How To Find The Right Franchise Location Advertising Agency

Vertical Integration

Need help with franchise location advertising or PPC for franchises?  We can help!  Having owned an operated an advertising agency within the franchising space for the greater part of 13 years now, I’ve worked with several hundred franchise brands and seen so many pitfalls that franchisors face when it comes to not only franchise leads, but also what happens after that with franchise location advertising.

As time has gone by, I’ve started to take a more holistic approach to franchise marketing and advertising as whole.  We began in 2010 after my first child was born back when I was 30.  For years, our focus was always on just helping franchisors drive high quality leads in order to sell franchises.

What I’ve learned over the years, however, is that in order to have a successful franchise, it’s not only the acquisition of new franchisees that is important in order for a franchise system to grow and thrive… it’s also having a complete end to end solution that allows each franchisee to be successful.

I fought against this for many years because it takes a heck of a lot of work and systems, but with time I’ve grown to understand that the most good that I can do in order to help the franchising community as a whole and serve our clients the best is by vertically integrating our franchise development marketing services with additional franchise location advertising services.  It’s taken us years to become good at this, and there are still some industries that we do not support, but we’ve gotten quite good at helping to drive high quality leads and sales for franchisees within franchise systems for many industries like salon suite franchising, education franchises, home services franchises, many health franchises, and other key industries.

The main industry that we have a lot of clients in that we haven’t cracked yet and do not yet support at the time of this writing is the restaurant franchising space.  The reason for this is that restaurants typically require weekly updates to their ads and it’s also hard to track what the ROI is from restaurant sales, so we haven’t cracked that industry on the franchise location advertising side yet.

What we are good at today is franchisors that have franchisee locations that require ads that must be updated no more than 1 time per month.  And, ideal franchisors also have a way for us to track the sales associated with the leads that come through so that we can track the ROI and continually improve campaigns by knowing which keywords and audiences are the most profitable.

What To Expect With Pricing

This is where you have to really be careful when hiring an agency.  First off, make sure that the agency has YEARS of experience in franchising and within your niche market of franchising.  If it’s an agency’s first time to advertise in franchising or they haven’t been doing it for several years, they are very likely to spend a lot of money on clicks and landing pages that really aren’t that great.  Your likelihood of success will be much lower.

From a pricing perspective, I’ll put it this way.  I got a telemarketing call the other day where a guy tried to pitch me on white labeled services that can be upsold to existing agency clients.  He told me a “case study” about one of their clients who they trained on how to sell a franchisor on $3,000 / mo. for agency fees PER LOCATION.  The crazy thing is that the franchisor signed up for it with around 20 locations.  This is an example of what NOT TO DO.

You want a pricing situation that is reasonable and a team that isn’t outsourcing services but actually knows what they are doing in house.

What we have seen from a pricing perspective is that it mainly has to do with how much communication each franchisee needs directly with the agency.  On the high end, you might be spending $750 / mo. for management fees if each franchisee has to speak directly to the agency’s account manager as it is much less scalable that way.  Alternatively, if communications can be centralized through some type of a ticketing system like Zen Desk with occasional 1 on 1 calls and many of the high level comms going through the franchisor itself, there are many economies of scale that can be created there with management fees being as low as around $300 / mo. per location.

So, when you are vetting agencies, it’s good to think about your own business ahead of time.  Have an idea of how much you shouldn’t spent on agency fees.  Also, have an understanding of whether you want for each franchisee to be working directly with the agency’s account managers on phone calls or if a simple ticketing system plus automatic reporting and advertising promotions that don’t change more often than about once a month are possible.  If they are, you can probably save a lot of money that way.

Test The Franchise Advertising Agency First

One thing that we’ve noticed is that we’ve had the most success helping franchisors with the consumer development or franchisee advertising needs when we have already worked with them for 6-24 months, we’ve been able to produce good results for them on the franchise development lead generation side of things, and we’ve had some time to really learn the business from a keyword perspective so that we are in a good spot when we start helping the franchisees with their marketing needs.

In other words, start slowly and prove that agency out on the franchise development side of things prior to taking a big risk and exposing that agency that may not be that great to your entire franchisee base.  Additionally, don’t try to on board all of your franchisees at once to the agency.  Start with 1-5 locations and get those to work first, maybe even with a corporate store or two, and then start helping the franchisees.  Remember that this type of advertising has a direct effect upon the profitability, expenses, and happiness of your franchisees.  The agency you choose is a reflection of the franchise brand itself, being too hasty can cause problems down the road as it can take months if not years to transition from one agency to another once they are embedded into your service offering.

Need Help?

We can only say so much in an online blog article.  If you’re interested in our franchise lead generation services, make sure to fill out the contact form so that we can schedule a call together. Or you can just call us directly.  Looking forward to speaking with you and learning more about your franchise opportunity!

 

 

Other General Franchise Location Advertising Advice

When it comes to franchise marketing, location advertising is an important component. Location advertising is used by franchise owners to attract potential customers and clients in a specific region or area. By choosing the right type of location advertisement, franchise owners can create a consistent brand presence and increase their visibility in their chosen market.

Location advertising can be done through traditional methods such as print ads, radio spots, and television commercials, but there are also newer digital options including social media ads, pay-per-click campaigns, and targeted email marketing. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages; therefore, it’s important for a franchise owner to carefully consider which option will work best for them.

The most effective way for a franchise owner to advertise their location is through a combination of digital and traditional methods. Traditional methods such as television ads, radio spots, and print advertisements can be used to create brand awareness while digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click campaigns, and social media advertising can be used to reach highly targeted audiences.

When it comes to franchise location advertising, the most important thing is to make sure that the message is relevant to the target audience in order for it to be effective. It’s also important for franchise owners to make use of local references and imagery when creating their ads in order to emphasize the fact that they are part of the local community. Additionally, franchise owners should consider partnering with local businesses or providing discounts to local customers in order to increase their visibility in the region.

Finally, franchise owners should remember that location advertising is a long-term commitment and they should be prepared to invest time and resources into the process. They should focus on creating an effective marketing plan that will allow them to reach their audience over time and build relationships with potential customers. Overall, franchise location advertising can be a powerful tool for attracting new customers and clients if done correctly. With the right strategies and techniques, franchise owners can create a strong presence in their market and successfully promote their business. In doing so, they will be setting themselves up for long-term success.

By investing time and resources in franchise location advertising, franchise owners can create a strong presence in their market and attract potential customers and clients. The key to successful franchise marketing lies in carefully selecting the right type of advertisement and implementing a strategic plan that includes both digital and traditional methods. With the right approach, franchise owners can create a consistent brand presence and make sure that their message is heard by their target audience—ultimately leading to increased visibility and higher profits. By leveraging these strategies, franchise owners can ensure that their business stands out from the competition and generates more leads in the process. Ultimately, this will lead to greater success for the franchise.