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"Sir, would you like a franchise with that?"
"Sir, would you like a franchise with that?"
By Kylie Pekolj on March 23, 2011
McDonald’s, The Coffee Club, Hairhouse Warehouse, Jim’s Mowing, King of Knives... Their logos instantly pop up in your head as your read their names and for the non-mobile businesses above, you could probably direct me to the closest of their outlets to you with ease!
In fact, I know people who use McDonald’s locations when directing people how to get to other locations, “Take the next left after the McDonald’s that will be on the right and it’s only a couple of hundred meters up from there”. Now how about the local fish and chip shop? Don’t worry, I can’t remember the name of the closest one to me either and I recently heard they changed owners again. Perhaps I’ll start going to the other one across the street whilst the new owners figure out how to use the fryers properly – it’s always the same scenario when either of the two local fish and chip shops gets new management. I’ll switch back when the place across from them gets new owners too and are still figuring out how to fry a fish properly! Unlike the local fish and chip shop, if any of the local outlets for the first five businesses I mentioned above changed ownership, I wouldn’t even think about changing where I went to. Why? Franchising – aka consistency and a trusted name!
Consistency is the name of the game in franchising, it is after all replicating an existing business in other locations but for a trusted name. Like any business that is something that is earned. How do you earn a trusted name for your franchise you ask? Advertising! Whether your aim is to get more customers through your doors or more franchisees on board to help you expand your business, advertising is the answer! How else will they hear about how great your business is? Word of mouth, perhaps? Well that’s ok for getting more customers in the door as we all usually trust a friends or family member’s recommendation, but how are you meant to get them talking about your business in the first place? That’s right, advertising. And if your aim is to get more potential franchisees on board word of mouth isn’t exactly the most effective way to get to them. People talk about products and services but not so much what franchises they want to get into business with and what they think their friends should get in to as well. So how do you reach your potential franchisees? Advertising, of course!
To grow your business in any aspect, YOU MUST ADVERTISE IT!
Advertise how great your business is and what makes your business stand out from your competitors.
Advertise why your potential customers should come to your business.
Advertise your businesses growth and achievements.
“New location now open!”
“Come to our 5th Birthday Sale!”
“Voted the best of its kind in the area!”
Advertise your intent to grow,
“Now franchising!”
Get your name out there, be heard and ADVERTISE!
The businesses mentioned in the start of this article all started out as small businesses with one location/operator. Advertising got them their initial customers who then, through word of mouth, recommended the business to their friends and family which brought in even more customers, helping to build a trusted name in their locale. We’ll call this ‘customer advertising’. However, through the right kind of advertising, they were also able to attract people who were not only interested in their products and/or service offerings but in the actual business. This in turn generates an interest to get into business with them via franchising as well; thus, helping to expand the business, expand its exposure, reach even more customers and further develop that trusted name that everyone knows. People have a habit of trusting businesses with more than one location, “It must be good! I’ve seen this place in a few locations. They wouldn’t be, if they weren’t any good!” Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, but it does prove they’re good at advertising to create more business!
So we’ll take it you’ve got your ‘customer advertising’ down pat, the occasional letter box drop with a current special offer, regular listings in the local paper and maybe the occasional 30 second block on the local radio. Perhaps you sponsor a local school or sporting club? Fantastic – great start. Support your community and your community will support you by being your customers. So now that you’ve won them over, you’ve decided it’s time to attempt to win over another community in a different location. You’ve made the right steps to franchise your business, perhaps opened a second location ready for your first franchisee to step straight in to when you find the right one. Now what? You can’t be in two locations at the same time all the time. You need to find that right franchisee to take over the new location. Whether it’s your first, fifth or one hundredth franchisee you’re searching for ‘customer advertising’ isn’t going to bring you your next franchisee through the door wanting to order a franchise from your menu, so to speak! “Sir, instead of fries today, would you like a franchise with that?” No, what you need now is ‘franchisee advertising'!
“Excellent! Franchisee advertising – I’ll just tack on ‘Franchising Now!’ to all of my existing ads!” Stop right there! How about you try again? People looking to get into business via franchising aren’t exactly going to be looking in the same places that your customers are looking for any special deals you might have on that week.
First step, advertise where potential franchisees will be looking! There are many franchising expos you could attend, and there is a list of them you could attend in the back of this magazine, but they can be costly, especially for the small business, stall costs, travel, accommodation, spending time away from the business, it can really ad up! Luckily, just like when buying a car or looking for a new house to rent or buy, many people are turning to the computer rather than to the door to get in their cars and travel around in the hope they’ll find the right one that day, only when they find a potential contender online do they go out of their way to investigate it further.
You could put a “Franchising Now! Click here to contact us.” banner sprawled across the top of your businesses website, a good start but people generally don’t go franchise hunting on specific business websites to see if they are franchising or not. This however, is good to show to your customers that your business is successful and growing! Usually a potential franchisee has a business type in mind when they begin looking into getting into business via franchising, not so much a specific brand. Sometimes they haven’t even heard of you yet because you aren’t operating in their area. These people, like most doing their research on a potential franchise they might like to get into business with, will want to look at websites where they can punch in a few choice search words, click a few options and then browse through the list of franchisees that meet their search requirements. The same way we search for a car to buy, or a home to rent or buy.
There are a plethora of websites with listings of franchises that are looking for new franchisees just like there is a plethora of websites listing cars for sale or real estate websites with property on the market for lease or sale. So where do you start you ask? Listing your franchise on so many websites could potentially be even more costly than an expo! Start with what you know, you are reading this article like the rest of our readers, some are franchisors, some franchisees, some are thinking about franchising their business and most importantly, some are looking to become a franchisee. Your franchise might be the one they are looking for! So where are you? You know where our media kits are on our website. Additionally, the team at Franchise Central are celebrating 20 years of being leaders in the franchising industry and are currently offering some great website listing packages because of it – a fantastic way to get your franchise seen, talked about and potential franchisees coming through the door!