How to Use Content Marketing for Franchise Sales Lead Generation

3. Why is Content Marketing Important for Generating Franchise Leads?

4. From Stranger to Franchisee: A Buyer’s Journey

6. The New Sales Paradigm

8. Customize Content

10. Buyer Personas

12. Content Mapping

13. Why Not Stand Out?

Table of Contents

3Moving Brands Forward

Content marketing is quickly becoming the foundation for the franchise sales buying process. Thanks to the Internet, prospective franchisees are now smarter, more connected, have greater access to information and are completing their due diligence about franchise opportunities online.

Prospective franchisees are gaining insight into brands earlier than ever and content marketing works to prepare prospects to invest.

“When franchise brands provide insightful content to prospects during the research and discovery stage, they close deals quicker because the prospect is more sales ready. Content marketing ensures that franchise prospects have their big questions answered and concerns addressed before they ever pick up the phone or fill out a form.”

Why is Content Marketing Important for Generating Franchise Leads?

-Rachael Wachstein Director of Content Marketing


Think of content as the fuel for all of your franchise sales campaigns – from email to social to event collateral. Content marketing is the practice of communicating with franchise prospects without hard selling. Instead, you’re delivering high-quality information that establishes your brand and executives as experts and provide information that makes your client or prospect more sales ready.

From Stranger to Franchisee: A Buyer’s Journey

INTEREST

LEARN

EVALUATE

VALIDATE

INVEST


At its core, content marketing is a lead

generation strategy that aims to move prospects through the buyers journey

by educating, inspiring or

entertaining them

.

It should help franchise leads overcome hurdles that can occur in the buying process so that they come to the desired conclusion – this franchise opportunity is right for me.

Moving Brands Forward


Less Salesman...To be effective, content marketing doesn’t just focus on the benefits of your service, but also offers information about the industry and segment of your brand and the lifestyle benefits of investing in your franchise opportunity.

This practice improves the credibility of your brand amongst

prospective franchisees, which enables a franchisor to claim

a larger share of the available market than competitors. This is because your content marketing

strategy is building trust and a rapport with prospects, making

it easier for them to come to you when they are sales ready.

The New Sales Paradigm


...More ProfessorFranchise brands are using content marketing to engage prospects in today’s new buyer landscape.

When used effectively, content marketing can:

• Influence prospective franchisees to invest

• Generate franchise leads

• Increase brand and opportunity awareness

• Generate quality leads for less money (compared to more traditional marketing)

• Improve search engine optimization (SEO) efforts

• Develop brand thought leadership

• Improve online reputation

“Franchise sales teams who offer resources and provide valuable information to prospects, are more effective in closing deals.”

-Rachael Wachstein Director of Content Marketing


The content in content marketing is not just white papers and web pages. It includes a wide range of information your franchise brand can use to educate prospective franchisees, including:

• Articles

• Brochures

• Case Studies

• Custom Graphics

• Evergreen Content

• Email Copy & Design

• Franchise Reports

• How To’s

• Information Guides

• Infographics

• Landing Pages

Customize Content

• List Articles

• Microsites/Web Pages

• Podcasts/Videocasts

• Presentations

• Product Data Sheets

• Reference Guides

• Resource Libraries

• Social Media Content

• Videos

• Webinars

• White Papers

• Workbooks


• List Articles

• Microsites/Web Pages

• Podcasts/Videocasts

• Presentations

• Product Data Sheets

• Reference Guides

• Resource Libraries

• Social Media Content

• Videos

• Webinars

• White Papers

• Workbooks

Regardless of what form your content takes, it should have a strong call to action that is tailored to the prospective franchisee demographic you’re looking to reach, whether that’s multi-unit franchises who own dozens of locations, a single-unit franchisee who wants to expand or a prospect who is new to the franchise industry.

Each type of content has its own best practices and connects with a prospective franchisee differently. For example, an email may spark initial interest in a franchise opportunity, but it’s not enough to ready a buyer to take out their figurative check book.

However, that email may connect that prospective franchisee to a landing page that asks them to download an eBook that further educates or interests them in the brand and how it could benefit them.

Customize Content

As a result prospective franchisees start

imagining themselves in the place of a

featured franchisee or in the lifestyle or

financial situation the brand has painted

a picture of, which gets them to call

your Director of Franchise Sales - when

they’re ready to hear your pitch.


Buyer PersonasLike any element in your franchise sales process or marketing strategy, content marketing isn’t about creating content for its own sake – it’s about engaging prospective franchisees.

To effectively reach your target audience and ready a prospective franchisee to buy, you need to have a plan that reflects your brand’s value propositions, an understanding of your target audience’s pain points and ambitions and content ideas that align with those concern on an on-going basis. The first step is creating your buyer personas – most franchise brands will need more than one. A buyer persona is the representation of your ideal franchisee prospect based on demographics, behavior and your own understanding of motivators and challenges.


Buyer Personas

Potential Franchise Candidate

Characteristics: • C level Executive• Net Worth: $500k• Age: 50

Desires:• Work/Life Balance• Financial Independence• Children’s Financial Security

Objections• Leaving Secure Corporate Job• Skeptical of Franchise Model• Unsure if correct opportunity

Content Needs:• Information Highlighting Lifestyle Opportunity of Franchise Ownership

• Data Supporting Franchise Ownership as Good investment

• Industry and Segment Data that Validates the Opportunity

• Franchisee Testimonials for Reassurance that brand is Trustworthy

• Profiles of Successful Franchisees with Similar backgrounds

• Videos that Highlight the Support and Training Offered by the Brand


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: Potential Franchisee (Current Multi-unit Owner of QSR Brands)

Primary Goal: To discover more information about the franchise opportunity.

SECONDARY GOAL: To invest in a franchise.

ADDITIONAL DESIRES: To diversify their franchise portfolio by investing in an opportunity within a growing industry.

Receives an email through a

trade publication

Reads information about opportunity within a growing

industry

Clicks on link to landing page offering a free

eBook

Downloads eBook

on diversifying your portdolio

Receives Thank You email w/ link to the franchise

website

Clicks link to franchise website

Reads information about the

opportunity

Fills out inquiry form


Why Not Stand Out?In today’s marketplace, prospective franchisees are being inundated with offers and advertisements – why not make your franchise brand stand out from the crowd with tailored content that speaks to them.

Your franchise brand already has the proven system and processes in place that prospective franchisees want to invest in – use strategic content marketing to bring them to the sales table ready.

14

For More Information Contact:

Rachael WachsteinDirector of Content Marketing

[email protected]

Moving Brands Forward

Campaign

-Campaign Planning and Message Development

-Campaign Landing Page

-eBook

-Lead Reporting

-Email Nurture Campaign

-Email Blast and/or Ad design to Promote the eBook

*Advertising Costs Not Included.

$7,500*One-time Fee

A La Carte -Blog Articles

-Byline Articles

-eBook

-Email Lead Nurture Campaign

-Infographics

-Landing Page

-Website Copy

-White Paper

-Franchise Reports

-Brochures

-Custom Graphics

-Video Content

-Social Media

-Flexible Solutions

Custom Content Marketing Program

-Branded Hub

-Content Distribution

-eNewsletter

-Quarterly Campaigns (as outlined above)

$4,500+Per Month

Custom

How to Use Content Marketing for Franchise Sales Lead Generation

Marketing

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