Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2012 | Page 31

What are the hot marketing-related issues you’re facing with your franchisees? For us, it’s primarily two issues. The first is how to differentiate the business in a highly competitive market. We are always looking at how we can differentiate ourselves and provide more value. This includes making sure operations, training, marketing, and sales are all connected. The second issue is how to prioritize your time. As I said before, marketing is becoming more complex. We have many more channels and only so much time and money. Our offices are small businesses, so they need to be very efficient and make sure they are getting the best return on investment and return on engagement. What is changing in terms of how, where, and why existing franchisees need your marketing assistance? Our business is in the health care nology to help us communicate and to provide ways for easily accessing tools and applications. And we are using focus groups and committees to gain input and help increase communication. What technology tools are helping you meet the needs of your franchisees? We have redesigned our to say: (1) keep it simple, (2) continuously promote and communicate, and (3) integrate with operations, training, and sales so everyone knows everything in order to successfully execute. From a marketing standpoint, what’s the most challenging part of the franchise system response? Probably making sure we continue to look at things from the customer’s point of view and keeping our prospects focused and engaged in the exchange of information. At the end of the day we want it to be the best possible fit for both the prospective franchisee and the franchisor. n Is lack of credit slowing your franchise growth? Personal Guarantee Insurance can help. Personal Guarantee Insurance INN O VA TIV E OPT FREE 30 MINUTE I R PGI WEBINAR K TH AR E FR A N C HI S E M FO How are you meeting the marketing-related demands and needs of your franchisees more efficiently and effectively? We are using tech- care, it’s not something that a lot of our franchisees have been too involved with. They are pressed for time and it’s hard What are the three most important keys to providing your franchisees with quick and effective marketing solutions? I would have ON industry, and regulations are continually changing on both the federal and state levels. The franchisees are looking for more strategic guidance. Since they are overloaded with information, they need basic “how to” information that is very clear and concise. They also need information to help guide them in how to engage in new channels such as social media. How does social media factor into the marketing needs of your franchisees? In our business of home to quantify time spent on social media. They are just starting to dip their toes in the water. It is something that is definitely on our radar. ET huge impact. We are instantly aware of when prospects visit our site and take our E-Tour. We can reach out to them at any point in the process. It makes our communication much more immediate. websites using completely new architecture. We have a content management system that not only allows us to more efficiently add or change content, but that also gives our franchisees a much better tool for managing their local websites. We have a very robust intranet that allows our franchisees access to all of our programs, manuals, marketing, and sales materials. We have applications like Ad Builder, which helps them easily create their own ads. We have a document management center with hundreds of print-on-demand marketing collateral materials. And we have a social marketing technology platform that streamlines the process for updating Facebook and Twitter. AN prospects more quickly and effectively? Technology is making a A unique way to help your franchise grow— and protect your franchisees. To learn how, attend our free webinar. Register today at pgifran.com/pgiwebinar The Creators of Personal Guarantee Insurance™ 1.888.643.8744 www.personalguarantee.com Asterisk_FUM_1_3_SQUARE_B_DR1.indd 1 [email protected] 4/11/12 9:53:05 AM Franchiseupdate I ssue I I , 2012  29