This article was first published in IFA’s Marketing Toolkit in April 2017. For more recent IMN press releases and coverage, visit our Recent News page.
As a franchisor, your key marketing goals are twofold: maintaining the consistency of your brand across your franchisees and retaining the loyalty of your customers. Multi-unit franchise organizations face unique challenges delivering a consistent message, identity, and set of offers through individual franchise locations.
Finding that consistency can be especially tricky when considering franchisees’ understandable desire for at least a little individuality. After all, how can they credibly connect with their local communities and customer bases if they’re seen as just another faceless piece of a larger corporate entity, ultimately no different than any other franchise location?
Delivering a Consistent Message
One of the best solutions to this problem is the strategic use of branded email newsletters, a marketing solution offered by IMN (iMakeNews, Inc.). Branded email newsletters are designed to help multi-unit franchise brands acquire, retain, and engage customers.
Branded email newsletters work as a solution at both the corporate and local levels, solving problems for franchisors and franchisees alike. IMN’s editorial team achieves this with a template that adheres to your corporate branding and messaging specifications, but is flexible enough that franchisees can add content, such as local promotions, hours, and even special events.
In short, the same solution ensures both corporate compliance and uniquely engaging customer-facing content.
The Value of Being Content-Driven
In addition to maintaining consistency in your messaging, a branded, content-driven email newsletter cuts through the white noise of inbox clutter and allows your brand to stand out.
Messages written exclusively for your franchisees’ local audiences deliver a variety of engaging and relevant lifestyle, entertainment, and specialized content designed to move your best customers and prospects through the decision making process. This quality content mix results in regular readership.
Furthermore, franchisees’ and customers’ ability to share newsletter content to Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin drives the viral spread of articles and promotions with the click of a button.
Measured Results Delivered Automatically
Backed by a full suite of tracking and analytics, IMN also gives you complete insight into which email newsletter articles, promotions, and products are most popular and most impactful with your audience.
When your customers signal they are in-market for your product or service, your franchisees are automatically alerted with a list of the prospects who responded to articles and promotions, making it easy to identify hot leads.
You can also deliver email communications to field agents about new product announcements, training, advertising promotions, reward recognition, and more.
Conclusion – The Common Goal
Branded email newsletters from IMN make it possible for franchisors and franchisees to achieve their common goal: increasing revenue.
Commit to a marketing strategy of consistent, content-driven messages today, and set your franchise up for long-term success.