Franchise Advertising Tips

Maximize Your Website

If you don't already have a website, now is the time to create one. Even if it's only a couple pages you should still have an Internet presence. Most prospective franchisees are doing their research online, and you can bet your competitor's sales information will be there!

Make a page dedicated to franchise information. Make it friendly, professional and informative. Don't give away confidential information and don't slam the competition, but do sell your business.

You should at least include the process for acquiring a franchise, a description of support you will provide, what makes you unique, legal disclaimers and a live contact sheet or application. Make it easy for your leads to find you and submit their information!

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Google & AdWords

Google and Overture both offer Internet pay-per-click advertising programs. Google is the more well known provider. If you decide to advertise your franchise opportunity with Google's program AdWords (or any other pay-per-click program), be sure to carefully research it. It is easy to get started, and there is high visibility, but costs can get out of hand if you're targeting too broadly or not actively monitoring the program. There are also several online businesses that specialize in helping you create and manage AdWords campaigns.

The Google site gives an overview of AdWords:

• You create ads and choose keywords, which are words or phrases related to your business.
• When people search on Google using one of your keywords, your ad may appear next to the search results. The benefit is that you're advertising to an audience that's already interested in you.
• People can click on your ad to learn more about you.

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Use The Internet

Internet marketing is a booming business. It is no longer just – or even mainly – for established brands. It is an excellent tool for new franchisors and there are many options to be considered. One is large franchise advertising portals. These sites advertise franchises that are for sale. For a fee they will list your franchise and include a contact form for the prospective lead to complete. The form will be sent to you electronically and you are then responsible for evaluating the lead. You can target geographically and filter leads for available capital and/or planned start date. The more filters you use, the more expensive the lead.

Many of the sites charge on a per-lead basis. This fee can range from $17 to $50 per lead, depending on the filters and volume you specify. Most sites require at least a 6-month contract and you may specify the maximum number of leads you want to pay for per month.

There are several companies that analyze the effectiveness and value of Franchise Portals. eMaximation rates the top 20 franchise portals providing domestic U.S. leads. The top 5 portals are: Franchise Direct, Franchise For Sale, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities and Franchise Solutions Network.

If you're going to use a franchise portal, request and compare quotes and terms from several providers. Don't limit yourself to the top 5. Negotiate until you get the package you want.

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Be Careful With National Advertising

It's very tempting to put your franchise advertisement in a national publication. After all, you don't know exactly where your franchisee is located. A national publication reaches everyone.

And that's the problem. Advertising nationally means you're going to get leads in markets you're not interested in entering. It also means you will get leads in states where your franchise is not registered. Your attorney can teach you how to deal with those prospects and give you estimates of the time and fees required to register, but you're still spending your limited time chasing leads that may not be feasible instead of focusing on viable candidates

Another downside to national advertising is the number of companies who use national ads as leads for their own sales program, their advertising media, their personal agenda. It's frequently a scam, and again, it takes a lot of your limited time answering calls that aren't leads.

If you do decide that national advertising is for you, be prepared to spend a lot of money. It's not unreasonable to spend $2,000 for a 2” x 2” black and white text ad.

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Recruit Franchisees

To attract excellent prospects and recruit them you must determine your business' unique features and benefits and then express them through cleverly worded ads, appropriate sales brochures and effective phone and mail follow-up programs. All this effort is intended to obtain an interview with a qualified prospective franchisee.

Before you begin your advertising campaign, establish a budget and goals. There are many methods for recruiting franchisees and it's very easy to get spread too thin and lose sight of your goal. Some media to consider are: business or trade magazines, newspapers, direct mail, trade shows, seminars, online brokers and broadcast media.

Don't forget to create a system for monitoring the effectiveness of your franchisee recruitment process. You'll need data to be able to refine your campaign. You should analyze the media used to determine which proves the most qualified leads, and should evaluate leads to determine which leads produce the most interviews and sales.

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