Budget Q&A: Main Goes Big President Cameron Torabi on Where Brands Should Invest in 2020

Digital marketing agency Main Goes Big is in the business of helping brands grow their business and reach the largest audience possible. In addition to franchise marketing, the company also works in the fields of law and healthcare, builds personal branding, and more. 

In a Q&A with 1851 Franchise, Main Goes Big president Cameron Torabi shared his insights on traditional TV advertising, why showing up first in Google search rankings doesn’t happen overnight and how brands should approach their marketing budgets in 2020. 

1851: What’s working for your clients in 2019 that you recommend spending on in 2020?

Torabi: Main Goes Big’s multi-platform synchronization has proven to be an amazing asset to our clients. Through our platform, we have been able to move our clients’ listing on search queries to the top of Google’s search results. This platform has an amazing reach across the digital landscape, as it allows us to control our clients' image and information seamlessly. This control streamlines the distribution of information which in turn boosts our clients' exposure, which is then leveraged to gain higher placement on search. It also assures that the brand's image, products, services, and values are communicated in a cohesive message. 

Other tools that we use that have proven to be invaluable are our reputation management and review generation. These allow us to monitor not only our clients’ reputation across the internet but also to monitor their competitors. Through review generation, we are able to stay connected with customers and promote their engagement with the brands. This is a great resource, as there is no better advertising than that done by a customer. 

1851: Where can franchisors lighten their budgets or remove spending from?

Torabi: The environment and devices that are used by the population at large are changing at a very rapid pace. With the growth of platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube Premium, it is becoming more important to shift marketing dollars from traditional TV syndications. The opportunity to avoid commercials is being seized by viewers—a recent report by Stop the Cap found that “A large number of Hulu customers are willing to pay $4 more per month to banish advertisements from the streaming service’s growing catalog of content.” That means 40% of their 20 million subscribers have opted out of viewing traditional advertisements. 

This is a trend that is happening across all such services—even those who do not utilize services like Hulu tend to take out their phones or tablets the second a commercial comes on. Such trends diminish the return on dollars spent on conventional TV ad placement, and we are sure to see these trends grow. 

Another sector that brands may shift dollars from is print, though that needs to be weighed on the specific sector. For example, the foodservice sector and even realtors may still see great value in mailers or neighborhood canvassing. Brands or businesses that have a tighter budget to work with would see better returns by using geo-targeting to reach their desired prospective clients. By using technologies such as geo-targeting, brands can reach specific regions and demographics that best align with their businesses. They will also capture analytics that are greatly more relevant than in print. 

1851: What’s the biggest trend you're seeing when it comes to franchise development budgets and spending?

Torabi: Franchisees and franchisors that reach out to us are interested in assuring their brand's reputation and image are cohesive and well-represented. By hiring companies such as Main Goes Big, they receive assurance that the locations in which they operate are all in compliance and cohesive with the brand's standards. We work with franchisees and franchisors to make sure the franchise owners can operate the business at hand rather than learn and master marketing. 

We work with our clients to make sure they can maximize their budgets by bringing all the necessary tools for success under one platform. In the cases where our services are engaged by the franchisee, we are able to harness the power of each franchisor to boost not only each location, but to leverage it to help the other locations and the franchise as a whole. This is the power of gaining back dollars spent to enrich the organization as a whole—basically, we make sure we get the most out of every dollar spent. 

1851: What’s an area in which franchisors commonly overlook or spend too little?

Torabi: I would say the No. 1 commonly overlooked area is brand representation. We have seen countless brands misrepresented by individual franchise operators. This can be on social media, in print advertising or in other local ads. We believe that the power and purpose of a franchise is the brand—that is why people buy franchises, so why deviate and separate yourself from the brand you bought into? 

Another common and costly mistake we see is many franchises do not harness the power of the brand and separate operations to boost the brand in its entirety. There is great leverage to be gained when you can harness each location and its efforts to help the organization as a whole. This allows the brand to prosper. 

1851: Where do you advise franchisees to spend their marketing budgets on the local level?

Torabi: Local SEO is the No. 1 thing I would recommend to any business. Local SEO allows for the community to know who you are and what you offer. It is also a critical part of being able to grow your business, as online search is 93% of all web traffic. Of that, 86% of people use the internet to find local businesses—of which 75% of local searchers never look past the first page. These numbers are why it is imperative to have a strong ranking on search—and achieving high ranking is something that takes time and great effort. For that reason, we say start now!

Responses have been edited for style and clarity.