Every franchisor’s had to deal with that franchisee...the one that won’t get on board the marketing train.
And it’s a problem.
When that owner fails to invest in marketing like they should, they’re preventing your brand from getting the visibility it deserves—which means sales aren’t as high as they should be and your bottom line suffers.
So, how do you get a resistant franchise owner to come around to your way of thinking?
Here are four helpful tips for How to Deal With ‘That’ Franchisee:
1. Educate before you ask
Franchisees aren’t going to invest in something they don’t understand—before asking them to contribute their time and money to your plan, offer a little Marketing 101.
Teach them about the franchise marketing tools and strategies available to them (websites, search engine optimization, paid search ads, social media ads, video ads, etc.), and how each one can create exposure and new customers for their business.
Here are a few different ways you can create a classroom-like environment for your franchisees:
Seminars at your franchise brand’s corporate meeting
Live webinars
Online videos
Print and digital booklets, newsletters, brochures, etc.
Emails featuring blog posts, articles, and other educational assets.
Don’t ever assume your franchisees know what you do—start from square one, explain the basics, then start building their knowledge base.
2. Show the Benefits
Show your franchisees the value of marketing, so they perceive it as an “investment” instead of an “expense”.
Help the understand marketing as a boon for their business instead of a bane—something that will:
Connect them with more customers
Bring more leads to their salespeople and storefronts
Lead to a dramatic increase in sales, revenue, and profit
Give their businesses increased financial stability year-round
Your franchisees aren’t holding out on marketing because they want to be stubborn or difficult—they’re doing it because they don’t really understand how it will help them.
By being clear about the benefits, you could potentially shift their mindsets.
3. Share the story of a “champion” franchisee
Nothing is more convincing than a real-life story with real-life results, so show skeptical franchisees how their peers are winning thanks to an investment in marketing.
Choose at least one “champion” franchisee who succeeded with effective marketing and tell their story—whether that’s through a written case study, a video, or speaking roles at your franchise events. You can even have them speak directly to franchise owners who are still on the fence.
When you share your “champion’s” story, be sure to clearly outline the marketing strategies they used and the new calls, customers, and revenue they captured as a result (in comparison to the business they were generating before).
Highlight information like:
How much money was invested
How long the campaign lasted
How many new leads and customers were acquired
How much revenue was generated
The return on investment (ROI)
Sometimes all it takes is a powerful story to change a franchise owner’s mind.
4. Be intentional about bringing franchisees on board
If you want to get all your franchisees properly marketing their businesses, you need to be proactive.
Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out on their own—take the time to educate them, talk to them about what kind of marketing you want them to do, connect them with helpful resources, and provide proof about how this has worked in the past. And be available to answer any questions they may have.
Don’t be forceful, but be clear about what you’d like them to do in terms of marketing and why.
If you’re not proactive, you can’t expect the same from your franchisees.
Scorpion has become a trusted resource for franchisors that want to generate more business and grow their brands.
If you want to improve your franchise marketing and get better results, don't hesitate to speak with someone from our team. We’d love to hear from you!
