How can franchisees effectively run local ads that push consumers to franchisor-managed local web pages and global forms?

In most cases, Franchisors manage local web pages for their franchisees.

There are plenty of benefits, such as brand consistency, content management efficiency, and a better user experience.

But this arrangement can also create friction between the franchisor and franchisees. For example, what if a franchisee wants to boost their ad spend but is at risk of sending prospective customers to neighboring brand locations because of the brand’s website or form structure?

This article covers a few possible solutions, but because each franchise brand has its unique tech stack and operating guidelines, this is by no means a “how to” article.

If you’d like specific help on how to run effective local marketing campaigns, contact us.

Use Geofencing To Show Ads In Your Territory

Geofencing allows franchisees to hyper-target ads based on geographic boundaries. When consumers are inside the “fence,” they can see the ad. When consumers are outside the “fence,” they cannot see the ad.

Nearly all ad platforms, from search engines to social media platforms, offer some level of proximity targeting, like by a defined radius or a zip code. More sophisticated platforms offer hyper-targeted proximity, like showing ads only for consumers inside a building or within walking distance from a storefront..

Use UTM Parameters to Prefill Form Fields

Forms are a popular method for collecting consumer data for lead generation. Forms are inexpensive and are always available. However, if your franchise brand only has one form that allows the consumer to select a location, that can be problematic.

If you’re a franchisee spending your ad budget to push people to this form, your ad dollars may be helping everyone in the brand.

A possible solution is to work with your franchisor to enable the ability to use UTM parameters to prefill specific form fields. Doing so would allow any franchisee to run local ads and have more confidence that their ads generate traffic to their location. It’s not fail-proof, but certainly helpful.

Complete the form for a deeper explanation of UTM parameters and how a franchisee can work with a franchisor to enable prepopulated form fields using URM parameters. (Includes sample code.)

Co-Op With Neighboring Locations to Drive Regional Traffic

A third possible solution is collaborating with adjacent franchisees where everyone contributes to a local ad campaign fund.

Doing so would spread the financial investment over all participants while potentially increasing sales for all participants.

Suppose there are significant territorial discrepancies, like population density or sales volume. In that case, it’s wise to factor those considerations into the local campaign terms and adjust each franchisee’s contribution, so everyone gets value from the marketing effort.

In all cases, be sure your franchisor allows for the solutions you plan to implement.