Running a franchise is a complex affair. There are many moving pieces but one critical priority with multiple locations is making sure everyone is on the same page. That requires brand consistency.
When you think of your favorite spa or dance studio, there is a standard you hold them to. Regardless of which location you choose, you expect that spa to offer a specific infused water blend or for that dance studio to always foster a sense of community.
At the core of your business’s marketing strategy is your unmistakable brand identity. Set your franchisees up for success by ensuring there’s a unified brand presence throughout your business’s many locations.
87% of customers think brands should work harder at delivering a consistent experience.
Share What You Have
Consistency is key when it comes to doing anything successfully. Being a franchisor is no different. Take the time to make sure each location is aware of the key components of your business.
Each site should be well aware of your company’s:
- Mission statement and core values
- Target customer information
- Logo, brand colors and how those colors contribute to the mission
- Trademarks and tagline
- Branded guidelines
What does your brand messaging say about your business? Each franchise must commit to upholding that. How does your franchise appear to your clients?
Making sure each of your franchisees has the same color flooring and walls might seem like overkill, but it’s far from. By keeping the atmosphere and style consistent, you get closer to providing a more uniform experience across the board for your customers.
Train Franchisees for Brand Consistency
Both the franchisor and franchisee want to succeed. As a franchisor, you have a history of success. That’s exactly how you managed to launch multiple locations. Show your franchisees how you got there.
Taking the time to show new location staff how staying on-brand and using your tried-and-true tools can set them up for success.This is also important for the protection of the company.
As a franchisor overseeing several family law firms, you can’t afford for your various locations to decide their own method of intake and document storage. Imagine the damage of one location’s document storage software being compromised.
Constant Monitoring of Franchises
A large part of success requires reflecting on what is and isn’t working at your various locations. By keeping an eye out on what your franchisees are doing, you’re able to recognize and reward those who are on-brand and maybe even innovating.
That extra insight helps franchise owners like you take the steps needed across the board to make improvements to the brand and keep each location moving in the right direction.
Manual monitoring can be a hassle and result in more meetings than work being done. By implementing software, you can avoid headaches and burnout. Those in the real estate game can benefit from having an end-to-end software platform to keep an eye on their agents by tracking buyers, sellers and showings.
A simple dashboard check-in can ensure everyone is using the software to their benefit. With Thryv, agents can add tags and segment their leads by budget, location, must-haves, deal-breakers and more. Data like that can match properties to people quickly and close more deals.
Honor Local Adaptation
While brand consistency is important, there are always opportunities for each location to channel its individuality within your brand’s guidelines.
If your landscaping is stretching across several states, allowing each region to have location-specific social networking profiles is a great idea. Your Florida clients are not likely to need the snow removal marketing your business pushes to your Ohio customers.
Always remember that your brand is worth building, protecting and maintaining. Ensuring brand consistency throughout your franchises requires time and effort but will prove to be well worth it for both your business and your customers.
