Local marketing is a form of marketing that targets a specific and local audience. For franchise businesses, it helps increase brand awareness, online reputation, and strengthens brand image. Franchise owners face challenges such as maintaining consistency in branding, managing the relationship with franchisors, and navigating the local market and competition. Learn why local marketing matters for franchise busses and how to easily take control of your local marketing efforts.
As a franchise business, it can be challenging to effectively market to local customers. However, by centralising your efforts, you can make sure your message is consistent and reaches the right audience.
Well, based on the headline here, what do you think local marketing is? If you answered “marketing that is local” you are 100% correct: the principles of regular marketing hold true in local markets just as they would in bigger markets. The only big difference is that you can really tailor your message to the audience, as the audience itself is inherently much smaller than large-scale marketing efforts.
You could have the best store or restaurant or auto dealership in the world... but it won’t mean a thing if nobody knows about it.
If you just so happen to be a person who owns several franchises, or a franchisee, you may find that one of your locations is a money pit because the local marketing efforts are either non-existent or not effective.
Local marketing really helps build a strong brand overall, too, as you can leverage the power of several locations in your messaging. Increasing brand awareness is the name of the game when it comes to local marketing, and multiple locations - bluntly - means more doors for more customers to walk through. Which means more money for you.
Not only does local marketing strengthen your brand image, it can also strengthen your online reputation. By encouraging your customers to leave good reviews and by responding to both positive and negative reviews, you’re claiming more online real-estate for your brand. Get those mentions, and get them up high!
Franchise owners face several unique problems when it comes to marketing their business. One of the main challenges is maintaining consistency in branding and messaging across all franchise locations. This can be difficult to achieve as each franchise owner may have their own ideas about how to market their specific location, leading to conflicting messages and a lack of cohesiveness.
Another challenge is managing the relationship between the franchise owner and the franchisor. Franchise owners may feel constrained by the marketing rules set by the franchisor, which can limit their ability to implement their own marketing strategies.
Additionally, the franchisor's marketing efforts may not always align with the goals and priorities of individual franchise owners. What might be relevant to one location might not be relevant to another, as each location serves a separate (mini) market.
Franchise owners also need to navigate the local market and competition. They may face competition from other franchise locations or independent businesses in the same area, which can make it difficult to stand out and attract customers.
Setting up a Google Business profile is a must for any business looking to reach local customers. Not only does it allow customers to find you more easily, but it also gives you the opportunity to showcase your products and services. According to Google, businesses with a completed profile are twice as likely to be considered reputable by customers.
Apple Place cards are similar to Google Business profiles, but they are specifically designed for Apple devices. By creating an Apple Place card, you can reach customers who prefer to use Apple products. This can be especially beneficial if your business is located in an area with a high concentration of Apple users.
Facebook Local pages are a great way to connect with customers in your area. You can use this platform to showcase your products and services, post updates about your business, and even offer special deals and promotions. According to Facebook, businesses with a Local page receive 9x more engagement than those without.
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If you don’t manage your franchise’s online directories, you’re risking someone else claiming them - perhaps your competitors - and doing it for you.
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Simply optimising your website for local SEO can help you reach customers in your area. By including keywords related to your location, you can increase your visibility on search engines. This can be especially beneficial for businesses with multiple locations, as it allows customers to find the nearest location more easily.
Email marketing is a great way to reach customers in your area. By creating targeted campaigns, you can reach customers who have shown an interest in your products or services. According to Constant Contact, for ever £1 spent on email marketing, you can expect to an ROI (return on investment) of £36.
Partnering with other local businesses can help you reach new customers. By partnering with complementary businesses, you can offer joint promotions and discounts to customers. This can also help you build relationships with other business owners in your area.
Participating in community events can help you connect with local customers. By hosting or sponsoring events in your area, you can showcase your products and services, build relationships with customers, and increase your visibility in the community.
Encouraging customers to leave reviews can help you reach new customers. Positive reviews can help you build trust with potential customers, and they can also help you improve your search engine rankings. According to a 2022 survey by BrightLocal, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Social media can be a great way to reach local customers. By creating targeted campaigns, you can reach customers in your area. Both Facebook and Google make it super easy to target your audience even at the most granular level: if you’re looking at reaching (for example) every university-educated woman in their 30s with children, you can do exactly that; ultimately, you can create messaging and promotions around your audience. For franchise businesses this is a very powerful tool, as you can create campaigns around individual locations.
By simply centralising your local marketing efforts, you can reach customers in your area through minimal legwork. By creating a consistent message and reaching out to customers through various platforms, you can ensure that your business is reaching the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
Manage all your big listings at once, making sure that your business listings on Google, Facebook, and Apple are all up to date with relevant information such as address and phone number.
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