Lessons Learned When Creating Franchise Development Sites

In the digital age, most people learn about franchise opportunities through online research. To provide relevant content to prospective franchisees and avoid being bogged down with inquiries from unqualified candidates, franchisors have streamlined the discovery process through impactful communication. By creating a franchise development site, franchise brands have set up a platform where candidates can conduct preliminary research and learn whether or not they will be a good fit for the brand.

Both Alicia Linden, Marketing Manager of Dream Vacations, and Eric Steward, Marketing Manager of Pillar To Post Inc., provided insight into what the process was like in creating a franchise development site.

Linden stated that when Dream Vacations’ site was created about two years ago, the brand was utilizing technology and tools to track customer engagement. The site’s design worked initially, but its tools, trends and Google Analytics weren’t matching up. Linden said that while the design aspect of the site was strong, it didn’t function practically.

“We decided that our site needed to undergo small changes more frequently to make a bigger impact, which in turn, affects conversion goals,” Linden said. “We determined it was necessary to alter our design and provide more options for prospects to learn about us rather than through just a traditional online form or by phone. We had to meet the customer where they were, so we transitioned to include text messaging and online registration for informational webinars. It was a successful, passive-but-captivating way to interact with our candidates.”

Steward acknowledged the same components affected the creation of Pillars to Post Inc.’s site. He further added that franchisees are conducting their own research before ever connecting with a brand.

“Most candidates want to facilitate their own self-research and discovery to learn if they fit with the brand and what the investment and return are,” explained Steward. “Self-discovery has had a major impact on us. We have franchisees who are looking at our site on their own timeline, whether they are actively ready to franchise or won’t be ready until a few years from now. With so many different timelines, we wanted to make it easier and more accessible for anyone’s journey.”

Steward expressed that Pillar to Post Inc. knows its development site visitors are at all different stages of the discovery process, so they’ve learned to maintain a site with a plethora of long- and short-form content and mechanisms, from video to text to graphics.

Steward said, “As a franchise brand, our website is the hub for recruitment. Our site is the most important marketing avenue we have, which means it requires necessary upkeep. We are always updating. Previously, we planned for one big change per year, but we saw that was outdated and it became a pain. Instead, we opted to constantly maintain and improve the site on a regular basis.”

Both Linden and Steward learned that the downside of a culture accustomed to immediacy translates to less time spent on their websites. As Linden pointed out, immediacy due to mobile devices and shorter attention spans means all content needs to be condensed, easy to digest and streamlined.

“After a candidate first comes to our website, they aren’t usually ready to speak to a live representative,” said Linden. “We’ve learned to provide a series of videos for sharing information about our brand and our culture. Our videos and webinars have encouraged people to franchise with us. Even though videos have been popular for some time, they still continue to captivate.”

Though a strong point of interest to potential candidates, videos were one of the most challenging components of the building Dream Vacations’ franchise development site. The other challenge was—and still is—building integration into a lead form.

As far as advice for those taking on the task of creating a franchise development site, Linden said that the adage of ‘nothing good comes easy’ is an accurate description of the process.  Steward added that no matter how experienced a brand is in franchise development site content and metrics, there will always be a call for change.

“Don’t get stuck in your ways,” advised Steward. “Remember that technology is constantly changing and so are trends. It’s important that a development site is adapting to stay on top of analytics. Something that might have worked six months ago, may not work now.”

To stay with the times, it’s important to keep prospects at the forefront of all changes. Prospective franchisees are firstly interested in investment and return as well as benefits, according to Linden. Creating a site that is tailored to providing that information is crucial, especially in a world that wants to replicate immediacy everywhere. Since content needs to be readily available, both Linden and Steward stated that having multiple means of communication and providing the prospect with options is crucial when creating a development site.

Steward reminded fellow franchisors that it’s similarly critical to maintain a balance of back-end processes with what the brand is objectively trying to do, even in an age of immediacy.

“Most of our leads come directly from our website,” stated Steward. “At some point, our website was viewed in the decision process, so it’s important to keep an eye on the back-end. In 2018 alone, we added 60 single-unit franchisees. I’m certain that’s from having a good digital partner who made sure we are ‘mobile-first’ and can answer questions on a regular basis. Our website is a point of pride.”

Linden agreed, stating, “Our franchise development site, and the website as a whole, is a major point of contact with our prospects. We know it’s the highlight of our marketing, so we’ve put a lot into it. We’re proud of the site we’ve created and are constantly optimizing and maintaining it. We’ve generated 60% more leads just from our website alone since this time last year. To say we’re passionate about our work is an understatement.”

Creating a franchise development site requires upkeep; it isn’t a point of marketing that can be designed and left alone. Without the prospect in mind, the site will not draw the way franchisors intend it to, making it imperative for them to be aware of their pull and what information their audience is seeking.