Integrated Local Marketing for Franchises

As a franchise owner, you're probably already doing local marketing.  You've got an ad in the Yellow Pages, you sponsor a local PeeWee Soccer team, and you take out an ad in the local paper when you're about to have a sale.  Maybe you've even done a direct-mail campaign, or aired an ad on local radio.  You're all set, right?

Well, not exactly. First of all, there's a lot more you could do. You might be surprised what can fit under the heading of Local Media!  And it doesn't have to cost a lot.

And second, are all of your marketing efforts integrated?  That is, are they working effectively with each other to convey the same message?  And is it the message you meant to send?

What Is Integrated Marketing?

Integrated Marketing is Multi-Channel Marketing, where the communications channels are carefully integrated to convey the same message.  

Why is this important?  Quite simply, because Integrated Marketing works better.  And that's a reason you can take to the bank.

Studies have shown that Integrated Marketing campaigns are more effective at driving up sales, compared to single-channel efforts.  In one case, a clothing retailer sold 15% more to customers who had received both an email and a postcard, compared to customers who only got the email.  Most business owners would be delighted to take a step that resulted in a sales boost of 15%.

And the beauty of it is, to achieve an Integrated Marketing campaign, you don't necessarily have to spend more than you're already spending!  You just have to spend differently.

What's more, on a long-term basis, it helps build your brand.  Your brand is what people think and feel about your company when they hear your name.  Are all of your customer touchpoints conveying the message you want your customers to know about you?  Or are some of those touchpoints actually working against that message -- and each other?  Integrated Marketing can help.

Local Marketing Media

We've already mentioned some of the local marketing communications channels, but here's the big picture.  Local Media can fall into several main categories:

1. Local Traditional Media
2. Interactive Media Made Local
3. Experiential Media

Local Traditional Media

This category includes most of what you probably think of as local media:

1. Local Print Media:  Newspapers, Yellow Pages, Direct Mail
2. Local Broadcast Media:  TV, Radio
3. Local Sponsorships; Local teams, festivals, sporting events, concerts, etc., plus...   
   * Associated billboards, signs, programs, flyers, and apparel

Interactive Media Made Local

Surprised to see that Interactive Media can be local, too?  These communications channels can have a strong impact on your local customers -- and they don't have to cost a lot!

1. Email:  Increasingly, replacing Direct Mail
2. Local Online Advertising:  Increasingly, replacing Classified Ads
3. Local Search:  Increasingly, replacing the Yellow Pages
4. Social Networking:  Supplementing Personal Networking

Experiential Media

This last category, Experiential Media, includes things that many franchises overlook.  Maybe you don't even think of these things as marketing.  But they are customer touchpoints, and as such, they have an impact on your brand.

All those dollars you're spending on what most people consider "marketing" -- traditional or online communications?  They could be wasted if these experiential touchpoints don't also convey your intended brand message.  Or worse -- are conveying the opposite!

1. Physical Presence:  Your office or storefront, signage, etc.
2. Product Experience:  What is it like for your customer to live with your product or service, after the sale?
3. Personal Networking:  Joining and attending professional associations, local chamber of commerce, etc.

Here's How

Not all multi-channel marketing efforts are truly integrated.  If a company is randomly sending out emails and postcards, the messages may not be working together.

(1) Timing.  To achieve true integration, the various media of the multi-channel effort need to be carefully timed to reinforce the message.

Example:  A retailer about to have a big sale might want to...

• Post temporary, eye-catching signage in front of the store.
• Time a postcard for delivery during the same dates.
• Send an email right after the postcard.
• Ensure that local search results turn up mention of the sale.

The postcard, email, and local-search efforts will get the word out to customers who might not happen to drive past the store location to see the sign.

(2) Coordination.  True integration also means that all the pieces look like part of a set.  They don't have to be identical, but the look and feel should clearly identify them as being part of the same campaign.  And the basic message conveyed should also be the same.    

In our example, the retailer would want to be sure that...

• Signage isn't just attention-grabbing, but is also consistent with the other pieces in look and feel.  This is the most limited medium in terms of how much you can say, since people can't grasp a very long or complex message as they're driving past. 
• The postcard has the same colors, photos, logo, message as the signage.  Here, message length is still limited, but the postcard can convey a few more details than the sign.
• The email is sent right after the postcard, and again, using the same colors, photos, logo, message.  If needed, the email can contain even more info than would fit on the postcard.  Possibly, the email may include a special offer to members of a "club."
• For local search, once viewers click on the link, the website they reach should, again, use the same colors, photos, logo, and message as all the other pieces.

Integrated Local Marketing helps you motivate your customers to buy more.  It's that simple.   And at the same time, Integrated Marketing helps you build your customers' emotional connection to your brand.

Done effectively, Integrated Local Marketing helps you cut your customer acquisition costs, while increasing the revenue value to you of each customer -- both immediately and in the long run.  That means greater profits for you.  And that's the name of the game.