Creating a strong and effective franchise marketing plan can help franchisees and the entire organization flourish. However, creating this type of plan isn’t easy. Whether you’re in the process of creating a franchise marketing strategy or are concerned that your current plan has some significant issues, there are quite a few pitfalls that can come up during the planning and execution of marketing. Through our franchise marketing services, we’ve had direct experience seeing and helping to resolve many of these pitfalls. That’s why we want to share four red flags you’ll want to watch out for with your own franchise marketing efforts:

1. Inconsistency

One of the advantages franchises have is the ability to use their scale to continue growing their brand. However, many franchises miss out on making the most of this advantage. This is because they don’t create a consistent experience across their entire brand. A surprising finding of a franchisee survey was that 49% of franchisees “are not required to follow specific corporate recommendations on marketing strategy.” So even though it is helpful to get input from franchisees about what’s working best and which areas need improvement, your marketing plan should ensure consistency across all operators.

2. Scattered Campaigns

Both direct mail and email are channels that can work well for franchise marketing. While plenty of franchises are aware of these channels, they often make a significant mistake when trying to use them. That mistake is not managing these efforts through an integrated platform. Not having a centralized platform will increase marketing costs and decrease the efficiency of campaigns.

3. Lack of Budget

With marketing channels like social media, it’s possible to get more bang for your buck by creating campaigns and content that gain organic momentum. Although increasing marketing ROI is great, getting campaigns up and running still requires having a budget. So if a marketing plan doesn’t include getting at least some financial support from franchisees, chances are very good that it’s going to significantly hamper results.

4. Forgetting About Personalization

As a franchise, you probably want your presence to spread well beyond your home base. It’s normal to have aspirations to create an established presence on a national or even international scale. One important thing to keep in mind as your franchise is opened in more locations is marketing efforts should be personalized to the area. When franchisees don’t take regional or cultural differences into account, they miss out on a big opportunity to tailor their marketing efforts in a way that helps them to resonate even more (while still maintaining a consistent brand image).

If you want to avoid these mistakes and/or need help with your franchise marketing, be sure to take a look at how Web Strategy Plus can help.

Michelle Hummel is CEO of Web Strategy Plus a full-service digital marketing agency focused on Franchise Marketing. She was recently nominated for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year! She’s a passionate Social Media Trainer with 15+ years of successful online business development, sales, and marketing experience. She also holds a valuable Internet Marketing Degree however with the ever-changing world of web marketing she strives to learn something new every day. 

She travels Nationwide visiting her 22 Social Media Enthusiasts Chapters she developed Nationwide delivering in-depth social media training. She also provides Social Media Certifications through founding Web Media University. A current contributing editor to The Franchise Dictionary Magazine and she has written 3 books in her series called, “The Social Media Magnet: Everything You Need to Know to Attract Customers with Social Media”, where she shares her best-kept secrets to success. She also specializes in helping Franchisors and Franchisees develop an integrated web marketing program to drive leads. She’s available for interviews via email, telephone, Skype video, news segments on location and more. Just let her know how she can help!