As a franchise owner, you’re not just responsible for managing your location, but you’re in charge of promoting your brand and driving customer engagement. To achieve this, here are five key marketing activities that you simply cannot afford to ignore:
Website health: Your digital shop window
Your website serves as a digital shop window, attracting potential customers and showcasing your products or services. Just as a physical store benefits from a prime location, your website’s health determines its online visibility and performance. A healthy website translates to higher traffic, better engagement, and increased conversions.
You should have an ongoing strategy to maintain your website’s health, prioritise responsive design, fast loading times, and regular updates. Implement ‘on-page’ SEO techniques to maximise your site’s visibility on search engines. Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, a strong website health strategy focuses on sustained, organic growth. It’s not just about using the right keywords; it’s about delivering a seamless user experience.
Social media for business growth: The power of engagement
Social media is now used by over half of the world’s population. It should be a central part of any business’ marketing approach regardless of the business size; it is not a ‘nice to have’ or a side hustle – it’s an essential tool for business growth. Social media can be used in so many ways: community outreach and engagement, to boost brand awareness, driving website traffic and generating sales leads.
It is critical to understand your target audience so that you can develop a strategy that uses the best social media channels for this demographic. For example, if you have an over 50’s customer base, you will not achieve the best results using TikTok!
Bear in mind that the social media landscape is in constant flux, marked by the emergence of fresh platforms and shifts in trends. For example, there are already over 122 million users on Threads which has a high number of ‘Generation Z’ males. Active engagement, clear objectives, performance tracking, and testing new approaches are key to maximising the potential of social media. Remaining actively engaged, setting clear objectives, tracking performance, and exploring novel approaches are key to harnessing the potential of social media.
Photography and imagery: The visual identity of your brand
‘Content is king’ is a term which has been bandied about for many years, however content development now does take a higher proportion of marketing teams’ resources than ever before. A key part of this is brand photography or graphic images, both photos and graphics.
While readily available stock digital images and photos cover a myriad of subjects and are extremely cost effective to use, original imagery carries more weight than generic alternatives (which might already be in use by other brands). Importantly, originality not only distinguishes your brand from the rest but also triggers Google’s search algorithm, which prefers and rewards in-depth product research and unique content, boosting your site’s ranking for keyword searches.
Original brand photography can be expensive however a good photo library can directly impact on the ROI of a brand’s marketing efforts.
Email marketing: Quality over quantity
Email marketing had a wobble when the GDPR rules were applied in 2018. Companies were less confident about reaching out to customers directly through this channel and the general feeling was that it would be less effective. However, the reverse is true and, post GDPR, marketing results have actually improved as quantity has been replaced by quality, with targeted emails reaching a receptive audience.
The shift from quantity to quality has actually improved marketing results. With an average ROI of 42:1 (according to the DMA), email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to engage customers.
Segmentation is, however, key to effective email campaigns. If you tailor your messages to specific audience segments, you will achieve better results, with Hubspot suggesting that marketeers who use segmentation seeing a 760% increase in revenue. Building an engaged, GDPR-compliant email database is therefore a highly valuable asset for franchise owners.
Reviews: The new word of mouth
Society has changed and word of mouth endorsements for products and services has moved online. Reviews play a crucial role in shaping consumer decisions, in fact as much as 80% of consumers rely on reviews before committing to purchasing goods. If you have goods or services to sell, a robust and interconnected review strategy is imperative to convert new prospects.
There are a number of ways which this can be done with specialist platforms like Revoo, Typeform, or TrustPilot, which help to automate review collection and management. However, smaller enterprises can also employ straightforward techniques like email follow-ups, in-store point-of-sale prompts, or even SMS communications.
Ensure that your positive review score is visible on other channels like your homepage header, on email signatures or on display at your physical stores. And, don’t forget to promptly respond to reviews, both positive and negative, to show your commitment to customer satisfaction.
In conclusion, embracing these five marketing activities is essential for sustained growth and success. Your website’s health, social media engagement, visual identity, email marketing, and reviews collectively shape your brand’s image and impact.
By prioritising these activities, you’ll strengthen customer relationships, increase brand visibility, and ultimately help to drive your revenue. Stay in sync with the evolving marketing landscape and watch your franchise thrive!
Sources:
760% revenue increase : https:/blog.hubspot.com/marketing/benefits-of-email-marketing
80% consumers rely on reviews: https:/internetretailing.net/reviews-drive-80-of-sales-and-a-third-of-consumers-see-them-as-most-important-purchasing-consideration/
Increase sales and marketing efficiencies: https:/serendipity2.com/strategy-and-insight/
