Running a local franchise business requires a broad skillset. From day-to-day operations management, customer service, accounting and business planning, to HR, inventory control and facilities management—franchise business owners wear many different hats. For many franchisees, one hat that never seems to fit quite right is that of marketer.

That’s not to say that franchisees lack an understanding of the importance of marketing and promotion to the success of their business. In fact, in a recent survey of franchise SMBs by local media researcher BIA/Kelsey, franchise owners reported more than half of their business is derived from promotions.

Tags: localized marketing, marketing productivity, marketing resource management, local marketing automation, franchise, streamline marketing, scale local marketing, franchise marketing software, getting franchises to do marketing campaigns, turnkey marketing campaign, local marketing resource management

Often we are approached by companies that are experiencing tremendous growth. Sometimes it’s a bank that has made an acquisition and is in the process of integrating many new bank branches into their corporation. Other times it’s a franchisor who has many new locations under construction or has several new franchisees under contract. It’s exciting to be part of a growing business; but it can also be stressful, especially for the corporate marketing department.

Tags: localized marketing, marketing productivity, marketing resource management, local marketing automation, franchise, financial services marketing, scale local marketing, franchise marketing software

There are many industries that use some form of MDF, co-op, or local advertising funds. Whether it is manufacturing companies selling through dealers or franchisors selling through franchisees for example, these industries who don’t sell directly to consumers can find it challenging to get a complete picture of their customer at the local level. Fortunately, by effectively managing and tracking how local marketing dollars are being spent, you can gain marketing insights that you may be missing today:

Tags: localized marketing, local marketing, MDF funds, local marketing budgets, sales support, sales and marketing alignment, marketing budget management, co-op dollars

We’ve all heard it before: Content is king. But how are you getting the most out of your content? A big part of what makes content “good” is context – where is the content showing up and who is reading it? Did the audience discover the content on their own, or did the content find them? In other words, localization of content is incredibly important. Local sales channels need to be able to utilize messaging that’s directed toward their audience, not be stuck with a one-size-fits-all approach.

Tags: localized marketing, local marketing, local marketing automation

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

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, Drive sales, through-channel marketing, franchisee marketing, franchise marketing campaign, franchise marketing

Today, financial services marketing teams face what seem to be competing needs: They need to reach more local consumers, but still need to maintain control of marketing materials to ensure compliance is met and brand standards are upheld.

Tags: MRM, localized marketing, local marketing, financial services marketing, compliant marketing materials

Nailing a search strategy is important for many local marketing campaigns. But it’s not the only element. Even in today’s marketplace, smart relationship-based strategies are still as important—or in some cases, more important—than search alone.

Tags: localized marketing, marketing resource management, local marketing, search marketing, franchise

We work with a lot of clients who need help managing their local marketing budgets. Managing, allocating and approving requests across a number of marketing budgets – from co-op to market development funds; advisory council budgets to target market funds and more – can become a complex task. 

Tags: localized marketing, local marketing, co-op funds, solutions, market development funds, local marketing budgets, systems

 Marketing resource management (MRM) isn’t exactly a topic of most business conversations. In fact, most people don’t even know the solution exists or understand how it can solve marketing challenges and help them reach business goals.

Tags: MRM, localized marketing, marketing resource management, co-op funds, MDF funds, print, local marketing challenges,, systems