As part of its robust franchisee support system, Fresh Coat Painters, the 170-plus-unit painting franchise, includes comprehensive marketing support for local owners. While individual Fresh Coat franchisees must stay involved in their communities to build and maintain relationships, as is the case with any business, this approach is most effective when executed hand-in-hand with a larger marketing strategy. To ensure franchisees have the resources necessary to succeed, Fresh Coat provides franchisees with both material assets and help managing digital marketing efforts, working hand-in-hand with them throughout the stages of business development.
“We create franchisees’ websites, Google Business Profiles and Facebook pages to help with search engine optimization efforts and create a cohesive presence online,” said Katie Schoessel, vice president of marketing at Fresh Coat. “This helps to establish a digital baseline and makes our franchisees discoverable by potential clients.”
This set-up process includes linking into system tools like a custom CRM and a dedicated brand site. Having these digital platforms set up early on creates a solid foundation for the franchisee to begin increasing their visibility as the business grows.
Fresh Coat also helps with social media, posting on each franchisee’s Facebook page twice per week to maintain a steady flow of content. However, franchisees still have full access to these profiles, and they are encouraged to build on the franchisor’s foundational efforts.
In addition to the digital support, Fresh Coat franchisees also have access to approved designs for things like backdrops for home shows, direct mail, door hangers and yard signs. This ensures brand consistency and allows franchisees to confidently promote their business without the added pressure of creating a perfect graphic.
For supplemental marketing efforts like paid ads and email drip campaigns, Fresh Coat offers additional support.
“We offer a lot of consultation on advertising programs,” Schoessel said. “Owners are free to use whatever they’d like, but we do keep a list of what other owners are using. From there, franchisees can evaluate each agency and decide which one works best for them with the added confidence that other Fresh Coat owners are happy with the support they have received.”
To keep a potential customer engaged once they’ve noticed Fresh Coat, the Fresh Coat Drips system — a drip email campaign platform — can be integrated with owners’ existing estimating software. This system helps ensure that customers stay engaged throughout the process, automatically sending reminders about outstanding quotes and updates on the status of their projects.
“Customers are busy, and they sometimes need reminders that there’s an outstanding quote,” Schoessel said. “Other times, they might want additional information. These messages are sent out with the prime focus on closing deals.”
Franchisees can further optimize their marketing efforts with the help of Fresh Coat’s call tracking system, which allows them to identify where their leads are coming from. With these valuable insights, franchise owners can then further hone their marketing efforts and funnel more resources toward top-performing methods.
As Fresh Coat grows, it also encourages franchisees to collaborate with their fellow owners. Schoessel emphasizes that, while franchisees operate in protected territories, they are encouraged to work together.
“We have protected territories, so our owners aren’t in competition with each other,” she said. “Combining efforts can increase the efficiency of the marketing spend, and our owners can pass leads between each other to ensure mutual success.”
Through the startup phase, Fresh Coat offers a detailed roadmap to ensure owners can launch successfully, and this extends through their first two years. This includes ongoing consultation with marketing coaches and guidance on advanced advertising opportunities. As the business grows, so does the support.
“We scale our marketing support while franchisees scale their business,”Schoessel said. “Marketing and advertising needs change as a business ages and evolves, and we remain nimble to ensure franchisees receive the right advice and resources at every stage of their journey.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/freshcoat/info.