Even though 2020 may feel like the year of “going nowhere,” the truth is, many organizations are moving in new directions with speeds and efficiencies never seen before. The question for many is whether the crisis-driven changes they are making are temporary, or will they last as companies emerge from the challenges brought on by the pandemic?

Tags: marketing process optimization, local marketing, marketing operations, franchise, streamline marketing, distributed marketing, franchise local marketing, flexible marketing

These days, flexibility is a powerful tool for maintaining balance and navigating uncertainties. This applies especially to marketers who may be managing campaigns across multi-location businesses, facing dynamic local market conditions.

Tags: brand consistency, local marketing, streamline marketing, distributed marketing, flexible marketing

I just returned from Atlanta with my colleagues after attending this year’s Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference. What a terrific event for sharing local marketing best practices. We met a number of truly inspiring franchise marketers and came away with some fresh thinking about marketing through franchisees that can apply across industries with distributed marketing models.

Tags: local marketing, franchise, distributed marketing

Managing local grand opening events can be a challenge when you operate in a distributed marketing model. As a corporate marketer you want to support the success of the new location and ensure brand consistency. At the same time, you want to enable your local team the flexibility to create an event that resonates with their local market.

We’ve supported many clients’ local grand opening events. From franchisors facilitating new franchise openings to banks launching newly acquired local branches, here are some guidelines based on our experience:

Tags: bank marketing, brand consistency, franchise, distributed marketing, franchisee marketing, grand opening event ideas

Overseeing brand consistency in communications with customers and prospects can be challenging for any organization, and especially challenging in a distributed marketing model. When going to market with a large, disperse sales force - including agents, branches, franchises or dealers - brand consistency across these channels is critical. Even details that may seem subtle, such as logo size, brand colors and the tone of messaging can dramatically impact how your organization is perceived.

Tags: brand consistency, marketing resource management, distributed marketing

The onset of the Digital Age has added layers of complexity to the challenges faced by marketing leaders. For those in a distributed marketing environment, where corporate marketing and local sales channels simultaneously represent a single brand, the increase in complexity is exponential.

Tags: marketing resource management, local marketing, distributed marketing

Making a local connection can be a good way to capture your audience’s attention. But, how do you effectively adapt your content to local buyers and markets? Below are some tactical steps for localized marketing.

Tags: localized marketing, marketing resource management, local marketing, distributed marketing

As many marketing professionals know, the marketing management process often gets bogged down in redundant, routine tasks. These tasks, such as tracking down approvals, locating collateral, managing budgets, do little to help you achieve corporate goals. To really make an impact on the business, marketers need to identify opportunities to automate insignificant tasks to free up time for strategic endeavors. Marketing resource management (MRM) systems are one example of a technology designed to optimize marketing workflow. Here’s your guide to opportunities for optimizing your marketing management process.

Tags: brand management, campaign management, marketing resource management, local marketing, marketing operations, distributed marketing, marketing management process

Franchises face unique challenges when it comes to local marketing. They are reliant on local owners to share corporate-supplied marketing campaigns and messages, but are not always able to measure effectiveness, or even tell if franchisees used materials provided.

That can be a big problem. If franchisees aren’t engaged in marketing strategies and techniques, then customers aren’t receiving carefully crafted materials – representing a loss to revenue and a waste of time and money spent creating campaigns that never get used.

Tags: localized marketing, local marketing, franchise, marketing strategies, marketing techniques, distributed marketing, franchise marketing best practices, Drive sales, through-channel marketing, franchisee marketing, franchise marketing campaign, franchise local marketing