Franchise marketing FAQ: your complete guide (2025)
Every question you have about franchise marketing answered
That's why we've compiled clear answers to your most common franchise questions about strategy, operations, tools, franchise marketing, and franchise brand management.
Didn't find what you were looking for? We're here to help, just reach out!
General franchise marketing questions
First, let's answer some general questions about franchising.
A franchise is a business model where entrepreneurs run their own businesses while building on the strength of a trusted brand and proven systems. This approach is especially prominent across industries like retail and food service, where recognizable names thrive through local ownership.
In a franchise network, the franchisor sets the standards, owns the brand, and supplies the operational framework. Franchisees, in turn, bring those brands to life in their communities, managing day-to-day operations while upholding brand integrity.
Some of the world’s best-known brands operate with this model: McDonald's has more than 36,000 locations worldwide, Subway exceeds 44,000, and 7-Eleven reaches customers through over 66,000 stores spanning 20 countries.
Franchising is when a franchisor licenses its business name, trademark, and operating systems to franchisees. In return, franchisees pay an initial fee plus ongoing royalties.
Some of the benefits of franchising include:
- For growth: Franchising lets businesses expand rapidly into new markets without the capital costs of opening company-owned locations.
- For brand building: More locations mean more visibility and recognition in different markets.
- For profitability: The franchise model creates multiple revenue streams through fees, royalties, and supply agreements.
Some disadvantages of franchising include:
-
Loss of control: You give up some control over how your brand appears and operates at each location.
-
High costs: Starting requires significant investment. Expect initial fees plus ongoing royalty payments that can reach 6 to 8% of revenue.
-
Restrictive agreements: Franchise contracts limit what franchisees can change or adapt in their local markets.
- McDonald's (founded 1940): 36,000+ locations across 100+ countries. Known for burgers, fries, and consistency.
- Subway (founded 1965): 44,000+ locations globally. Famous for customizable submarine sandwiches.
- 7-Eleven (founded 1927): 66,000+ convenience stores in 20+ countries.
- Dunkin' Donuts (founded 1950): 11,000+ locations in 36 countries. Coffee and baked goods leader.
- Burger King (founded 1953): 15,000+ locations worldwide. Second second-largest burger chain.
- Wendy's (founded 1969): 6,500+ locations in 30+ countries.
- Taco Bell (founded 1962): 7,000+ locations serving Mexican-inspired food.
- KFC (founded 1952): 19,000+ locations in 120+ countries. Fried chicken specialist.
- Pizza Hut (founded 1958): 16,000+ locations across 90 countries.
- Domino's Pizza (founded 1960): 10,000+ locations in 70+ countries.
- Mobile pet grooming franchises: Niche service businesses that bring grooming directly to customers' homes. Success depends on strong local marketing.
- Home-based franchises: No storefront needed. Perfect for people wanting flexibility and lower overhead costs.
- Online franchises: Digital-first businesses that can operate globally from anywhere with internet access.
Quick answer: Launching a franchise system requires market research, legal documentation, a proven business model, and support systems for franchisees.
Seven steps to launch your franchise system
1. Prove your business model
Make sure your concept works profitably in multiple locations before franchising. Most franchise experts recommend operating successfully for at least two years.
2. Conduct market research
Research the market size, demographics, customer needs, and competition in your target expansion areas. This groundwork determines where your franchise concept will succeed.
3 Create legal documentation
Work with a franchise attorney to develop your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and franchise agreements. These protect both you and your franchisees.
4 Develop a marketing plan
Your franchise recruitment plan needs specific goals, a defined target franchisee profile, a realistic budget, a timeline, and metrics to track success.
5: Create marketing materials
Build materials that attract qualified franchisee candidates. Show your track record, support systems, and return on investment potential.
6 Build franchisee support systems
Set up training programs, ongoing support, marketing resources, and operational guidance before you sell your first franchise.
7 Stay current with industry trends
Keep your system competitive by monitoring market changes, new marketing channels, and what successful franchises in other industries are doing.
Quick answer: Buying a franchise requires researching opportunities, evaluating your fit, securing financing, and completing the franchisor's approval process.
Seven steps to buy a franchise
1. Research franchise opportunities
Look at franchises in industries that interest you. Consider the investment required, the franchisor's track record, and growth potential.
2. Evaluate your local market
Research the market size, demographics, customer needs, and competition in your target territory. Make sure demand exists for this franchise concept.
3 Review the Franchise Disclosure Document
The FDD tells you everything about costs, obligations, restrictions, and the franchisor's financial health. Read it carefully and have a franchise attorney review it.
4 Talk to existing franchisees
Contact franchisees in the system. Ask about profitability, support quality, and whether they'd buy the franchise again, knowing what they know now.
5: Secure financing
Determine your total investment needs, including franchise fees, buildout costs, working capital, and initial marketing. Explore SBA loans and franchisor financing programs.
6 Complete the application process
Franchisors want to ensure you're a good fit. Be prepared for interviews, background checks, and financial reviews.
7 Attend training and launch
Complete the franchisor's training program, set up your location, and follow their launch marketing plan to open strong.
Franchise Strategy
Your franchise strategy serves as the blueprint for expanding and shaping your franchise network. It brings your goals, current operations, and market position into clear focus, guiding every decision along the way.
Strategy development means planning how you'll grow through new locations, expanding existing ones, or both. The goal is efficient, effective growth using business planning tools, market research, and expert guidance.
Some of the benefits of a franchise strategy include:
- Faster growth: A clear strategy helps you spot and exploit expansion opportunities.
- Better efficiency: Streamlined operations reduce waste and improve franchisee profitability.
- Higher profits: Strategic planning maximizes return on investment across your system.
Some key components include:
-
Goal setting: Set realistic, measurable targets that guide your decisions.
-
SWOT analysis: Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
-
Competitive analysis: Understand who you're competing against and what makes you different.
Franchise Marketing
Franchise marketing is the process of helping a franchise grow by attracting end customers and potential franchisees.
There are two types of franchise marketing:
- Operational franchise marketing - involves any marketing activity franchisors and franchisees participate in to acquire and retain customers.
- Franchise development marketing - is any marketing activity a franchisor does to acquire and retain more franchisees in new locations.
There are a few key things to keep in mind when marketing for franchises:
- Keep your brand consistent: It’s important to maintain a consistent brand across all franchise locations. This includes using the same logo, colors, and messaging in your marketing materials.
- Localize your marketing: While you want to keep your brand consistent, you also need to tailor your marketing to each local market. This means creating marketing materials that speak to the specific needs and interests of each market. Marvia has local marketing software specifically made for franchise marketing.
- Use multiple marketing channels: To reach the widest audience possible, you should use a variety of marketing channels, including online, print, and word-of-mouth.
- Focus on lead generation: A key goal of franchise development marketing is to generate leads for the franchisor. To do this, you need to create compelling marketing materials that encourage people to inquire about franchise opportunities.
- Measure your results: To gauge the effectiveness of your franchise marketing efforts, you need to track key metrics, such as website traffic, leads generated, and conversion rates.
Conducting market research
Conducting franchise market research is important for any company looking to enter the franchise market. When conducting franchise market research, it is important to consider the following factors:
- The size of the potential market
- The demographics of the potential market
- The needs and wants of the potential market
- The competition in the potential market
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best way to do marketing for a franchise business will vary depending on the franchise and the products or services it offers.
However, some tips for marketing a franchise business include identifying the franchise's target market, developing a clear and consistent brand identity, and using marketing channels that are most likely to reach the target market. One of the better ways to market a franchise is by doing it locally.
- Create a central repository for all franchise marketing materials, such as logos, color palettes, and brand guidelines.
- Track compliance with franchise marketing standards and provide a platform for franchisees to ask questions and get help with maintaining the brand standards.
- Create and manage a franchise marketing calendar to help coordinate marketing efforts across the franchise network.
- Create and manage a customer database, which can be used for targeted marketing campaigns.
- Create and manage a website for the franchise, which can be used to promote the franchise to potential customers and franchisees.
Marvia's franchise marketing software can help by creating a central repository for all franchise marketing materials, tracking compliance with franchise marketing standards, and providing branded templates to create franchise marketing materials in minutes, all in one platform.
- Social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great places to reach a larger audience with your message. You can use these platforms to share blog posts, articles, videos, or infographics relevant to your franchisees and their customers. Additionally, you can use social media to build relationships with your franchisees and create a sense of community within your franchise organization.
- Email marketing: Email marketing can be a great way to reach a larger audience with your message. You can use email to share blog posts, articles, videos, or infographics relevant to your franchisees and their customers. Additionally, you can use email to build relationships with your franchisees and create a sense of community within your franchise organization.
- Content marketing: Content marketing is a strategy to create and distribute content relevant to your franchisees and their customers. This content can be in the form of blog posts, articles, videos, or infographics and is designed to help franchisees promote and sell their products or services. Franchise content marketing helps companies because it allows them to reach a larger audience with their message, and it helps franchisees because it provides them with valuable content that they can use to market their business.
When creating a marketing plan for a franchise business, it is essential to consider the following factors:
- The goals of the franchise marketing plan
- The target market of the franchise
- The budget for the franchise marketing plan
- The timeline for the franchise marketing plan
- The methods for measuring the success of the franchise marketing plan
Some other franchise marketing tips include building a solid relationship with franchisees, offering franchise training and support, and staying up to date with franchise industry trends.
When creating targeted and engaging marketing materials, it is crucial to consider the following factors:
- The goals of the marketing materials
- The target market of the franchise
- The message of the marketing materials
- The design of the marketing materials
- The call to action of the marketing materials
There are many ways to promote your franchise business. Some common methods include advertising, public relations, direct marketing, and event marketing. Additionally, you can promote your franchise business through social media, your website, and word-of-mouth.
PPC for franchise marketing is a type of online marketing that allows franchise businesses to advertise their products or services on search engines like Google and Bing. Advertisers pay each time a potential customer clicks on their ad. PPC comes from "pay per click" and is also sometimes called CPC marketing ("cost per click").
PPC marketing can help franchises reach new customers actively searching for what they offer. By targeting potential customers with relevant ads, franchises can increase their chances of getting their products or services in front of people who are more likely to convert into paying customers.
PPC for franchise marketing can be an effective way to reach new customers and grow a franchise business. Some of the benefits of using PPC for franchise marketing include the following:
- Increased visibility: PPC ads can help increase the visibility of a franchise business, making it more likely that potential customers will see and click on the ads.
- Targeted advertising: PPC ads can be targeted to specific demographics, interests, and locations, making it easier to reach potential customers who are more likely to be interested in what the franchise has to offer.
- Flexible budget: PPC campaigns can be customized to fit any budget, making it a cost-effective way to reach new customers.
- Measurable results: PPC campaigns can be tracked and monitored, so franchise businesses can see their ads' effectiveness and make changes accordingly.
Analytics software programs track data from your website, social media accounts, and marketing campaigns. This data is then analyzed to help you understand which marketing activities generate the most leads and conversions.
Local Franchise Marketing
Local franchise marketing is creating and delivering marketing messages to (potential) customers in a specific geographic area.
Local franchise marketing aims to help franchisees attract new customers and grow their businesses. Local franchise marketing can target potential customers in a specific city, state, or region. Local franchise marketing campaigns can be customized to target the local market's specific needs and wants, making them more effective than global or national franchise marketing campaigns.
Some of the benefits of franchise local marketing include:
- Increased leads and sales: By targeting customers in their local area, franchisees are more likely to generate leads and sales.
- Improved brand awareness: Franchisees who use local marketing techniques can improve brand awareness and name recognition in their community.
- Increased customer loyalty: Franchisees who use local marketing techniques can build relationships with customers and create a loyal customer base.
Some franchise local marketing strategies include:
- Developing targeted marketing campaigns: Franchisees can use customer data to develop marketing campaigns that are specifically targeted to the needs and wants of their local market.
- Utilizing local resources: Franchisees can use local resources, such as newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations, to reach potential customers in their community.
- Building relationships with local businesses: Franchisees can build relationships with local businesses to create referral and cross-promotional opportunities.
There are a number of things you can do to manage your franchise's reputation. First, you should make sure you are providing quality products and services. Second, you should make sure you are responsive to customer feedback and complaints. Third, you should make sure you are regularly monitoring your online reputation and addressing any negative reviews or comments. Finally, you should make sure you are promoting positive reviews and testimonials. Preventing reputation damage to your franchise starts with clear and consistent messages, and franchise marketing software such as Marvia helps, because it lets you quickly create on-brand marketing materials.
12 examples of brilliant local marketing
Want to see how other franchise brands nail the balance between consistency and local relevance? Check out our most popular guide featuring real campaigns that drove amazing local results.Franchise Brand Management
Franchise brand management can help franchises by creating a more recognizable and unified brand identity. This can make it easier for potential customers to identify and remember the franchise, and it can also help build brand loyalty among existing customers.
Some of the benefits of franchise brand management include:
- Increased visibility: A consistent and recognizable brand can help a franchise business stand out from the competition and be more visible to potential customers.
- Improved customer loyalty: A strong brand can help build customer loyalty, making it more likely that customers will continue to do business with the franchise.
- Greater customer trust: A franchise business with a strong and consistent brand is more likely to be trusted by potential customers.
- Increased franchise value: A strong brand can make a franchise business more valuable, making it more attractive to potential franchisees.
Franchise brand marketing can help your business by increasing brand awareness and creating a more positive association with your brand. It can also help to build trust and credibility with potential customers and franchisees, which can lead to increased sales and growth.
There are a number of ways to keep a franchise brand consistent. First, it is important to have a clear and concise brand identity that is communicated to all franchisees. Second, all franchisees should be trained on how to maintain brand standards. Third, there should be periodic audits of franchisees to ensure that they are complying with the brand standards. Finally, franchisees should be held accountable for maintaining the brand standards through the franchise agreement. There is, however, a better way.
Franchise organizations can use brand management software to help keep their franchise brand consistent. This type of software provides a central repository for all brand assets, such as logos, color palettes, and brand guidelines. It also allows franchise organizations to track compliance with brand standards and provides a platform for franchisees to ask questions and get help with maintaining the brand standards.
Marvia is an example of such software, it helps franchise brands to keep their identity consistent and manage their franchise network.
Franchise Software
- Social media management software: This type of software helps franchisees manage their social media accounts, schedule posts, and track engagement.
- Email marketing software: This software helps franchisees send mass emails to customers and prospects, track open rates and click-through rates, and segment lists for more targeted marketing.
- Lead management software: This software helps franchisees track and manage leads from initial contact to conversion.
- Customer relationship management (CRM) software: This software helps franchisees track and manage customer data, including contact information, purchase history, and support requests.
- Marketing automation software: This software helps franchisees automate marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and lead nurturing.
- Website management software: This software helps franchisees manage their website content, track website traffic, and generate leads through forms and landing pages.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) software: This software helps franchisees improve their website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs), making it more visible to potential customers.
- Analytics software: This software helps franchisees track and analyze data from their marketing campaigns, website, and social media accounts.
There are a number of franchise marketing tools that can help you improve the performance of your franchise. These tools can help you reach a larger audience with your message, and they can help franchisees sell more products or services.
Additionally, franchise marketing tools can help you build relationships with your franchisees and create a sense of community within your franchise organization.
Some of the best franchise marketing tools include social media, email marketing, and content marketing tools. The very best tools help combine all channels so you have one platform to work from. These tools can help you reach a larger audience with your message, and they can help franchisees sell more products or services.
Additionally, franchise marketing tools can help you build relationships with your franchisees and create a sense of community within your franchise organization.
Yes, software can help with franchise management in a number of ways. For example, it can help with marketing by providing tools for creating and managing marketing campaigns. It can also help with operations by providing tools for managing inventory, scheduling, and customer data. Additionally, software can help with financial planning by providing tools for creating and managing budgets, tracking expenses, and generating reports.
Marvia helps franchises manage their marketing with Digital Asset Management, so you have all your assets in one place. Branded templates help you create on-brand marketing materials in minutes.
Want to know more about our franchise marketing tools?
See how modern franchise brands use distributed marketing platforms to do localized marketing at scale while maintaining brand control.Trusted by franchises around the globe








Ready to transform your franchise marketing?
Don't let marketing bottlenecks limit your growth potential.
See how franchise leaders are empowering their locations to drive local sales while maintaining perfect brand consistency.
Trusted by leading franchises: Domino's Pizza, KFC, KidStrong, Boston Pizza, fit20, and BarBurrito use Marvia to manage their franchise marketing.