PR Firms Use a Multi-Pronged Approach to Drive Franchise Sales

Public relations experts work tirelessly to find the formula to best represent a brand. The nuance in PR comes in finding out the target audience that should be marketed to, which can be identified through a company’s end goal. If it’s to market to consumers, there is a whole toolbox of practices it can employ to gain visibility. But if driving franchise sales and bringing in more investors is the goal, the strategy becomes more pointed. 

Lisa Raffaele has been working in franchising PR for many years. She has participated in campaigns with the Canadian Franchise Association, helped launch Fishman Canada with Brad Fishman after noticing a need for a franchise-focused PR agency in the country, and found her own PR firm Bubblegum Canada, two years ago. 

As a PR agency hired by franchisors, her company’s primary goal is to “figure out what's going to convert a potential consumer to be a potential qualified lead for them. We have broken it down to four really strong converters of things we need to make sure we touch upon in terms of messaging,” she explained. 

Highlight the Brand’s Diversity 

One of the most significant selling points a company can make for itself is to highlight how they differ from the competition. Many prospective franchisee candidates shop around and have a couple of different brands in mind. Bubblegum Canada helps businesses identify its differentiators so they can market and highlight those. 

“What makes your franchise unique? What makes it stand out in the space? What are the values of the brand that have made it the way it is? What is your company motto? These are all things that showcase diversity and make your brand stand out. That absolutely needs to happen in our key messaging,” said Raffaele. 

Use a Human Element

In the maze of franchises that a candidate may be wading through during their vetting period, one of the best ways to stand out is to separate the people from the processes. It’s vital to show that there are real humans behind the operation and to share their stories so that the relevancy of their lives can bring in more people like them who would be an excellent fit for the company.

“We really hone in on the brand story. When people buy into a franchise, they're buying into the people and the relationships behind the scene. Who started the company? Why did they start? Are they still involved? We advertise key franchisees, really successful franchisees with unique stories, and those campaigns do really, really well,” Raffaele explained. “Because people can identify with that. If you're a single mom and don't want to go back to your 9 to 5 and want to be an entrepreneur, hearing the story of another single mom doing something successfully is going to be a powerful converter.”

Show Off Charitable Aspects

The next feature of a brand that Raffaele’s company tries to highlight in its PR efforts is how deeply it is involved with the local community and making a difference. A business being philanthropic does affect consumer decisions — a Mintel survey found that 73% of Americans' spending is influenced by how charitable a brand is. 

“If a franchise system doesn't give back to its communities, that's going to be a huge challenge for the brand. How you serve the communities you're in really helps bring the local factor in and positions the company in a good light,” said Raffaele. 

Place a Spotlight on Innovation

“This is what sets franchise systems apart for the long run. We saw that the franchise systems that showed strong leadership and were innovative throughout the pandemic were the ones that continued to grow,” Rafaele said.

All businesses were hit by the secondary effects of the pandemic, and while some struggled more than others, the key is to highlight how the company survived. Showcasing ways that the brand pivoted, adapted and added elements to its operations so it could still serve consumers during difficult times shows stability and is an attractive feature from an investment standpoint.  

Once enough of a buzz is created about a brand, Bubblegum aids companies in figuring out who their ideal franchise owners are and which leads are qualified to fit that profile. They use formulated methods to find people that emulate the traits of the company’s best-performing franchisees. 

“If they can look at their franchise system and say, ‘These are my top franchisees and here's why.’ Then we figure out how to duplicate them. It's really about creating lookalikes, and it's making sure the messaging you're trying to convey is really, really clear,” said Raffaele. “That's what creates successful growth.”