Why SEO for a franchise website is important for franchise development.

Everybody seems to agree that you need to “do SEO” on your franchise development website. But what exactly is SEO for franchise websites, and how can it help your franchise development program?

In working with franchise development clients, we have found that more than 50% of all franchise development leads come from organic traffic. And if you are not advertising, 100% of your leads would be from organic traffic. The bottom line is that SEO only matters if you want leads. 

Now are you ready to learn about SEO? Here is a crash course in SEO for franchise development.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO is simply making your website as effective as possible at gaining internet users who are searching for whatever you have to offer – in this case, a franchise opportunity. Optimization includes both back-end, technical adjustments that improve the user experience and content that makes your website relevant to users. So, why doesn’t everyone just optimize their sites and get it over with?

The reason that SEO is challenging is that Google – the main player in the search engine world – is continuously updating its algorithms and expectations, so what you need to do to optimize your website changes frequently. In essence, SEO specialists are trying to hit a constantly moving target.

How does SEO help franchise development?

When a prospective franchisee starts researching brands, he or she might type a question into Google’s search bar. Depending on what they’re looking for, they could ask something like, “What’s a great, low-cost franchise?” In less than a second, Google provides a page full of answers. That’s called the “search engine results page” (SERP).

The SERP has three main components:

• Ads: At the top of the page, the user will find ads bought by franchisors like you who are trying to attract the best candidates. Those franchises bought keywords and search terms that they anticipate their ideal candidates will search for. The cost of those ads depends on how many advertisers bought the same words or phrases that you did. 

• Knowledge panel: Next on the page, you’ll find what Google calls the “knowledge panel,” an information box. It’s designed to answer your question at a glance. For a question about “low-cost franchises,” the knowledge panel may quote a blog or article about top-ranked franchises that have low start-up costs.

• Organic results: Below the knowledge panel, the user will see pages that Google has deemed so relevant to what the user is searching for, they are shown as top answer providers. Strong SEO will help your website appear in this section at no cost to you. That’s the point of SEO: It helps people who are searching for your offering – whether it’s a franchise opportunity, product or service – find you easily. If they are searching for franchises like yours, it is logical to assume that they really are interested in buying.

Can I do SEO myself?

You can, but remember that SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. What Google expects of websites changes constantly, so one big part of SEO involves keeping up with technological and user experience improvements. For example, because of the proliferation of mobile devices, Google penalizes websites that are not mobile-friendly.

There are many technical aspects of SEO. Here are the high-level, easy to identify items:

1. Make sure each page has only one h1 (main heading). Often, designers like to have all headlines look big and bold, however search engines look at the <h1> to determine what the page is about. Think of it as the title of the page.
2. Check that all of your pages have defined meta titles and descriptions and none of them are duplicates. Often, web developers will overlook this and build in default meta tags for every page, blog post, etc. This is important because this is the information that shows on the SERP when a user searches. You want users to click through to your site after reading the meta title and description.
3. All of your images should have alt text, which is a description of the image to be used not only by search engines to index the image, but also by screen readers for users who are vision-impaired. Not only should this be important to your SEO strategy, but also in making your website ADA-compliant.

The other main aspect of SEO is content. Website content should be relevant, rich in keywords and terms, useful and readable.

Several years ago, when people were just starting to understand SEO, they tried to outsmart Google by littering their webpages with all of the keywords and terms that they thought their target audience would search for. The result was that the keywords were there, but they didn’t make any sense.

PSA: Google is smart! Today, websites that contain poorly written content are penalized.

How do I SEO my content?

Assuming your website is up-to-date and mobile-friendly, the best way to improve your SEO ranking is to focus on filling your website with smart, well-written content. Use your company’s best writer, or hire one who’s familiar with SEO, to fill pages about your brand, the franchise opportunity, the industry you’re in, startup costs and more with relevant keywords and terms.

You might also consider starting a blog to share good news about your franchise, success stories and other information that would be of interest to a prospective franchisee. Posting blogs regularly – whether once per month or once per week – helps keep content fresh and can add pages of keyword-rich content.

If you’re having problems coming up with content to write about, think about your ideal franchisee. Make a list of your top 10 or 20 franchisees and interview them. Ask them why they chose your brand, how they handle day-to-day and what success means to them. Not only will this spark some ideas for blog topics, but it also will help you create a candidate persona, which should help define targeting for advertising as well as content for creative pieces.

A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds, hence the name. In order to optimize your franchise development website, it should be interesting, memorable and succinct. So, let’s start with your most important marketing element: your franchise development website.

Unlike an elevator ride, however, with a great website you have only about 10 seconds to grab a prospect’s attention.

Obviously, when it comes to investing money in owning a franchise, we want your prospects to stay on your site as long as possible, because there’s a lot they need to learn about your brand before they are going to invest in it. In fact, we have seen that many people who are interested in becoming franchisees will come to your website more than 15 times before they actually give you their information, or convert. But, if you don’t get them excited in those precious first 10 seconds, you won’t win the sale. So now, if we’ve got your attention on how important your website is, keep reading.

If we haven’t convinced you yet of your franchise website’s importance, let us give you one more thing to consider. If we were talking over coffee and you told us what most franchise leaders tell us — “We know our franchise development website needs work, but …” — we would tell you exactly what we tell our clients: There are no “buts.” Your franchise development website must be strong, and it must stay strong and stay updated. It is the biggest, most important gateway to the sale. It MUST tell your story and also explain why someone should invest a lot of money — sometimes their life savings — into your brand.

To repeat: You have 10 seconds.

Think of your franchise website as a resume for your franchise. It needs to stand out and grab the attention of the “hiring manager,” aka your prospect, so that they want to talk with you right away. Persuade them that you are exactly who they are looking for. Make them eager to provide their contact information to start the conversation.

The user experience should be prospect-friendly, where they can find information that allows them to understand your industry, what the opportunity is, what your story is, investment information and much more. And here’s a little secret that no one talks about when designing your franchise development website: You need to use data to build it. Because there is more to a website than a fun design with catchy copy. You need to design your site to convert.

Here are tips to optimize your fran dev website:

• Optimize for attention and retention
• Know your persona
• Simplify your form
• Make your website mobile friendly

Know your persona and pique their interest in the first 10 seconds.

You want interest them and have them stay on your page as long as possible in hopes that they will continue to dig and poke around and come back multiple times. Keep in mind that this is not always numbers – potential franchisees need to be able to picture themselves in your franchise. They need to fall in love with the brand. The numbers can come later, unless your only focus is investors or multi-unit owners. In that case, put the numbers up front.

Don’t ask for too much information on the form.

The simpler, the better: first name, last name, email and phone. Some franchise development sites basically have users fill out an application before they even talk to them. This is good only if you’re trying to not sell many franchises or if you have had so many inquiries you are trying to weed people out before the business development reps talk to them. If this is not the case, simplify your form. Also, put it on almost every page. Don’t make users search for the form or wonder what they should do next. Make it easy: a form on every page and simple inputs.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, you HAVE to update this.

Potential franchisees are going to think your brand is outdated, you don’t offer the marketing support they need and/or you don’t have the money to update your website, which suggests this is not a well-run brand. This is concerning. Run your website through this free tool from Google: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. If the tool says your website is not mobile-friendly, get with your web developers IMMEDIATELY. What are you waiting for?

Remember, there are no excuses when it comes to investing in your franchise development website. It’s your first hello. Optimize your franchise development website so that it’s not your last goodbye.

There is a specific phrase we are hearing right now in the franchise industry, and that is, “We want to double down” on our franchise development efforts. Brands really want to focus on getting more prospects.

First Priority

Many franchise brands are in a rebuilding phase, helping franchisees more than ever as they navigate un-chartered waters. They’ve been through a storm of a lifetime, and their top priority has been helping to steer operational issues and COVID-19-related issues for their franchisees.

Second Priority

Priority No. 2 is franchise development. A lot of people think that business ownership and controlling your own destiny are uppermost in people’s minds. Franchise leadership teams know they have to simultaneously get their franchises open for operations and healthy again while continuing to grow their brands. And they need to do both well.

What can your brand do to help share your franchise opportunity with those who are serious about business ownership? You can double down in the short term.

Five things you can do to create a short-term franchise development plan:

• Use the leads list you already have and contact every single person on that list. Have a conversation with them – by phone and by email.

• Schedule more webinars with the leads you already have, inviting them to hear about the opportunity and meet your team. These are people who’ve already shown interest in your brand, so show interest in them by telling them how your brand is doing and what the opportunity is.

• Define the areas you really want to grow and spend your marketing dollars there. If your brand has been severely hit, and you’re worried about touting growth when certain franchisees are barely surviving, focus on the bottom of the sales funnel and concentrate more on search and remarketing.
  
  If you brand is doing better and you are comfortable discussing growth, start with a search and remarketing strategy and consider adding in Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google Display Network. Remember, if your brand recognition is lower or non-existent in an area you want to grow, you’ll need to spend more effort and money ensuring that leads understand not only the story of your brand but also that it’s a franchise opportunity they can invest in.

• Get your leadership to discuss and agree on your goals and the areas you want to grow in. Don’t let them ignore franchise development. What you do today will affect your sales 24 months from now.

• Build a comprehensive plan. Don’t just talk about planning to advertise on Facebook or LinkedIn. Create a comprehensive plan to reach the goals you’ve established.

Doubling down in the short term is just that — it’s a short-term strategy. In our next post, we will discuss doubling down for longer term strategies.

We are in very difficult and unusual times with the pandemic. However, we in the franchise industry cannot let up on fran dev efforts. Many of the brands we work with that shut down completely for months are beginning to reopen. Other brands we work with are essential businesses and actually continued to perform extremely well. Regardless of your situation, franchise development has to stay top of mind for your leadership team. Your tactics, strategies and budgets may be different by brand, but it must be a priority. What you do today will greatly affect your franchise development program 24 months from now.

Here are three questions to help franchise leadership teams have honest and open conversations about how to build your Fran Dev Program. These may sound like simple questions, but, in our experience, one or two of these is likely to spur some serious discussions among your team.

• What is a realistic growth goal for your brand or brands?
• What specific markets do you want to grow in?
• How strong is your brand recognition in the areas you want to grow?

What is a realistic growth goal for your brand or brands?

Because of the pandemic, there are currently a lot of unknowns, but many brands are going to be doubling down in the next 24 months to really grow their brands. Even with all that’s going on, you and your team need to decide on your growth goals for the next 12 to 24 months. You’ve got to agree on those numbers. You may have to adjust and change them later, but knowing those goals will help you build a comprehensive plan.

What specific markets do you want to grow in?

Before figuring out how to build your Fran Dev program, you should decide on where you really want to grow and build your program based on those top areas. Don’t dilute your efforts by trying to do too much everywhere. Focus on your top areas of growth opportunity. In 2020 FranConnect released their 2020 Franchise Sales Index sampling 597 franchise brands. In their sample, the leads by top states were in Florida, California, Texas, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Colorado. So competition is bigger in those markets. Keep that in mind when you’re planning your budget.

How strong is your brand recognition in the areas you want to grow?

If you’re trying to go into new territories, you’ll need to consider a few things. Is your brand recognition is low or non-existent in those areas? If so, you’ll need to tell the story of your brand and the opportunity more than ever. If your brand recognition is strong, it will be much easier. You’ll be able to create your own funnel system so leads come to you quicker.

Franchise development has to stay top of mind for your leadership team. Your tactics and strategies may be different by brand, but it must be a priority from the top down.

If there’s one thing we hear often from franchise development and leadership teams, it’s: “We want franchise development leads, and we want them now.” Now let’s talk about how to get franchise leads faster.

The Obstacle of Getting Leads

When we get a call from a franchise, the conversation often begins with their explanation of the problem. “We’ve tried Facebook ads. We’ve tried LinkedIn ads. We’ve tried search, brokers and portals. We’re doing PR. And we aren’t getting the results we want.”  

While we understand that you want leads – and you want them now – you run the risk of making your franchise development program just about lead generation tactics. Often, that’s a signal that you haven’t really thought through your entire program.

Create the Full Funnel

If you really want to grow your program and get leads, you’ll need to create your own funnel and have a comprehensive program. Your franchise development funnel strategy will need to include plans for both the short term and long term.

Years ago, we worked with a brand that wanted us to handle only one piece of their franchise development: lead generation. It was a large brand that was well-known in most parts of the country. Although, they were not as well known in two states that they wanted to target. This franchise had three agencies. One agency was handling their public relations. Another agency handled Google search and pay-per-click. Their internal team built their creative assets. They wanted us to create the digital lead-generation tactics for these specific markets where they wanted to grow.

We shared with them that it was very hard to handle only one piece of their marketing program and that we believed it was going to take a comprehensive approach to make it work. Finally, however, we agreed to help them.

Guess what? Our lead-generation campaign did not produce the results they expected, and they realized we were right. They needed a much more complete program that worked cohesively. Sometimes the pieces typically don’t fit together the way they should. This especially happens when all of the pieces of the puzzle are handled by different agencies and people who aren’t working together.

Use Your Budget Wisely

You can’t just throw money at a market through lead-generation ads without having a much bigger plan in place – especially in a new market. Newer markets take time and nurturing. Many times, not only are prospects unfamiliar with your brand, but also they are unaware that the brand is a franchise opportunity. So the challenge is big: It takes time to raise brand awareness and ensure the franchise opportunity is presented, especially in new markets. You can’t simply flip on your Facebook or LinkedIn ads and watch the franchise sales roll in.

What Makes a Great Franchise Development Program

A great franchise development program is a comprehensive, strategic program that includes identifying, reaching, nurturing and converting prospects by using platforms and strategies that work together. Running ads in certain geographic areas and setting up an email drip campaign is not enough.

Fully Integrating

Likewise, focusing only on getting leads and getting them now is dangerous. You need a fully integrated program to bring in the leads you want now and in the future. And you need to ensure that all of the pieces of your franchise development program are working together – your story, your business opportunity, your ads, your creative, your PR, your digital, your website, your follow-up, your email drip campaign and your phone calls. Everything.

Time it Right

Lastly, don’t fall for the quick-fix trap of wanting leads and wanting them now. Instead, work on creating a more robust and comprehensive program. So when the CEO asks you to target two new states, you’re ready. Because you’ve done the work to get there.

Selling franchises is a lot harder than getting a consumer to come to one of your locations. The buying cycle is a lot longer. The price tag is a lot bigger. And in an environment where everyone is getting kudos for making the cash register ring, it’s tempting to focus on the immediate sale versus the BIG sale. There’s a danger of treating strategic franchise development like the red-headed stepchild.

Franchise development often gets the short end of the budget stick because the consumer side of the franchise is supported by ad fund dollars. You may think, “It’s good enough. We’ll make up the numbers later.” Or, “Everyone else is getting fewer leads, too.” Or maybe your leads are great, but you aren’t getting the actual sales and success from those leads that you desire.

Another common situation is the CEO announces that you need more franchise development sales, and you’re off to the races trying to develop a quick digital lead generation plan with the budget you’ve been given to meet those metrics. Whatever your case may be, there’s a better way to make your franchise development marketing program better.

A franchise development program is just that: a comprehensive program. It’s not just Facebook ads or LinkedIn ads or relying on brokers and portals or public relations. It’s a complete program developed by you, as the franchisor, with multiple platforms and strategies that you control and monitor.

Here are seven areas for you to concentrate on for the long game:

1. Product satisfaction and execution build brands more than marketing dollars do.
2. Your franchise has to offer a solid business opportunity.
3. Your website is the single most important piece of your franchise development program.
4. Focus on building your own internal funnel system.
5. Know your numbers to use data to get executive buy-in and support.
6. Consider your in-house team’s bandwith when managing resources
7. Sales and marketing must work together.
   

Product satisfaction and execution build brands more than marketing dollars do.

The most important thing is to build a brand people love. When you do that, it’s much easier to sell the franchise concept to others. If you’re trying to sell franchises in an area where brand recognition is low, remind your team that those markets will need more nurturing and marketing than in markets where people already love and trust the brand.

Your franchise has to offer a solid business opportunity.

Why would someone want to be a franchisee with your brand? And why now? What is the actual opportunity? And more than anything else, it will help your franchise development program to understand why someone did not want to be a part of your brand. If they said no — or chose a different path partly through your sales process — why? Talk about that to develop strategies to overcome those challenges.

Your website is the single most important piece of your strategic franchise development program.

If the website isn’t right, you will not get the conversions and interest you desire.

Your website is your first hello, your elevator pitch, your chance in a just a few seconds to convince prospects that they want to or need to learn more about your franchise opportunity.

Most people who visit your website who are serious come back 15 times or more before they convert, so your website must be better than good – it must be great.

1. The site needs to have quick loading times and be mobile friendly.
2. Tell your story well by making it clear and compelling. Why would someone want to invest in your brand? And why now? And what is the actual opportunity? How are you communicating your story?
3. You have to provide a great user experience on desktop, tablet and mobile.
4. The site must be organized and well-written.
5. Your Q&A has to be on point.

More than 50% of franchise sales are directly from the website. It’s also critical to track all leads to your website, both organic leads and paid traffic leads.

This will help you know how people are coming to and interacting with your site.

In the case of one franchise we work with, we started with a short-term ad strategy, but hundreds clicked through to the website but didn’t convert.

The development director had to convince the leadership team that the website they had wasn’t good enough to perform. It needed a complete overhaul, so now we’ve taken on that challenge.

My point: It all matters. You can have the greatest campaign and brand in the world, but if your website is slow and doesn’t tell your story, your conversions will suffer.

Focus on building your own internal funnel system.

You need a long-game marketing and sales strategy that consists of more than a couple of sales people and a leftover budget for strategic franchise development.

You need a comprehensive program, a specific plan and budget earmarked for franchise development to really move the needle.

Know your numbers to use data to get executive buy-in and support.

If the leaders of your company aren’t convinced that you need a strong plan and budget for internal efforts toward franchise development, you’ve got to be able to show them data that support having a stronger, more comprehensive program and in-house marketing plan.

The best way to convince your leadership team to invest in franchise development is to know and share the numbers. There’s a tendency to fixate on the number of leads, but equally important is the quality of leads and whether those leads turn into a sale. Or maybe you’re getting a lot of leads, but most of them are “junk leads” that waste your development team’s time. You need to understand the leads and traffic you’re getting and where they are coming from, and that data is available to you. You should be looking at Google Analytics or have your agency provide a platform where you can see all of the numbers in one place. This will help your marketing team tweak and optimize your campaigns better.

Consider your in-house team’s bandwith when managing resources

Usually in a franchise, there are two scenarios: Scenario 1 is the marketing team on the consumer side doesn’t have enough time to help those on the fran dev side, because their No. 1 job is on the consumer side. (By the way, as you know, consumer marketing and franchise development marketing are completely different). Scenario 2 is that the people in franchise development are really great at sales and talking the Item 19 talk, but they don’t know much about marketing and they are stuck trying to figure out how to grow the program. This is a dangerous place to be. If you are going to grow your program, either you need to devote the internal bandwidth required or you need to get outside help.

Sales and marketing must work together.

Don’t complain about leads if your sales and marketing teams aren’t working together. A couple of weeks ago, a Facebook ad popped up for a franchise opportunity in our area and we clicked on it. Admittedly, we were doing research to see what this franchise’s process was, so we filled out the form. Boom! A conversion! Over the next two weeks, we received four emails in a drip campaign but did not get a call. Not one. No personal hello. No personal call asking anything. So here’s a franchise spending money on digital ads, with a great email drip campaign, but no one from the franchise actually called to talk to me.

Investing in the long game for franchise development takes work and time, and sometimes it can feel mundane and boring. But when you invest and create standards and strategies with the long game in mind, those techniques and strategies will compound. The longer and more strategic you play, the bigger the reward. 

We all know you have only a few seconds to grab someone’s attention. This can be especially challenging when creating complex franchise development ads to help you find your next franchisees. Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to help you create ads that will get prospects to want to learn more.

Review your brand.

Before you jump into ad creation, pause and go back to the basics. If someone casually asked what your franchise offers, how would you convey your brand in a few thoughts? There are likely a few other businesses in your space, so it’s great to consider how you relate to them. Are you an ice cream store that sells the very best ice cream product or are you the store that offers the very best ice cream experience? Are you a yard service company that offers environmentally friendly lawn treatments or one that offers exemplary customer service? Know who you are and how you compare to your competition.

Zero in on the franchise ownership pitch.

Now do the same with your franchise pitch. People looking into owning a franchise – whether they want a hands-on approach to management or an investment opportunity – are going to be weighing your opportunity against other opportunities. They might be looking at all offerings within an individual franchise category or at something specific, like cost of entry, across a variety of verticals. What are the key components of your offer and how do you rank them? Zero in on the top two or three at first.

Customize your images.

Assuming you have already determined your franchise opportunity persona, consider the types of images that will appeal to them. An investor persona might connect with an image of a person in a suit reviewing important documents, while someone looking to own a restaurant might gravitate toward a lifestyle image of a manager helping happy customers. Also, consider whether everyday or aspirational photos will connect more. Some people want to see themselves as they are today, and some want to see who they could become. And of course, always adhere to franchisor guidelines when selecting images.

Customize the language.

Before you begin writing any copy, establish the content strategy approach for reaching your audience. Will they connect best with language that is casual and conversational or educational and formal? Will an assertive and bold tone reach them, or will they respond better to language that is pragmatic and objective? Whether you’re writing four words for a Google display ad or multiple lines of text and headlines in a Facebook carousel ad, you need to consider what types of language your audience responds best to.

Add franchise facts and figures.

Do you have 5,000 happy franchisees? Does your average location generate $1 million in sales per year? Find one or two statistics that relate to the unique selling points of your brand when you advertise a franchise opportunity. Use those facts to draft ad body copy and to create compelling headlines.

 

Confirm the ads clearly speak franchise development.

Sometimes franchise brands mistakenly create ads that relate more to consumer marketing than franchise development. The images and the words need to work together to quickly and clearly get across the message that you are talking about a business ownership opportunity, not local employment. If you aren’t getting enough conversions or you’re getting people inquiring about summer employment, it’s time to re-evaluate the ad strategy and update the images and copy to best reflect the franchise offer. Always review ads one final time before implementation to make sure they speak to franchise development.

 

Constantly test your ads when you advertise a franchise opportunity.

The terrific thing is that all platforms — Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. — allow for testing and optimization. You can run multiple variations of ads to see which ones convert the best. Be sure to limit your variables in the beginning. Try swapping out just the photo, changing the background color or trying two different headlines. You can then use platform campaign data to create updated or additional ad sets based on what types of ads are performing well and drawing in the right types of candidates.

When you advertise a franchise opportunity, all of your ads should utilize compelling copy and design based on your brand, and audience. There’s a lot of competition for attention, but thoughtful planning and creation can help you design persuasive franchise development ads that convert.

“We need to sell franchises in California, Texas and Georgia!”

Emerging franchises opening in particular markets and established franchises targeting locations left on the map both need regional franchise development plans that capture the unique preferences and the competitive nature of specific geographical areas.

Think about it. A headline that is meant to be bold and clever in New York may come across as snarky in Georgia. Different regions require different approaches when it comes to franchise development. Consider these factors when creating regional plans to find your next franchise owners:

Define Your Target Audience

Many franchises want to target sizable demographics with the hopes of reaching the largest audience possible. It’s important to note that targeting a large audience isn’t always the best strategy. When a campaign comprises males and females ages 18 to 65, the campaign may deliver leads, but not qualified leads. Narrow the audience. Who are your best current franchisees? Do they share common interests or values? Do they need a particular background, or can they be trained? The more information you have about your ideal candidate, the more data can be utilized to get your message in front of the right audience. This targeted approach will save you money by focusing on specific regional candidates.

Tell Your Story

While you are looking for the right candidate, you need to be sure you are revealing what a potential buyer in a particular market wants to know about your company. For franchise development, your unique value proposition (UVP) is one of the most important components of your campaign. Your UVP should clearly describe your business, differentiate your franchise from the competition in the market and inform the buyer of the benefit of your offer. A strong UVP will intrigue your candidate to learn more. Reason to buy should be evident in your campaign. Common reasons are financial opportunities and company culture.

Optimize Your Campaign through Testing

Test and refine. Test and refine. Different markets yield different results. Track the progress of your campaigns in different markets to learn what resonates with your ideal prospects. Make controlled tweaks to strengthen your message. Which platforms are working best? Is different copy or creative capturing better attention? Is one email subject line getting a higher open rate? Be patient; testing takes time. Four- to six-month campaigns are optimal for testing.

Maximize Your Budget

Marketing analyses will reveal exactly where your marketing dollars belong. If your ad budget is $8,000 per month, in four months you’ve spent $32,000 to get several leads in the pipeline but you may be frustrated by the fact that you haven’t yet closed a sale. Make sure you give the campaign time to work. You are still likely to be ahead of the 50 percent to 60 percent of the franchise fee you would be paying a broker. If your franchise fee is $50,000 and the broker takes 60 percent, that’s $30,000.

A smart approach would be to use qualified brokers and also have your own strong digital lead generation franchise program. No one will market your brand like you will.

We all know that in advertising it’s important to define your target before starting any marketing initiatives. The same holds true with digital campaigns for franchise marketing, particularly in how your target market relates to the content presented and where and how it is delivered. Before you launch a franchise marketing campaign, it’s vital to learn how to create a franchisee persona.

Who are you talking to? What problems do they need to solve in their lives? What parts of the franchising and entrepreneur messages resonate with them? How do they like to be communicated with?

With some focused efforts, you’ll be able to reach prospective franchisees that are more likely to convert. Here are five ways to create effective personas:

Start small.

It’s best to select one or two personas initially. Each persona will get its own strategy, content and campaign. Narrowing to a single persona might create fewer leads, but they will be more qualified leads with higher conversion rates.

Provide as many details as possible.

Include demographic information such as age, profession, etc., but also consider more abstract details such as what they value, what audiences they interact with and what platforms they utilize.

Establish how becoming a franchise owner can be attractive to them.

Determine why this persona would want to be a franchisee. A teacher might want to continue to work with students, but outside of the classroom in a way that’s more lucrative. A nurse might want the opportunity to combine a love of healthcare with an interest in starting their own business.

Determine how YOUR franchise opportunity is perfect for them.

What makes your franchise different from all of the others? Define the ways that becoming a franchisee with your business will help your persona achieve his or her goals in a way that no other brand can.

Determine the pain points.

Brainstorm the possible obstacles your persona faces in becoming a franchisee with your company. Find ways to address the needs of those that are afraid of the implications of a career move or the financial risk of starting a business. Help overcome fears right away so that they can move to the next step in the decision-making process.

All of your franchise marketing efforts are going to be directed to your selected persona. It’s important to clearly define and communicate that persona from the beginning. Focused messaging and targeting will involve everything from the copy content in pitch pieces, to the design of downloadable lead magnets, to the platforms where advertisements are displayed. Your efforts will yield big dividends: Strategically approaching a narrower audience will deliver more qualified leads.

Quick Recap:

What are the 5 steps to create a franchisee persona?

1. Start small and build 2 personas at most initially
2. Get granular and add as much details as possible
3. Map out their wants and needs
4. Establish why your franchise is right for each of them
5. Determine each one of their pain points

This blog was written by Curious Jane and previously published on the blog of the International Franchise Association.

There was a time when franchise development teams purposely held some of their cards close to the vest, withholding specific and valuable information until later in the sales process. With increasing competition, a plethora of resources available across the internet, and consumers (potential franchisees in this case) wanting to make faster decisions based on easy-to-find information, it’s time to reconsider what franchise opportunity information you are sharing when. So let’s dive into what you need to acquire those qualified franchise leads.

Answer The Basic Questions

When it comes to your website, make sure you are answering questions that potential franchisees are looking for. The basics include the core values and mission of your franchise brand (although they don’t need to be specifically spelled out using those headings), the services and offerings your business sells, the vetting process, the onboarding process, next steps, etc. Don’t make users hunt for the information that you know they are going to want; clearly organize and present it.

Provide Transparency Through Numbers

When it comes to finances, the more transparent you are, the better. Franchises that share their Item 19s help potential franchisees move along the decision-making process more efficiently. If you find there’s a particular barrier to entry that sales reps making personal calls can’t easily overcome, go ahead and put it out there sooner. The bottom line is that you are looking for qualified franchise leads, so if someone falls off, that’s OK. You want your franchise development team spending time nurturing qualified leads, not weeding out those who aren’t.

Set Realistic Expectations

And likewise, if you have relevant statistics, such as quartile earning potential, share those, also. If your franchise has a high front-end investment, but many franchisees break even after the first year and then find great financial reward, share that information in a way that will protect you legally but still draw the interested party further down the funnel.

Close Information Gaps and Invite Discussion

Also consider what other information is available online. Just because you choose not to address something on your website, doesn’t mean the discussion isn’t taking place elsewhere. Do a little research to find out the answers to commonly asked questions that come up on different sites. If needed, update and revise your content so that your franchise brand is driving the conversation on your own website for potential franchisees beginning the exploration process.

Use All Your Advantages

Current, successful franchisees are another key part of the franchise development sales process. Bring them in early in the process by including their testimonials on your website to help convert top-of-funnel leads. Then, include them in phone calls and in-person meetings as potential franchisees move closer to signing.

The franchise development process often begins with the website and ends with in-person meetings. Have ongoing communication with your franchise development team to find the types of questions they are running into. The goal is to move helpful and relevant information further up the funnel to ensure that your team is getting the most qualified franchise leads.

This blog was written by Curious Jane and previously published on the blog of the International Franchise Association.