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While some franchisors seem to be continuing their
winter hibernation, smart companies know that this is the time for bold,
positive action. Disillusionment with the stock market, with the
improprieties of America’s upper management and a national air of
uncertainty has created legions of corporate executives and others who yearn
for more: More freedom. More family time. More control over their
destinies. And more fulfillment than they can ever achieve working for
someone else.
It Starts with the
Story
So how do you
go about creating the marketing pieces that will jumpstart your franchise
sales efforts? It starts with the story. You need to create a powerful
brand story that is compelling on both an emotional and logical level. It
must both inspire and motivate the prospect to action, as well as answer
questions such as ‘What do I get for my money?’ and ‘Why do I need you?’
Once the
story is crafted, it should be communicated consistently through a number of
essential methods, including:
The
franchise brochure –
Despite living
in the digital age, the franchise brochure still remains the undisputed king
of franchise marketing materials and the one absolute essential. Not only
does the franchise prospect pour over every inch of it, this brochure will
be scrutinized by their spouses, lawyers, accountants, landlords, investors
and their know-it-all brother-in-law Jerry. And forget the cheapo folder
with the chopped-up inserts. Go four-color with quality copy and design by a
company that knows franchising, use excellent photography and printing
stock. Good brochures can cost $4 - $5 per piece in quantity, but are well
worth the price. Consider a printshop with digital printing capabilities,
if you prefer a shorter print run (under 1000).
The
mini-brochure –
The “mini-me”
of franchise marketing, print a tri-fold rack brochure for use as trade show
handout, direct mailer, or in-store promotion. Printed in quantity, a
four-color mini brochure can be produced for as little as 30 cents per
piece, making it much more economical than its big brother.
The
web site –
The obvious
digital essential, the franchise web site is part franchise advertisement
and part promotional material. Its purpose is both to generate franchise
leads and to promote the franchise to people who already know of the
opportunity. A good web site is the cost of entry these days – franchisors
without a professional looking web site will lack credibility. A tip: do
not provide too much detailed information on your web site unless you
require the prospect to provide contact information to view it. Your goal
is to prompt contact and harvest leads, not answer every question.
The
franchise e-brochure –
Often designed
in a Flash format, e-brochures are about the same size and dimensions as a
standard business card and are designed to run in the CD-ROM or DVD drive of
most computers. The message can be compelling and can even include video
clips and voice-over narration. Production costs of under a dollar per
piece make them an economical way to deliver a tremendous amount of
information in a small package, but they have the disadvantage of requiring
a computer in order to deliver that message. E-brochures can double as a
franchisor’s web site, and can even require some data capture in order to
access them. Some franchisors will even use these e-brochures as e-mail
attachments for more immediacy. Not an essential, but a strong piece that
demonstrates that you are state-of-the-art.
E-mail
response messages
– The Internet can create a massive amount of unqualified leads to sift
through. To solve this problem, we recommend a system of customized
auto-responding follow-up e-mail messages that encourage interested
prospects and filter out unqualified inquiries without wasting valuable
staff time. The appropriateness of this strategy varies from franchisor to
franchisor.
The
franchise sales videotape –
An 8–10
minute, professionally produced franchise sales videotape is hard to beat
for effectiveness. With sound, music, narration and vivid videography, a
quality video draws the prospect into the franchise experience like no other
medium. It is also great for Discovery Day and group presentations, for
sending to distant prospects and enables you to deploy the most powerful
secret weapon of franchise sales: enthusiastic testimonials from happy,
successful franchisees. And from a production standpoint, the development of
this video allows an easy transition to the e-brochure, which is less
expensive than the $3 per piece cost, per tape.
The difference between franchise and
consumer marketing
The
other day, I saw a beautiful brochure from a hair salon franchise – glossy
finish, heavy stock, full bleed four-color photos. And on the cover, there
was a photo of a pristine salon in operation: three barbers standing
shoulder-to-shoulder, just waiting for me to get my hair cut. As a
consumer, I was thrilled. I could simply walk right up in this immaculate
operation and in minutes have one of these three barbers cutting my hair –
no waiting!
But this
brochure illustrated the franchisee’s worst nightmare!
What if I open
this business and nobody comes?
The prospect,
at least subliminally, is thinking, I am paying those three barbers. And
there is no one in those chairs. When creating marketing materials,
franchisees want to see the fur flying. Consumers in the chairs. Cash
changing hands. Marketing to prospective franchisees is very different than
consumer marketing.
Also unlike
most consumer marketing, franchise marketing is sometimes subject to legal
constraints as well. Nine states (CA, IL, MD, MN, NY, ND, RI, SD, WA)
require ad copy be approved by state agencies, and they may not let a
franchisor get away with language that most consumer marketers would use
without hesitation. Basic terms like “success” and “profit” may not pass
muster with state regulators and will probably raise an eyebrow or two from
the attorneys – so franchise marketing materials must always be designed
with the lawyers in mind. In be reviewed by your lawyers prior to their
printing or use.
On a related
subject, since your marketing materials must be consistent with the
information contained in the UFOC, changes in the franchise offering will
dictate changes in your marketing materials. Given the expense of printing
brochures or producing videotapes, it is imperative that these materials are
developed to be timeless. Brochures
should avoid discussion of material contract terms or costs that may be
subject to change. Instead, this information should be contained in
separate inserts that are often contained in a dye-cut pocket. And in all
your materials, avoid references to dates, numbers of units, or events with
a specific reference in time.
In
short, savvy franchisors recognize that it’s boom time for franchising.
They are putting a fresh coat of paint on their concepts, rallying their
troops, and boldly communicating their optimism and excitement. They're
producing fresh corporate marketing materials, and getting them into the
right people’s hands.
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