Growth Club
1851 Growth Club
How To Build Brand Loyalty, Awareness and Advocacy In The Franchise Space
As a franchisee, you’ve likely invested in a brand that already has some recognition, but building upon that awareness is crucial for the success of your business.
In today’s marketplace, simply offering a high quality product or service isn’t enough to set you apart from the crowd. You’re bound to find yourself competing against other similar businesses for brand loyalty, recognition and advocacy. That’s why, as a franchise owner, you need to take certain steps to build brand awareness.
1851 Franchise recently spoke with author, investor and successful multi-business owner James Harold Webb about what these steps should be. In addition to his business ownership experience in the medical industry, Webb has also owned and operated 33 Orangetheory Fitness franchises.
Webb believes that any brand can build customer loyalty by prioritizing the customer experience, tapping into social media and modern marketing techniques, and creating a positive brand image in the community.
Providing a Great Customer Experience
The number one priority for all business owners who want to brand loyalty among their customer base needs to be providing a great customer experience. Without a high level of customer service, no other attempts at building loyalty, awareness or advocacy matter, because a dissatisfied customer is unlikely to return.
According to Webb, an important aspect of customer service is acknowledging mistakes, as even companies with the best practices experience human error.
“Providing an exceptional level of service will keep clients active, but it’s also important to acknowledge and reach out directly when there is an error or mistake,” said Webb. “To help with this, you must create an internal employee culture that understands expectations but is also willing to acknowledge errors and fix them with the client.”
Once you have built the culture you desire among your employees and internal operations, it is time to start looking outward and building an online presence that reflects that culture.
Tapping Into Social Media and Other Marketing Technology
Any business that wants to remain competitive cannot overlook the importance of a social media presence. According to Webb, “Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok are crucial mechanisms for getting your name out there.”
Where people used to turn to trusted loved ones for suggestions, they now turn to influencers and online reviews. Building a positive relationship with influential online personalities can lead to more brand recognition for you if they are willing to advocate for your services or products. This relationship also provides benefits for the influencers in return.
“You must look for industry influencers through social media as well as other platforms. Once we identified key people, they were contacted directly and introduced to the product in a friendly and ‘get to know us’ manner,” explained Webb. “Key influencers can also be brought in as paid consultants and included in your marketing budget.”
Webb also stressed the importance of using modern advertising practices, such as SEO and geofencing, to drive more traffic to your brand’s online content. As an entrepreneur, these elements may not be your forte; if that’s the case, Webb advised carefully selecting IT companies and marketing experts to help you develop and implement strategies that will allow you to reach and build relationships with potential advocates for your brand.
Incentivizing Advocacy
Although you’ll likely gain advocates for your brand through social media or positive customer experience, it’s important to further incentivize advocacy to build brand loyalty. One way to do this is to put your brand’s core values into action and be present in your local community.
“Volunteering or providing free services or products will put you in a place where you are ‘doing good’ and getting your product or service known and the charity as your advocate,” explained Webb.
Consumers often enjoy supporting a brand that shares their values, so make your brand’s values known while contributing to a good cause. This incentivizes consumers to get behind your brand and its mission.
Most brands also promote advocacy through a loyalty program on an app. This is a great way to encourage customers to keep coming back to build up their loyalty points or achieve rewards. Webb advised that membership-based franchise concepts tap into this tactic as well, rewarding existing members for referring new members.
Understanding The Franchisor’s Role
While there is a lot that you can do to increase the brand awareness, loyalty and advocacy for your business on your own, be sure to understand what the franchisor has promised you as a franchisee to ensure you’re taking full advantage of these benefits.
“Almost all franchisees pay a monthly percentage marketing fee to the franchisor,” said Webb. “It is imperative to understand what they are doing to help with the process of brand awareness. Are they advertising on a larger scale? Do they have the appropriate social media strategy at the ‘corporate’ level? Do they have influencers at play? What are they doing with your marketing fee? As a franchisee, you have the right to understand if you are getting the appropriate help from the franchisor.”
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*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.
