The right franchise marketing can open up a myriad of doors to franchise success. And as someone evaluating franchise opportunities, you’ll soon notice that franchises often tout “marketing support” as a selling point.
But have you ever stopped to ask what that really means? This article’s core focus is to equip you with the right insights and questions to evaluate the marketing support and strategy behind a franchise. Let me get started.
Understanding the franchise marketing strategy
Franchise marketing requires a strong, well-defined strategy that balances national brand consistency with local adaptation. While the national brand must maintain a unified image, individual franchise locations need to follow guidelines while adding a local touch, which is an often tricky balance to achieve.
To succeed, franchises need proven, consistent marketing strategies that new franchisees can adopt without trial and error. When exploring opportunities, ask for examples of successful campaigns and the metrics used to measure their effectiveness to ensure the marketing support aligns with your goals.
Onboarding and marketing training
For me, a solid marketing strategy means structured onboarding with clear support like marketing manuals, digital training and in-person coaching.
Since marketing details can be tricky, I want thorough initial training on local lead generation, digital ads and maintaining the brand voice. A red flag I watch for is when a franchisor expects me to “figure out local marketing” on my own. That’s a definite warning sign.
Ongoing marketing support: Not just a one-off
For me, ongoing marketing support is just as important as initial training. It should include regular check-ins, updates on campaign materials and access to a dedicated marketing team.
I always ask if there’s a specific marketing contact for franchisees and what assets (like flyers, templates, social media content and email sequences) I’ll get access to.
My pro tip is to request a look at the franchisee portal or dashboard that supports these marketing functions.
Social media and content calendars
Social media is often expected of franchisees, but are you given the right type of guidance to do it right? If not, reconsider. In most cases, franchisors should offer pre-planned social media calendars, content libraries and automation tools.
If you have to handle your own social media and content calendars, you need full guidance on how to do it according to the brand’s standards. But if you aren’t responsible for this, ask who manages the brand’s main social channels, and how local pages are handled.
A few questions you shouldn’t skip asking include: “Will I be responsible for creating my own content?”, and “Do I get localised versions of national campaigns?”
National campaigns and brand building
The power of unified, nationwide campaigns lift the brand for every franchisee. Hence, it is important to assess how national advertising contributes to lead generation or customer awareness at the local level.
This is why you need to gain more clarity on how the marketing fees you will be contributing to will be used. For instance, will they go toward TV, PPC, influencers or another marketing channel?
To make sure you’re on top of your game, ask “Can you show how national campaigns have driven ROI for franchisees?”
Local marketing: Autonomy vs. support
Even the best-known franchises need local awareness. That’s the reason you need to ask if you’re allowed to run local promotions or events. Also worth asking is whether there is co-op marketing, shared budgets or regional marketing groups.
My tip to you? Look for franchisors who empower local marketing with ready-made tools but don’t restrict creativity entirely.
Questions to ask before you sign
In short, my go-to questions when evaluating the marketing side of any franchise opportunity include: “What’s included in the initial and ongoing marketing support?”, “How are marketing fees spent and reported?”, “Do you provide franchisees with marketing KPIs?” and “Can I speak to other franchisees about their experience with marketing support?”
Conclusion
Although strong marketing is essential, support varies widely across franchises. That’s why doing due diligence on the marketing side can save you frustration, time and money. The best franchises offer not just a brand but a tested blueprint for growth.
They also partner with specialists like Franchise Fame to help them in the most professional manner. Need some expert franchise marketing assistance? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
