The majority of those who’ve been working from home, want the flexibility to continue to do so. Paul Clegg discusses how we can we embrace this change in our marketing strategies, and tap into what our target audience wants for a new way of working.
There’s something about the sunshine, and the rolling vaccine programme, which helps us see the light at the end of the lockdown tunnel. Whilst many people are anxious about the prospect of what life will start to look like, there are many more who are ready for the opportunity for change. Including your future franchisees.
Many business experts anticipate a long-term change to how we work, as we come out of lockdown. And certainly many companies are preparing for a hybrid approach, giving staff the option to combine working from home with working in the office. One report from Global Workplace analytics found:
- 82% of the UK workforce say they want to continue working from home at least once a week
- 25-30% want to work from home multiple days a week by the end of 2021.
This is great news! However, for us within franchising who drew attention to the unique selling point of running your own business providing the flexibility to work from home, this is no longer just our USP!
As people are being offered this option as the norm, we need to promote franchising in an exciting, new way. As Socrates said, “The secret of change, is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” When it comes to reaching our target audiences, and connecting with their desire for a fresh and balanced start, it’s time to rethink our marketing, and inspire people to move from thought to action.
There has never been a better time to do so, as we see momentum building among consumers who are ready to feel more in control. Which is unsurprising, given the year we’ve had where it feels to many, like everything has pretty much been completely out of their control. They are ready to seize the day! Carpe Diem!
How do we achieve this?
By focusing on who our target audiences are, and what is high on their list of priorities.
For many, number one on their list of priorities is their wellbeing. Studies have shown how those who feel they have a healthy work-life balance, are usually the most productive. We like to know we’re investing our time and energy doing something worthwhile, which will produce the right outcome; thus enhancing our sense of wellbeing and productivity.
Use this information to your advantage, by promoting a healthier approach to working. How? By sharing the stories from within your networks:
- Connecting your target audience with this internal desire to know what they do, counts. Running their own business, they can gain the satisfaction of knowing what they do through owning one of your franchises, will make a difference: whether this is to their staff, their customers and clients, or even to the wider community.
- During the pandemic, we saw a dramatic rise in the number of wellbeing sessions being offered by companies – even by many of you. Your target audience will need to know their wellbeing matters to you, if they are to consider joining your franchise network. Talk about the ways in which the network works together to support one another, as well as the individual stories hiding among your franchisees – or head office.
Your stories are, by far, your biggest marketing tool
People will always buy from people; your best marketing tools are the stories within your network.
According to a recent LinkedIn article by Joe Lazauskas, Head of Marketing at Contently, “Pandemics force people to think about… storytelling in new ways. As things return to normal, there’s a wave of momentum for those creators, both from the post-pandemic economic boom, and also from the strong desire to engage in communal experiences. As the content landscape shifts, media companies and brands alike will need to adapt.”
This means your stories need to be emotionally stronger if they are to connect with your target more deeply; and more person-focused, so they can more easily connect with your brand.
You want your target to imagine themselves running one of your franchises; stories enable us to do this. So, your content needs to be people-led! It’s not enough to hide away from being in front of the camera, anymore. People want to see the real people behind the brand, to see if they are like us:
- Stop using stock photography, where possible, and start using photos of real people in real situations. They help you to show – rather than tell – the reality of what is involved in running one of your franchises.
- Use the free tools social media platforms have given us, as a means of engaging with our target audiences: The Stories function for short “as it happens” videos, growing a hashtag audience, and asking people for recommendations, or to share their views of the franchise.
The future is about reconnecting with our personal vision
After a year of feeling disconnected from people, and from their sense of purpose, your target audience will be ready to make a positive change to make sure they can reconnect with both.
Making yourself visible, with the right content which shows you know how to speak the same language as your target audience, is what will help them notice you. As Joe says, “Too many content strategies start with ‘What do we want to say?’ instead of ‘What does our audience want from us?'”
As you embrace the changes, and lead by example, your target audience – your future franchisees – will catch this positivity and decide they, too, want to do the same. We are influenced by those we most admire: People who know how to connect with others, achieving the work-life balance needed to maintain a healthy sense of wellbeing, whilst knowing and walking in their sense of purpose – these are the people who will attract your next generation of franchisees.
If we can help you as you review your marketing strategies post-covid, then please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re still in this together!
