5 (More) Genius Ways Franchises Can Attract Local Customers
5 (More) Franchise Marketing Tips to Get More Local Customers
Last month, we shared with you 5 Genius Ways Franchises Can Attract Local Customers. To keep your momentum rolling, here are some more tips for you (the sequel!):
1. Develop a Partnership/Cross-Sell Opportunity
Looking for a way to tap into a new set of prospects in your community? Teaming up with another local business can be an easy way to get access to a new set of connections. Find another company in the area with products or services that complement your offerings (without cannibalizing your profits) and set up a cross-selling partnership.
Does your franchise offer home cleaning services? Make friends with a local realtor and offer to refer her listing services to your customers in exchange for mentioning your company when her sellers are looking to spruce up their home for the market, or her buyers are looking for a pre-move-in clean. Be the peanut butter to her jelly.
2. Participate in a Community Event
Last month, we talked about how being a sponsor for youth teams, schools, and clubs can help broadcast your name. Don’t stop there. Consider what other events you can participate in around your town. Can you set up a booth at the local farmer’s market and do product demonstrations?
Even better, find out how you can sponsor or host an event that will get people through the door of your business. Act as a stop on a charity bike race or scavenger hunt. Host a class on lawn mower maintenance if you’re a landscaping company, or how to choose a mortgage if you’re a financial planning company.
3. Business Card Drawings
This one’s an oldie but a goody. Set up (empty) fishbowls at local restaurants and ask people to drop their business card in for a drawing. Once a month, collect the cards and draw a winner for a prize for one of your franchise’s products or services, such as a discount carpet cleaning or a free HVAC inspection. It’s a win-win situation. You get to demonstrate your high-quality service to the lucky winners and keep the information of everyone who dropped a business card into your fishbowl.
4. Join a Professional Organization
So, how are you going to meet these realtors, farmer’s market directors, bike race managers, and restaurant owners who will let you put your fishbowl on their counter? At your local professional organizations. The movers and shakers in your community will most likely be a part of the local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary chapter, or Save the Bees club. Get involved, network, and make connections that will put you on track to become a mover and shaker as well.
5. Guerilla Marketing
So, you’ve checked most of the traditional marketing strategies off your list. Now, are you willing to get a little bit…out there? It’s a jungle out there. Let your creativity go wild with guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing includes any way to broadcast your message in a unique, surprising, and inexpensive way. Hide your business card around town in unusual places. Hire an artistic friend to draw a chalk mural on the sidewalk that includes your company logo. Hang up creative flyers on telephone poles. Don’t be afraid to think out of the box and remember to use humor!
Final Thoughts
For these local marketing strategies to have the greatest impact, your brand identity should be clear. Any business card, flyer, or marketing material you give out around town should stay true to your parent company’s guidelines, but also appeal to your area. Find out how Xpressdocs helps franchise companies achieve this balance with our brand management solutions.