Franchising is a marketing and selling business which many times is driven by publicity and exposure for the brand. Some great franchise systems were successful in their franchise recruiting efforts almost entirely by being effective at developing great PR for the brand. What is Franchise PR? Public Relations is exposure for a brand by using credible sources to publish information and stories on the brand, what makes franchise PR unique is a focus on exposure through resources that are relevant to franchise investors.
One of the primary means for franchise recruitment that Franchise Marketing Systems has found for new franchise brands is to leverage Franchise PR to generate organic leads and develop credibility for the brand. In cases where new franchise brands are able to generate stories placed with news sources such as Entrepreneur, Inc., Money Magazine or others like these, the franchise model is given an immediate boost and sometimes this makes the difference for a successful franchise launch.
What can a new franchise brand do to generate PR and how can you put your franchise in a position to get franchise exposure like this?
First, invest in your brand, look, feel and overall messaging. The cleaner, more professional and consistent your presentation is to the consumer, the more likely that you franchise presentation will be appealing and news worthy. Embrace and announce your unique value proposition. Whatever makes you different and worthy to the consumer will also be important to the franchise investor and everyone needs to be reminded of this differentiator as often as possible and in as professional of a communication as you can. Good differentiators will drive PR and news placement opportunities. Work with a Franchise PR professional. Franchise Marketing Systems has had significant success with several franchise PR groups including Fishman PR, All Points PR, No Limit and The Art Department. Whomever you choose to support your Franchise PR efforts, work with someone who knows and understands the process and has the resources to dedicate to selling the pitch.
One of the things I’ve learned in working with these PR groups is that the Public Relations model is like a sales presentation. The PR Agencies role is to know who to call and then to execute the sales process to get the message in front of the right people who might place the story. Franchise PR is not an accident, it is an intentional exercise that pushes a brand and creates awareness amongst the right people who have decision making power with media agencies. The results of well managed Franchise PR are impossible to argue, leads that are derived through PR close at an enormously higher rate than other lead sources, so it’s work the effort and investment.
Chris Conner
President
Franchise Marketing Systems
Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com