3 Ways Content Marketing Can Close Franchise Deals

Faster

Webinar

Consideration

& Due

Diligence

Discovery

Decision

Take Aways

THEOVERVIEW

IntroductionQuestions

001

INTRODUCTION

Prospects, not the franchise brands, control the franchise sales process.

Thanks to technology, prospective

franchisees have greater access to

information and are self-directed in

their research of franchise

opportunities.

In today’s presentation, we will explain

how to use content marketing to

influence and speed up the franchise

sales cycle from discovery to decision.

DISCOVERY

Old School vs New School

Both Carl’s Jr. and Sears want to sell franchises.

Carl’s Jr. is using a

banner ad, an

example of the old

way of generating

leads.

The ad is all about the

brand and what it

wants to sell but does

nothing to engage and

educate prospects.

Sears also wants to

generate leads but they use

a value-added content

marketing approach.

Sears is providing

information that validates

their opportunity and speaks

to the specific needs and

desires of the targeted

audience.

Inbound marketing practices produce 54% more leads than traditional

outbound practices.

DiscoveryTo generate new franchise

leads, the first step is to

make prospects aware of

the opportunity.

This is harder than you may think!

Because, in a world of message

overload, how do you break through

and connect with qualified

prospects?

The best way to get attention for your

franchise opportunity is through content

that speaks directly to prospects.

The process of developing powerful content that speaks to the specific needs of

franchise prospects begins with audience segmentation.

Next, profiles of the target audience are developed to provide insights into their particular

goals, interests, motivations and pain points regarding the franchise opportunity.

These insights are used to develop messaging that speaks specifically to them.

Buyer PersonasDevelop buyer or prospect personas to

figure out the specific needs, desires and

pain points faced by your target audience

as it relates to investing in your brand.

Potential Franchise Candidate

Situation:

Highest Priority:

Needs/Desires:

Pain Points:

Objections:

Habits:

Media Consumption:

Trusted Sources:

Research Methods:

Decision:

Qualifications:

Stakeholders:

Investment Decision Process:

Freebie Alert!Email Rwachstein@fishmanpr.com

to receive a free prospect persona

worksheet.

Content MappingOnce you’ve defined your buyer personas, it’s time to leverage

these insights in order to connect with and motivate franchise

prospects closer to closing the deal.

Map out the process from their first introduction to the franchise

opportunity to the final stage, which is to close the deal with the

franchise development team. By determining what path these

prospective franchisees will follow, a franchise brand can deploy a

content marketing strategy that speak directly to buyers in whatever

stage in the buying process they are in. At each stage of the buying

journey, a prospective franchisee is receiving the messaging that

will further motivate them to invest in your franchise brand.

Persona 1: Multi-unit franchisees

from non-competing QSR brands.

Goal: To grow their QSR franchise

portfolio.

Primary Pain Point: The brand

they’ve invested in is over

saturated and has very limited

territory available.

Receives an

email through a

QSR trade

publication

Reads offer for

eBook on identifying

QSR brands with

growth potential

Clicks on link to

landing page

offering a free

eBook

Inputs contact

information to

Download

eBook

Receives Thank

You email, followed

by a series of

informational emails

Clicks on call to

action within email,

inquires about

setting up a call

Speaks to franchise

sales team, receives

follow up email with

application

Fills out franchise

application

Distribute content on your owned, paid and earned channels

including franchise development website, social channels -

specifically LinkedIn, PPC and online advertising channels such as

eBlasts through industry publications.

Example: Bojangles’

Target Audience: Multi-unit QSR franchisees who own

concepts with saturated territories.

Desires: To continue to build their QSR portfolio.

Pain Points: Brands they currently are invested in have

limited territories available.

Content Solution: eBook that provides educational material

on how to evaluate a QSR brand for growth potential.

Awareness: Prospective franchisees will become aware of

the Bojangles’ opportunity through this targeted campaign.

The campaign will be supported with advertising on LinkedIn

and through purchased lists of QSR multi-unit franchisees

who are invested in non competing brands.

Develop a content piece that speaks to the needs of a particular

segment of your target franchise prospects. This shortens the

time it takes to get prospects engaged with your brand.

For example, landing pages have higher conversion rates when

they utilize content to capture information.

#1

CONSIDERATION

&

DUE DILIGENCE

Potential franchisees are researching and evaluating your opportunity and

those of your competitors before you ever have contact with them.

The information prospects find online about your franchise opportunity

must be persuasive enough to keep them engaged until they are ready to

have contact with you.

For this reason, a strong digital footprint is the foundation of successful

franchise lead generation efforts.

Consideration & Due Diligence

When it comes to franchise sales, your digital footprint is comprised of the information or

lack thereof across all online platforms including the franchise sales website, social media

and networking accounts, reviews, brand related search results, etc.

Use content to answer questions, overcome objections and assist prospective franchisees

in researching your franchise opportunity.

Example: Kono Pizza, Industry Report

Details: The industry report contains information that

validates the segment and the brand. It can be

offered as a download on the franchise development

website in exchange for contact information.

Build content that helps franchise prospects research your

franchise opportunity. Content can answer questions that

prospects have about the opportunity and industry, which

reduces the time franchise sales executives must spend to

close deals.

Content marketing creates a compelling

digital footprint that assists prospects in

researching and evaluating your

opportunity.

#2

Example: Papa Murphy’s, Blog

Details: The blog helps to attract

qualified prospects through regularly

published content that demonstrates

expertise and builds trust.

Blogs are an important part of a brand’s

digital footprint because when optimized

correctly, they show up in searches for

the company and relevant keywords.

Posts can be repurposed in many forms

including monthly eNewsletters,

LinkedIn articles, etc.

Blogs play a role in both the discovery

process and in vetting an opportunity.

80%of business decision-makers prefer to get information in a series of articles versus an advertisement.

Example: BrightStar Care, Infographic

Details: This infographic provides

prospective franchisees with information

that validates the franchise opportunity

by showing the need and demand for

the company’s services.

It also demonstrates why BrightStar

Care is uniquely positioned to meet the

market demands vs. competitors. It ends

with a call to action to inquire about the

BrightStar Care franchise opportunity.

Infographics are an excellent format for

making sense complex information to

validate a franchise opportunity. It is

much more compelling to demonstrate

validating factors through statistics than

it is to tell a prospect how great the

opportunity is.

The potential market for elder

care services

The factors that are driving

increased demand for elder care

services

The factors that drive demand

for BrightStar Care’s services as

opposed to competitors

Call to action

DECISION

Example: Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores

Target Audience: QSR Multi-unit franchisees,

looking to diversify their portfolio outside of the

restaurant industry.

Details: The automated email nurture series began

with the strategy and resulted in supporting the sale

of four SHOS locations.

Companies that excel at lead-nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost.

Automated email nurture campaigns

speed up franchise sales cycles that are

lengthy and often confusing for leads.

Don’t let leads slip through the cracks as

a result of a long sales cycle. Instead,

cultivate them and close deals faster by

automating your lead nurture process.

Email # Stage: Purpose Content

#1Early: Education

Introduction to the SHOS Franchise Opportunity

Highlights the features of the SHOS business model that resonates with QSR

multi-unit franchisees looking to diversify their portfolio.

#2Mid: Overcome Objections

Myth & Fact

Counteracts many of the misconceptions a potential franchisee may have

surrounding the brand including “Sears is a Dying Brand.”

#3Mid(late): Validate the Opportunity

Benefits to Ownership/Successful Franchisee Profiles

Showcases the top value propositions of the opportunity, photos and stories of

successful franchisees.

#4Late: Validate the Opportunity II

The Power of an Iconic Brand

Emphasizes the emotional attachment and recognition that consumers have

for the brand as an asset for franchisees.

Message Strategy

Email #1: 7 days after the first conversion

action occurred

Email Nurture Campaign: The emails went out automatically at set intervals.

Email #2: 14 days after the first

conversion action occurred

Email Nurture Campaign: The emails went out automatically at set intervals.

Email #4: 28 days after the first

conversion action occurred

Email #3: 21 days after

the first conversion action

occurred

Technology can streamline content

marketing efforts but the most

important factors for success are a

smart strategy and engaging

content.

The email lead nurture campaign

can be executed through your

existing system (CRM or email

service) or set up through any email

service provider for a minimal cost.

Franchise sales teams can utilize

content marketing techniques

regardless of the resources and

technology currently available to

them.

Create email nurture campaigns that answer questions about the opportunity and counter objections to

investing before the prospect has contact with a franchise development team. When prospects are

educated about the opportunity, less time is required to close the deal. Automating the lead nurturing

process makes your franchise sales efforts more efficient and gives your sales executives more time

to generate leads and close deals.

#3

TAKE AWAYS

1. DISCOVERYDevelop an eBook or content piece that speaks

to the needs of a particular segment of your

target franchise prospects. This shortens the

time it takes to get prospects engaged with your

brand. For example, landing pages have higher

conversion rates when they utilize content to

capture information.

2. CONSIDERATION & DUE DILIGENCE

Build content that helps franchise prospects

research your franchise opportunity. Content

can answer questions that prospects have

about the opportunity and industry which

reduces the time franchise sales executives

must spend to close deals.

3. DECISION

Create email nurture campaigns that answer

questions about the opportunity and counter

objections to investing before the prospect has

contact with a franchise development team.

When prospects are educated about the

opportunity, less time is required to close the

deal. Automating the lead nurturing process

makes your franchise sales efforts more

efficient and gives your sales executives more

time to generate leads and close deals.

Questions?

Contact Us

Rachael WachsteinFishman PR

Vice President of Content Marketing

847.947.1300

rwachstein@fishmanpr.com

Rachael joined Fishman PR in 2009 and developed our content marketing

practice. In her role, Rachael creates effective strategies to help franchise brands

achieve their consumer awareness, franchise lead generation, search engine

optimization and online reputation management objectives.