Marketing is most effective when you create a strategy that incorporates all of your marketing activities – both traditional and online.
When it comes to traditional and online marketing strategies there are so many options and opinions about where you should be investing your money and there is always the risk of spreading yourself too thin.
But when you have so many marketing activities going on at once, how do you keep organised? And what exactly should you be doing to achieve great marketing results? Here are a couple of helpful tips and suggestions to help you get the most out of your marketing strategy.
1. Assess your marketing strategy regularly
Regularly analyse which types of marketing are generating quantity and quality sales leads. Make sure to take into account the amount of money you are spending on each type comparative to the results.
It’s also vital to go deeper and understand how your different marketing strategies complement each other. Traditional media may be great for brand awareness and online may produce sales leads – this doesn’t necessarily mean one would work without the other.
2. Be organised! Manage your marketing
In marketing it pays to be organised. Focus on an end goal – usually, this is to drive people to your website. Many online activities are interconnected and when you know how to integrate them, you will save time and see results.
A marketing strategy should have several channels through which you are engaging with your audience – blink and you will lose track of where you are. The best way to keep up with your marketing strategy is to assign a date or regular day of the week for each task, and make someone responsible to ensure the activity is carried out.
3. Target your audience with the right messages
Write your marketing content with honesty and give prospective franchisees or customers a realistic insight into how your business operates and choose media that is most relevant to them.
If you tell your audience who you are and what makes your business unique right from the start, you will attract people with a genuine interest in your business.
Radio, print and even television are great traditional mediums you can use to engage with your target audience especially if your franchise business will appeal to a mass audience, like a hair salon or cafe. Remember that each medium requires targeted and specific copy. For example radio will require short, succinct dialogue with a good message that is on target with your key messages.
Alternatively if your franchise is more niche or require a certain skill-set or personality, like in-home care for the elderly or disabled, targeting these prospective franchisees may require a more targeted campaign plan targeting different channels, particularly online.
4. Online marketing with industry directories
Online directories that focus on the franchising sector can provide you with more visibility online in Google search results. By choosing to advertise with an online directory, your advertising can be much more targeted and give you a wider reach into a relevant audience.
The reason is the directory selects keywords that are commonly searched for by people in the same field as your business, giving you more chance of being found.
Online directories, like FranchiseBusiness.com.au, also offer additional benefits like a Question & Answer feature where prospective franchisees can ask a question. These discussions are then published online so others can benefit from the information shared. This kind of discussion can significantly aid in online visibility in search, both on the website and in search engines like Google.
Expanding on this, you want your chosen media partner to actively use Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies of which social media integration is vital. Engaging with an online directory can compliment your own website and ensure your business profile has the best chance possible of being seen at the top of Google and other search engines.
Although it could be argued that online is the most effective form of marketing in generating both a high quantity and quality of sales leads for prospective franchisees, don’t put all your eggs in one basket – traditional marketing still has its place and shouldn’t be overlooked. Combine the two for maximum sales leads in your franchise marketing strategy.
