Franchise Goal Setting Part 7: The Importance of Having a Clear 'Why You?/Why Now?'

The “Why You?/Why Now?” strategy is crucial to any brand’s marketing strategy. Without it, a brand is not only likely to get passive buyers, but it will also lack the quality that typically interests buyers — human interest.

According to Nick Powills, CEO of Mainland*, the “Why You?/Why Now?” was created to add strategy in front of any execution or tactic that is delivered outbound.

“For all brands, the ‘Why You?’ already exists in its franchisees,” said Powills. “The ‘Why You?' is also consumer demand, growth and franchisee support. It’s often found in asking executives, ‘Why should I choose you over the competition?’”

“Why Now?” essentially answers the question, “Why is now the right time to invest in this brand?” In other words, how does your brand present a lucrative opportunity to investors?

Evaluate Your Current Message

The first step a business owner can take in implementing the “Why You?/Why Now?” is to evaluate how well their current message incorporates this strategy. If these two questions aren’t answered on the business’s websites, social media and paid advertising, some gaps need to be addressed.

“If the ‘Why You?/Why Now?’ isn’t well defined on these platforms, that is an easy place to start adjusting to have more impact on how you tell your story,” said Powills.

Establish Your ‘Why You?/Why Now?’

If the brand hasn’t yet established the answers to these questions, it should reflect on its story and brand offerings. Determining what differentiates their business from others in the segment is an excellent place to start.

Create Content That Reflects This Message

Next, a brand should build content that supports the newly established “Why You?/Why Now?”. This can be through creative content, websites or social media.

Engage with consumers by telling stories that integrate your strategic message.

The Public Relations Stage

“Now that the content is packaged up, you can deploy it through PR,” said Powills.

Evaluate What Worked and What Didn’t

Finally, a brand should utilize Google Analytics to determine which aspects of the “Why You?/Why Now?” message were effectively communicated to consumers and yielded the best results.

“You can make adjustments to your message and make it stronger so that all this content you are building on behalf of your brand can have more purpose,” said Powills.