adequate.

Importantly, franchisees should be shown great examples of local area marketing (not just wrapped over the knuckles when they get it wrong).

3. No communication of head office marketing

Head offices must often remember to communicate their campaign activity effectively to franchisees. This might be due to no or late communication of new offers. Or it could be a ‘brand’ activity that they think franchisees don’t need to know about.

Either way, the impacts are ugly. Customers walk in expecting offers they can’t find in-store. Franchisees don’t have time to train all their casual staff.  And the in-store experience doesn’t deliver on the marketing campaigns’ promise.

Besides the customer impacts, poor communication leaves franchisees feeling they’re not getting value from their monthly marketing fees (or ‘corporate dues’).

4. Large variability in marketing performance between locations

Franchises running like a well-oiled machine bring their poorer performing locations up to standard with their best. This is true for all facets of the business, including marketing.

Franchises should be benchmarking marketing performance, especially for digital channels where it’s easy with readily available data.

Think Adwords cost-per-conversion, organic search traffic, and social media engagement.

Wide variability in performance across locations shows that learnings across the franchise aren’t being shared. Ensure a tight action plan for the bottom 25% of performers to get up to average.

It might be as simple as sharing 3 customer success stories a month on Facebook and Instagram. It might be extending local Adwords campaigns out of 2 or 3 postcodes. These are the sorts of specific, actionable directives that will get everyone back on pace.

5. Not testing new ideas at select locations

What did McDonalds do before rolling out all-day breakfast nationally? They trialed it in select cities. What did Subway UK do before they gave franchisees the keys to their own Subway location Facebook accounts? They tested it with a handful of franchisees.

Yes, the power of a franchise brand is the uniformity of the product or service. But don't take that to mean new ways of doing things can't be trialed in some locations.

The world's most successful franchises ALWAYS test new things, including their marketing, at select locations first. Franchises have a huge structural advantage in running marketing trials - one that you should take advantage of.

Addressing a Broken Franchise Marketing Strategy

1. Build Trust with Franchisees

Facilitate regular communications and training to align franchisees with the brand’s vision and strategies. Implement a feedback system to engage and value their input.

2. Ensure Consistent Marketing Execution

Provide standardized, customizable marketing materials and conduct compliance audits. Reward franchisees who adhere to brand guidelines to encourage consistency.

3. Improve Communication from the Head Office

Conduct monthly webinars and send updates via newsletters to keep franchisees informed. Set up a dedicated team to facilitate clear and ongoing communication.

4. Tailor Marketing to Local Demographics

Develop marketing strategies that cater to each franchise location's local preferences and demographics. Share successful tactics across the network to minimize performance variability.

5. Foster Innovation and Testing

Initiate pilot programs to test new marketing ideas in select locations. Encourage and incentivize franchisees to innovate and share successful practices.

Ready to See Real Results in Your Franchise Marketing?

Explore the potential of your franchise's marketing with Digital Stack. Overcome challenges like inconsistent execution and fragmented communication. See how our platform can unify and amplify your marketing efforts across all locations.

Book a demo to discover practical tools and strategies to enhance your franchise operations. With Digital Stack, you’ll gain access to a system designed to support and optimize both head office and individual franchisee initiatives!