The pathway to franchise ownership apparently runs through the checkout line. A Curious Jane attitudinal study about brand sentiment and other factors influencing franchise candidates shows that nearly half of current franchisees were already customers and fans of their brand before they purchased their location.
Curious Jane conducted a proprietary attitudinal segmentation study to learn more about the motivations of franchise owners. We surveyed more than 500 franchisees to better clarify the beliefs, perspectives, preferences, pain points and aspirations of franchise owners. The survey results have a 95% confidence level, a high level of confidence.
According to the study, 45% of the franchise owners surveyed said they were customers of their franchise brand before they became franchise owners, and 37% said they first heard of the brand because they were customers.
Franchise development marketers need to target their brand’s superfans.
Wanted: Passion for the Brand
Have you thought about the qualities that make your franchisees successful? In the study, more than 80% of franchise owners named people management skills, a strong work ethic and communication skills as the qualities necessary for success.
But not far behind was passion: 61% said having a passion for the franchise brand was necessary to be successful. In other words, your casual customers won’t be your best franchisees. Superfans make super franchise owners.
And since they already know the brand and your product or service so well, the messaging for superfans should be a little different: For instance, you may need to introduce them to the franchise opportunity. You may be surprised at how many of your customers are unaware that your brand is a franchise.
How do you do that? In addition to making sure your consumer website has an obvious link to the franchise site, you may want to occasionally post on your consumer social media channels, or carve out space in an email newsletter, about where followers can learn more about franchising. Capitalize on the first-party data you gather through apps and more to target your superfans.
Prioritize Customer Experience
Customer experience matters to your customers, and it also matters to your owners. In the study, 22% said prior experience with the brand as a customer was an important factor when considering a franchise purchase. That’s even higher than they rated having prior experience in the same industry, which 15% cited.
Additionally, 42% of respondents said a poor customer experience would discourage them from buying a franchise.
If you want to sell more franchises, you’ll need to provide exceptional customer service. Great customer service is what elevates a fan to a superfan, and it’s what keeps the superfans coming back for more.
According to the respondents in this study, it could also be, in part, what attracts superfans to your franchise opportunity.
Takeaway:
Think about your superfans when you are creating fran dev marketing materials. A positive tone and brand consistency will matter to the prospects who already love your brand. In addition to discussing your exceptional training program and support systems, you may also want to incorporate information about customer satisfaction and how important it is to your brand that you deliver a great customer experience every time. You might also want to include testimonials from former customers who now are franchisees.
This customer experience messaging will resonate with the superfans among your candidates.
