The following excerpt is from Rick Grossmann’s bookFranchise Bible. Buy it now fromAmazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
If you think of marketing as a building, the pillars that give marketing structure are advertising, direct mail, sales, promotions, public relations and online marketing. The most successful franchisors have been able to break down the six pillars of marketing, assign the appropriate resources, track their return on investment and continue to fine-tune and adapt as the results vary. Following are the most important aspects of these pillars.
1. Advertising
You may think of advertising as print media only. The truth is, advertising encompasses any media that allows you to purchase space to promote your marketing message. This includes print advertising such as magazines, newspapers and other printed formats, TV advertisements, radio advertisements, billboards, and now, with the onset of technology, internet advertisements, websites and more.
Although franchise advertising has been around for decades, today’s advertisements tend to have a much different call to action that those of the past. Instead of the standard “Call Now,” ads direct viewers to a franchisor’s website where they can learn more and engage via email with the franchisor’s development department.
Franchisors who create innovative advertising campaigns across all platforms realize the best return on investment (ROI).
2. Direct mail
Most of us think of direct mail as postcards that we receive in our mailbox. This is still an effective option depending on the strength of the message and the offer. With the onset of technology, other direct mail options are e-newsletters, drip email campaigns (a series of email messages sent to a prospect over a short period of time) and other opt-in alternatives that send information via the internet.
3. Sales
An effective sales process is a must for every franchise system. It’s imperative for every franchisor to have a systematic, step-by-step discovery process for their prospective franchise buyers to follow. This process should be simple to understand, since the prospective franchisee needs to have the information presented to them in such a way that they can absorb it, weigh the pros and cons and eventually make an educated decision. Methods of sales in the franchise world break down into the following sub-categories:
- Person-to-person sales that you might experience at a tradeshow, discovery day or other discovery experience that the franchisor participates in.
- Phone sales that take place on either an outgoing or incoming basis. It’s important as a franchisor to have a designated in-house franchise sales expert who is trained in the entire franchise process so this person can present the opportunity to the prospective franchisee effectively, answer questions and handle objections.
- Outgoing phone sales, sometimes called telemarketing, can also be effective. It is far more challenging today to launch an effective telemarketing campaign due to caller ID, do-not-call lists and voicemail. The important element of outgoing phone sales is to ensure that…