(FS10) If Your Franchise Doesn’t Have National Advertising

There are many reasons why a franchise might not have any large scale advertising campaign or fund setup for it. The most common reason is a lack of national stores. That doesn’t mean you can’t work with your franchisor or spearhead your own local advertising campaign. If your franchisor is getting ready to expand, keep that in mind as well. You’ll want to stay turned as the bigger your franchisor gets, the more likely they are to start applying advertising fees. Especially as they open more stores in a certain region. Their campaign could go from non-existent to regional with just a few locations and then nationally from there.

Local Advertising Options for Your Franchise

Local advertisement in your franchise is very important for the franchisee for a number of reasons. While your franchisor can help your entire brand out on a national level (assuming it’s big enough), that won’t necessarily help you out locally if no one knows you’re there. There are many ways to advertise that you’re part of the local community and we’ll go through that in a second here. If you’re one of a handful of stores locally or regionally, you should consider pooling together to pay for advertising to not only bring all of you more attention, but to cheapen the cost of advertising. By pooling, you also strengthen the message of the brand by keeping it consistent among local franchises.

However before you do anything on your own, you must put yourself in an objective train of thought. The way you’re advertising yourself will also contribute to the way your consumers see your franchise. You’ll want to keep that in mind as you decide what vehicle to use to deliver your message. Here are some other questions you’ll want to ask yourself about your advertising campaign before you pay for anything and especially before you publish it in any way:

• Can you afford your own advertising?
• Do you have your franchisor’s approval for the ad?
• Does doing a local ad make sense to your product or service?
• Does your campaign sell your product or service?
• Is your advertisement consistent with the message of your franchisor or brand?

Franchisor Involvement May Vary

Most franchisors will require some level of involvement in the creation or planning of your ad just to make sure that it follows the company standard or that the message matches up with what the brand says about themselves. You will need to run whatever you’re doing by your franchisor before you send anything out. Also check your franchise agreement and system policies for any rules regarding advertising that you might not be aware of.

Some suggestions for local advertising are:

• Do cross-promotion
• Go old school and use telemarketing
• Participate in charity promotions
• Reward students with discounts, free products or certificates to your store
• Send out newsletters or press releases
• Sponsor a local little league team

Continue Reading More From the Franchise Series 10:

• Creating an Effective Marketing Plan for Your Franchises
• Methods to Keep Your Franchises in Front of Your Audience
• Evaluating National and Local Franchise Advertising Strategies
• Franchise Advertisements Will Effect Your Public Relations
• Respecting the Customer Base of Your Franchise Company
• Maintaining Good Relationships as a Part of Franchise Business
• Franchise Impressions Set By Non-Products In Your Business