Franchising is a big step for a business, and it can bring a lot of both rewards and challenges. If you plan out a detailed strategy and market yourself well, this move can expand your business’s reach and help you dominate your chosen field.
To be successful, you’ll need to have a thorough understanding of franchise branding and marketing. In this article, we’ll define franchise branding and how it can apply to your business.
What Is Franchise Branding?
Franchise branding is how a company consistently promotes and markets itself and its products, services, and identity through its franchisees. If you’ve done marketing for your business before, you’ll know that it requires a firm understanding of your brand’s identity to be successful. You must understand your target market and what will appeal to your customers.
Franchise marketing works the same way, but it comes with added complexities. As your business will be in the hands of franchisees with their own goals, you’ll need clear guidelines so that every franchise shares a coherent image. This is a balancing act.
While you need a consistent brand image, you’ll also need to allow for some localization with each franchise. Plus, you’ll need to maintain your customers’ positive association with your brand while giving over control to your franchisees, who often have an entrepreneurial mindset and strong ambitions.
A successful franchise model is not made overnight. It’s built over time through consistency and continuing to give your customers a positive experience, no matter which franchise they visit. A successful franchise is built through passionate franchise owners who share your company’s vision.
But how can you create successful franchise branding? Here are some tips and tricks to help your company as it expands.
Aim for Uniformity
If you go into a fast food franchise in Los Angeles and another in Miami, you can order the same meal and receive the same product at both locations. Every franchise around the country will have the same food offerings and a similar store layout, and all employees will be trained to help you the same way.
Your franchises should work the same way. A strong brand means that every customer will get the same quality service every single time. When they interact with your brand, they will know what to expect, no matter what city they are in.
Consistent branding requires all of your franchisees to be on the same page. Spend time developing a comprehensive brand guide detailing everything that makes up your brand, from the mission statement and values to the colors, fonts, brand voice, visuals, marketing materials, and customer experience. Franchisees can use this guide to help maintain a similar business image when marketing and replicate your brand everywhere.
Technology makes this more accessible than ever before. You can make your brand guide, training materials, marketing tools, and anything else easily accessible to your franchises. You can also easily offer your franchisees pre-approved templates and marketing materials, which helps make your branding recognizable across your franchises. Marketing can be time-consuming, and your franchisees will appreciate having resources they can use.
Allow Some Room for Localization and Flexibility
While consistency is important, too many rules and too much structure can cause tension between the franchise owner and the franchisor. This can break some of the trust and enthusiasm your franchisees had when initially opening their storefront with your company.
As you develop your branding strategy, consider that different markets have unique interests and needs.
For example, a sporting goods store franchise in Houston might sell just a few skis or heavy-duty winter coats. Advertising these items wouldn’t be a huge draw for potential customers in this area, but these items would be a more significant draw for customers in another market, like Denver.
Encourage your franchisees to adapt their marketing strategies based on their local markets’ needs and interests. On top of product offerings, franchisees should consider their chosen area’s specific demographic and cultural needs. The residents of a college town will have different interests than those of a retirement community, for instance.
This is especially true if you’re looking into franchising on a global scale. If this is the case, you must do your research well so that your branding and marketing will appeal to customers who might have different preferences, cultural expectations, and languages than the city of your original business.
By allowing your franchise locations some leeway to customize their marketing to the region they operate in, they will see more success than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Make Yourself Available to Your Franchisees
It’s essential to stay involved with your franchisees and establish clear, open lines of communication. This helps ensure that your brand remains the same through every interaction with your customers—and that your franchisees stay loyal to your brand and your company’s vision.
You can also motivate and encourage positive engagement with your brand by staying involved, and it’s vital to do so from the beginning. Choose your franchisees wisely and continue to keep a connection with them. Naturally, people will be the most enthusiastic at the beginning of the franchise process. Educate them about the importance of your mission and maintaining a positive company image.
You can celebrate the successes of your franchises and the brand as a whole. You can also reward franchises and employees who do an exceptional job. This can be motivating and endear them to the company. It’s essential to market to customers, but it’s just as important to market to your franchise network to maintain brand loyalty.
Consult With the Experts
Franchise branding can be complicated, especially if you’ve never done it before. If you’re feeling unsure about where to start or wondering what your next steps should be, consult with an expert in franchise marketing.
At InnoVision’s Global Marketing division, we are experts at helping brands develop their marketing strategies and expand to new markets. Our network of resources and partnerships allows us to offer our clients access to international markets. Contact us today, and we can help give you insights and develop effective strategies for your franchise branding.