Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2011 | Page 25

climb as the new technologies and tools take hold.
Indeed, one of the most striking results to be uncovered
in the survey is the rising growth of social media in brand
marketing. In effect, today’s social marketing is the equivalent of yesterday’s word of mouth. It’s out there and it’s everywhere—but unlike with word of mouth, when it comes
to brand reputation and social media, franchisors can have
a little more control.
Nevertheless, the survey found that consumer marketing
continues to be fraught with challenges for franchisors. For
example, when asked about the most pressing consumer marketing issues facing their systems, respondents raised issues
including brand awareness, declining cost-effectiveness of
print media, how to use social media and measure its ROI,
and working within marketing budget constraints.
Asked what factors would help build consumer marketing success within their system, respondents said (no surprise here) identifying and marketing a consistent brand
message, targeting consumers, building relationships, and
creating loyal customers. But now they must balance their
budget spend across more channels.
In essence, consumer marketing continues to play a
significant role in franchisor strategies today. Asked about
the importance of consumer marketing in building a brand
and in attracting and retaining customers, more than 50
percent said it was “extremely important,” the highest rating on the scale, and an additional 20 percent responded
“very important.”
The first-ever Consumer Marketing Research Questionnaire findings confirm that consumer marketing initiatives
are indeed a cornerstone of successful franchise brands. n

Forms of social media your franchise
system is currently using

Blogging 38.18%
Micro blogging (e.g., Twitter) 45.45%
Product reviews (e.g., Amazon) 9.09%
Product design or co-creation 9.09%
Video and photo sharing (e.g., YouTube and Flickr) 56.36%
Podcasts 3.64%
Social networking (e.g., Facebook) 78.18%
Forums (e.g., Google groups) 30.91%
Social bookmarking 14.55%
Virtual reality 1.82%
Did not answer 20.00%
Multiple answers per participant possible. Percentages added may exceed 100 since a participant may select more
than one answer for this question.

How does your company use
social media?

Marketing research 38.18%
Brand promotions (contests, coupons, etc.) 61.82%
Brand awareness and brand-building 72.73%
Acquiring new customers 61.82%
Retaining current customers 63.64%
Improving current products or services 23.64%
Introducing new products or services 45.45%
Identifying new product/service opportunities 25.45%
Identifying new customer groups 23.64%
Did not answer 21.82%
Multiple answers per participant possible. Percentages added may exceed 100 since a participant may select more
than one answer for this question.

Consumer Marketing

Survey identifies “most pressing” factors

F

ranchise marketing executives from 54 franchise
organizations took part in a recent survey conducted by Franchise Update Media Group. They
were asked about marketing strategy, execution, and the
outlook for their franchise organizations. Here are four
of the most revealing finds of the study:
• The most pressing consumer marketing challenges
for franchisors involve the performance of their advertising budgets, strategies, customer profiling, media selection, tracking, and ROI. Another area of primary concern:
brand awareness, representation, consistency, differentiation, and protection.
• Franchisors believe the three most important factors
for building consumer marketing success within their system
are: 1) acquisition of customer knowledge, 2) consistent
messaging in brand awareness efforts, and 3) franchisee
buy-in, engagement, and execution of local marketing efforts. One area to look at: franchisors reported that only
30 percent of franchisees spend the local advertising fees
required in the franchise agreement.
• Print is still a major force in generating new customers. The four most-effective media franchisees use
to generate new customers in their local markets (most
effective first): 1) direct mail, 2) coupon programs, 3)
newspaper, and 4) local TV.
• Franchisors are experimenting with social media,
continually seeking knowledge on how to use it most effectively in terms of their goals. And they are diligently
working to get their arms around all aspects of social media, with a growing emphasis on protecting their brands
through reputation management. n
Franchiseupdate I ssue I I , 2011 

23