Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2011 | Page 30

Grow Market Lead

ment, the more they are willing to use
the tools we provide. We also have to
demonstrate how these marketing strategies will grow their business, so they see
the benefits of their effort.
Does the FAC offer a platform
for engaging, encouraging, and
supporting franchisees to get
more involved?

Absolutely, our franchisee advisory council
is a key sounding board for us and provides invaluable advice to fellow franchisees. They know better than anyone
what the barriers might be and can help
problem solve. They are always willing to
provide solid recommendations on how
marketing at the local level can be made
easier and what resources are necessary
to facilitate the process.

All Aboard!
Massage Envy’s CMO Susan Boresow on
franchisee buy-in

S

usan Boresow has experience
getting franchisees on board.
As chief marketing officer
for Massage Envy, she understands that engaging and supporting franchisees is imperative to getting
them to buy in and play an active role
in the brand’s overall marketing efforts.
Before joining Massage Envy, she was
vice president of marketing at Pump It
Up and held marketing and leadership
roles at Cold Stone Creamery, Godfather’s Pizza, Mr. Goodcents Subs and
Pastas, and McDonald’s. We asked her
about Massage Envy’s strategy for building franchisee interest in marketing,
the programs and support they offer,
and what techniques work for getting
franchisees on board for the brand’s
marketing initiatives.
How important is local-level
and grassroots marketing to
Massage Envy’s growth and
development strategy?

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Local store marketing is very important
in our growth strategy. We provide our
franchise partners the tools and resources
they need to implement a local-level
campaign that will attract new clients,
drive membership enrollment, establish
a strong referral network, and encourage
member retention. Community involvement is key to ensuring that people are
aware that our services can help with
overall wellness in individuals by relieving pain, stress, etc.
How do you get franchisees to
truly, wholeheartedly buy in to
the importance of local-level
marketing?

Franchisees must be on board from the
very beginning. We also must get their
input along the way. This will ensure we
are not only providing the resources and
guidance they need, but also get a sense
of their comfort level in implementing
local store marketing strategies. The
easier it is for the franchisees to imple-

How do you establish franchisor
and franchisee roles when it
comes to marketing and getting
franchisees on board?

As the franchisor, our role is to provide
the tools, resources, and education to
help support our regional developers
and franchisees. The franchisees play
a role in that they pay a percentage of
their revenues to support their co-op and
marketing efforts nationally and locally.
Nationally, 1 percent is spent on national
advertising, marketing, public relations,
and social media to drive and promote
the brand; locally, the franchisees spend
their dollars on co-op advertising and
local store marketing.
Discuss the importance of
creating programs that are easy
to implement.

We have tried to provide as many educational and marketing materials as possible, with step-by-step instruction for
implementing the various programs. Our
strategy is to offer a comprehensive selection of materials for our franchisees. In
addition, we’ve increased the frequency
of webinars and online tutorials, as well
as opportunities to share best practices.
Some franchisees may not need this level
of support, but for those who do we want
to make it readily and easily accessible.
We want to provide tools and resources
that the franchisee will use consistently

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