Opening A New Franchise Branch: Advertising Tips And Tricks
Franchises are a unique breed of business, focused on consistent service and a unified image across multiple locations. This can be creatively limiting at times, but when you’re first opening a new franchise branch, it also has distinct benefits. That standardized practice can help you manage your first advertising campaigns with ease, using the tools already at your fingertips.
As you start your new franchise, study up on the local rules and regulations as well as those pertaining to your particular franchise. These will work to guide you as you open your doors and announce your presence to the community.
Don’t Get Ahead Of Yourself
Before beginning any advertising campaign for your franchise, you’ll need to make sure you know all of the local advertising rules. These rules vary by state, so there may be cases in which existing franchise advertising plans are not in compliance with regulations in a new state. Learn all of the rules regarding advertising accuracy, comparisons with competitors, and use of testimonials before sending anything to press.
Even though you own only a particular branch of the franchise and not the whole franchise, you need to be an expert on local rules. While franchisees often have limited flexibility around ad campaigns, it’s safer to bring legal issues to light than to send a non-compliant advertisement to press.
You also need to know the rules for your particular franchise and what limitations they place on advertising. Are you allowed to place ads that don’t follow their predetermined format? What messaging is your ad meant to align with? Since franchises emphasize “following the system,” you’ll want to make sure you know that system inside and out, or you could lose your franchising rights before you even get started.
Ask For Help
One of the primary benefits of opening a business through a franchise is that the initial overhead costs are a lot lower than for those opening an independent company. Not only is there already an established, successful business plan, but your parent company will often help supply your branch with necessary equipment and assist with renovations.
You will need to have a fair amount of capital available to open a franchise branch, but don’t be afraid to ask for help with your early advertising campaigns. Not sure you have the funds to run the color ads provided by the parent company? Check with them to see if they’ll front the money for this project. You can frame the request as a way to turn a profit from the day you open your doors.
If you feel uncertain about directly asking for money, you can also take a page from the affiliate marketing book. In affiliate marketing, the benefiting business doesn’t pay for their advertisements until it successfully results in sales. You can pitch your request for help in this way, offering to pay back your parent company once you’ve begun to profit from the ads. It’s a way of meeting in the middle, covering costs until the campaign has proven successful.
Starting a franchise is an exciting process and can be very profitable, but you have to color within the lines. Franchises perform better than the average system, but they don’t offer the same level of independence and creativity. Instead, you need to learn the system, lean on your parent company, and set your eyes on success.