Connect local marketing to the customer journey

Clarify the local responsibility

Ask the franchisor which marketing activities are provided centrally, which require local participation and which need approval. Required advertising contributions and a local marketing budget may serve different purposes. Read the applicable documents rather than assuming one replaces the other.

Describe the customer group and the problem the business helps solve. Consider where customers learn about services, what information they need and how they can contact or buy from the business. Build a plan around those steps rather than choosing channels solely because they are fashionable.

Define an action and a measurement

For each activity, name the intended customer action, cost, timing and person responsible. Decide what evidence would indicate that the activity deserves continuation or revision. A click, inquiry, booking and completed sale are different outcomes.

Use approved claims and creative, and obtain appropriate permission for photographs, testimonials and customer information. An agency’s proposal should explain account access, reporting definitions, ownership of assets and any continuing charges.

Review the whole cost

Compare marketing spending with the business activity it can reasonably be connected to, while recognizing uncertainty in attribution. Avoid treating a provider’s selected success story as a forecast for your location. SBA’s management resources frame marketing as a planned set of actions; your local plan should make those actions and assumptions visible.

Put it on paper

• Separate central support from local obligations.
• Choose a specific customer action for each activity.
• Review approvals, access and reporting definitions.

Continue with the franchise research checklist, our FDD guide, and the research directory.