Entrepreneurs invest huge amount of money in taking up a franchise of an established brand. They plan their franchise budget keeping in mind the franchise fees, royalties, good infrastructure, equipments, and stock. However, majority of these entrepreneurs forget to consider an important investment in the form of promotion of the franchised outlet at the franchisee level. This investment can put an added strain on the limited capital left with the franchisee. If you fall under the category of such franchisee then the article is a must read for you. Through the article, we are highlighting some cost effective ways of carrying out the promotion of your franchised outlet at local level.
Cost effective marketing
Find below some tips to promote your franchised outlet within limited financial resources for effective marketing and promotion:
Connect with networking sites and groups: With the advent of internet and various social websites, the world has become a smaller place. Furthermore, these social websites have also become a cost-effective medium for popularising your brands and outlets. Registration on these websites is free of cost, while advantages are unlimited. Making acquaintances with other members on these social websites will make you more aware of your business problems and at the same time can find solutions also. Further, it can create an interest among the members to visit your new outlet, thereby increasing the count of your prospective customers.
Moreover, many networking groups offer assistance to develop your sound business principles and share ideas on marketing and business promotion.
Business blogs: Blogs have recently become popular on websites and are a good source of marketing. A blog basically is an online communication platform, where you can post articles, photos and share your ideas and thoughts with others as often as you like. While starting a new venture, you can write a blog to inform the readers of your latest endeavour. You can also share your views about the advantages of the service or products of the franchise you have taken. Essentially, blogs can be an extremely powerful PR tool and a great way to communicate with both colleagues and clients. There are many free blogging platforms, where you can create your blog and have it hosted for free! In order to promote your business and make your blog successful, you need to post regularly and you also need to promote your blogs by sharing its links on other social sites.
Contributing articles for websites: Business websites, newspapers, and magazines are always looking out for fresh content to publish. If you have a flair for writing and can put your point across to the readers effectively, your article would surely be accepted by any business website. New franchisees can write articles regarding their new outlet, their experience, their achievements etc and can send these articles to different business websites. This is surely an intelligent strategy and people would like to visit your outlet after reading so much about it.
Attending business events: As an entrepreneur, the business events can be a great platform for you. Attending different events can be helpful in terms of gaining knowledge and also to advertise about your recently opened outlet. Moreover, you can also think of sharing your views as a guest speaker, provided you are an orator. If you are an expert in your field then your knowledge and advice will be valued and appreciated by the attendees and you may find this a great way to get new clients.
E-mail and newsletters: The most affordable way to remind your clients/ customers of your outlet is by sending regular e-mails and newsletters. Inform your loyal customers of a recently added product or service in your outlet and motivate them to avail any discounts etc you are offering. This is the easiest as well as cost free way of marketing your outlet. Try and keep your newsletters short, simple, and easy to read and you will find your subscriber base growing and hopefully your clientele too.
Implementing these affordable marketing techniques can do wonders for any franchise business. All these above mentioned ways are cost effective and can be practiced easily at the local level. Remember, smart advertising costs less and scores high on your profit margin.
