MARKETINGADVICE
accurate profile of your perfect franchisee that predicts their behaviour during their purchase journey.
When allocating your budget to these different channels it is important to consider the seasonal variations specific to your company and the seasonal cycle of the franchise industry, such as when the major exhibitions are, and therefore where you are likely to experience peaks and troughs in enquiry levels and spend. This will inform the allocation of your budget over these months and is a further tool with which to establish a budgeted 12-month marketing plan.
Integrating the decision-making process into your marketing plan
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Courting the right prospects, the right way, with consistent messages that reflect your brand, is at the heart of a solid marketing strategy
that reflect your brand, is most definitely at the heart of a solid marketing strategy. In order to identify what communication channels are most appropriate, carry out research into your top performing franchisees and how they found you. Based on this you can create two or three perfect franchisee profiles that allow you to map out the kind of individuals you are looking for. This data provides you with an understanding of which media channels your target audience prefers to receive information through and what aspects of your franchise opportunity most appealed to them; it will ultimately ensure that you allocate your resources most effectively. If you don’t have any franchisees yet don’t worry, you can still compile an
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Now that you have successfully identified your target audience, media channels and seasonal requirements, you can start to optimise the first draft of your franchise recruitment marketing plan by integrating the decision-making process of your prospective franchisees. We found that the campaigns that have generated the best results for franchisors are those that integrate this process into their franchise recruitment marketing plans. The consumer decision-making process can be defined, according to the Business Dictionary, as the process by which consumers:
1. Identify their needs 2. Collect information 3. Evaluate alternatives 4. Make the purchase decision.
These actions are determined by psychological and economic factors; consumers are influenced by environmental factors such as cultural, group and social values and how they feel at the time. The consumer decision-making processes can be rated on a low-to-high scale, which usually depends on the amount of time and money that the decision requires, along with whether it is a decision that involves only them or input from other people. In the case of buying a franchise, the individual generally commits to a minimum five-year relationship with the franchisor, invests a significant amount of hard-earned cash and will be adapting their lifestyle and family set-up in order to ‘make a go of it’. Even though they might believe they have the confidence and the skills to make a business succeed, they still have to take
something of a leap of faith that what they have seen and what they have been told by the franchisor will actually work for them. Making this choice is probably one of the highest-level decision-making processes that exist.
So when considering how individuals reach a decision to buy a particular franchise, the process becomes quite complex. We have found that it generally takes between three and six months for an individual to make a decision about buying a franchise. So this is an important factor that you need to bear in mind when setting your recruitment targets. To start with, the individual may look noncommittally at business opportunities online and not specifically at franchising. Then they may start to become aware of franchising and add that into their mix of options to consider. Once they have definitely ruled out starting their own business and are set on the franchise route, they start to look at different types of franchises, levels of investment, locations, styles of franchise, size of franchises, earning potential, return on investment, and so on. Then they discuss all of this with their family, who also have an opinion that refines their thinking… and the process continues. In every case, franchisors will have differing data on their prospects’ decision- making journeys, which may be a result of how you currently market to your prospects, how you segment your target groups and what data you collect, as well as your franchise opportunity and whether it is attractive to a wide range of people or a specific group.
It is also important to consider your prospects’ follow-up strategy within your marketing plan as successful lead management will result in higher lead conversion and determine the success or failure of your recruitment strategy. Consider what information you will provide at which stage of the follow-up process and what you could develop, in terms of new collateral and media, that will help build trust between you and your prospects. n
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you would like to find out more about how you can set a marketing strategy for your franchise recruitment, contact Coconut Media on 01725 511 673.
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