As the restaurant landscape continues to evolve, many franchisors are looking for ways to help their franchisees bring in new customers and beat the competition. While restaurant franchises know that local business marketing is an important step in meeting these customer acquisition goals, corporate marketing staff members probably do not have ample time to craft unique messages for each franchise location.
If this situation sounds familiar to you, then it may be time to consider implementing a franchisee driven local marketing strategy. This strategy is one where the franchisor puts the marketing power in the hands of his or her franchisees. This takes the pressure off the franchisor to create unique local marketing messages and allows the franchisees to develop campaigns that are more likely to reach new potential customers in their area. This type of strategy is valuable for franchise organizations specifically because of potential diners’ receptibility to marketing messages that are specific to them and their location.
In fact, the Data & Marketing Association reports that 80 percent of consumer budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home, meaning local store marketing strategies are an important part of the restaurant industry today.
As you begin to work with your franchisees on local restaurant marketing initiatives, here are a few things to consider.
Local Events
Whether it’s a local 5k, festival or conference, events happening around your franchise locations can be a great way to acquire new customers. Your franchisees can craft unique campaigns in advance to target these specific people with offers that will resonate with them.
Competition
It’s important to understand what competitors each of your franchisees are up against. Local restaurant marketing technologies can help your franchisees visualize the competition surrounding their locations and then target customers in the area with exciting offers about a new menu item, a special discount, etc.
Traffic
Americans spend an average of 14.5 million hours every day stuck in traffic. How does traffic congestion impact your restaurant franchise locations? Are you in an area with heavy construction or one with little visibility? Is traffic particularly heavy during lunch or dinner hours? These factors are important when thinking of not only who you will target, but also what types of messages will resonate with them.
If you’re interested in implementing a local marketing strategy within your restaurant franchise network, learn more about LSMx, a local store marketing application powered by Buxton.
