Ecommerce marketing works for a wide range of product niches and business models. For franchises, it can be a valuable way to build a brand within a brand. Unlike independently-owned stores, franchises form part of a larger chain. In some cases, all marketing is done across the entire franchise platform. In other cases, individual franchises have control over how they market their branches. In this article, we will be talking about the latter. Keep reading to get our tips on how to use ecommerce marketing for your franchise.
Ecommerce Marketing for Francises
Wondering how you can grow your franchise with ecommerce marketing? Here are some tips to keep in mind.
1. Always stay on brand
A major focus for franchises is staying within the broader retailer’s brand guidelines. When you purchase a franchise store, you are essentially becoming a branch of a larger chain. This means that you will need to follow very specific brand guidelines across all areas of marketing, from logos and branding to social media, emails, and every other communication. You can develop your own tone, but only if it is still in line with the chain’s brand. For example, if you have a supermarket franchise, you can target your tone to your key audience. You cannot try and create an entirely new approach, however.
2. Know your audience
That brings us to our next point. Every franchise has its own audience. This will depend on numerous factors, including location (more on that later). You will need to have clear insight into the overall chain’s audience as well as the audience that your franchise will be targeting. Using our supermarket example, your franchise may be a small store that typically serves young families, due to its proximity to schools. Your franchise may be larger, catering to a more commercial audience, due to its location in a CBD. Getting insight into your target audience allows you to create unique buyer personas. These will make it easier to plan targeted campaigns that attract your ideal shopper.
3. Produce quality content
Content is crucial to every type of online store. For franchises, you have the benefit of national (or even global) recognition. This is a good thing, as it means that people are already more likely to read your content. They trust the name of the retail chain and they associate it with quality. The downside to this is that many franchises end up using duplicate content pulled from the main retailer website and blog. When you have your own website, this can lead to poor rankings. Rather than recycling the same content used by multiple franchises, aim to produce unique content that is relevant to your audience. For your store that is in a school area, you could look at content aimed at parents. For a store in a CBD area, favoured by executives and other people shopping during lunchbreaks or after work, you could look at content designed for busy people. Getting creative and finding more generalised ideas is also good. You could do recipes, with links to products sold at your franchise. You could look at event-focused content for Christmas, New Year, birthdays, kids’ parties, or other special events. You could do guides on how to host dinner parties or braais.
4. Use local search marketing
Finally, let’s talk about local search marketing. Google My Business is a fantastic tool for franchises. This type of retailer is all about location. You want your branch to be found when people search for phrases like ‘supermarkets near me’ or even ‘x chain near me’. This helps you leverage searches. It also helps you establish yourself as the resident supermarket, using our example. Make sure that your Google My Business listing is fully updated and encourage reviews to encourage user-generated content. You can also optimise your site with local SEO strategies.
Franchise Ecommerce Marketing
With the right strategies, you don’t have to piggyback off the main retail chain forever. You can create your own unique business that comes with a reputation, while still giving you flexibility on how you market your business. Try these free ecommerce marketing tips to see how you can grow your franchise more effectively.
