Restaurant franchising: successfully communicating locally while benefiting from the franchisor's national strategy

Choosing to open a franchised restaurant means you can rely on the expertise, brand and operational support of an established brand. Franchises invest in and develop, among other things, a brand that aims for regional or even local influence. How can you get the most value out of it, while adapting to the specific needs of your local clientele?

How do you strike the right balance between the brand's national communications and the local communications of your own establishment? Faithfully following the franchisor's rules: YES, of course! But this is often not enough to guarantee the success of your establishment. Adapting your marketing locally, to reach local customers, becomes essential. How do you go about it? We give you our recommendations in this article.

Follow the franchisor's national strategy to ensure consistent communication for franchised restaurants

As a franchised restaurant, you are part of a group with a well-established brand identity. It's important to respect certain communication rules. In line with this brand image, to guarantee a consistent experience for customers throughout the network.

a. Obtain all communication materials from the franchisor 

Respecting the quality and presentation standards set by the group, as well as marketing and communication guidelines, is essential. By using the same messages and visuals as other franchised restaurants, you reinforce the brand identity and reputation of the network as a whole. This works in your favor and that of the franchisor.

Make sure you have everything you need, from the national strategy in place, to the graphic and editorial charter, the visuals, the website, and the budgets to be allocated to marketing... The franchisor must provide you with these essential elements for consistent communication within the network.

Let's take a concrete example. The Basilic and Co franchisor launches a new menu for the winter season, available in all the group's franchised restaurants. To make this new offer known to customers and make them want to discover it, it needs to be communicated consistently in every establishment.

Consistent communication also reinforces customers' trust in the brand and ensures a consistently high quality experience, no matter which of the Group's restaurants they visit. 

You need to convey to these customers the messages and visuals they expect. You don't have to create a new graphic charter with different colors, or change the messages to be conveyed. On the contrary, you need to embody the group's history, promise and values to attract customers who are looking for these key elements.

b. Foster your franchisor-franchisee relationship

Enhance your exchanges with the franchisor to ensure the success and growth of your franchise. You'll solve problems faster, optimize performance and maintain a consistent level of quality.

Communicate regularly to exchange information on new products, innovations and industry developments. You need to be able to express your needs and suggestions, and the franchisor needs to take this feedback into account to improve the quality of the franchise.

For example, if one of your recipes isn't a hit with customers, don't hesitate to pass on the information to the franchisor. Once informed, he or she will be able to adapt it or better develop future recipes.

Depending on the brand, franchisees will have more or less rights and powers to work on their local marketing. Respecting the franchise's recommendations remains a priority, but make sure they take your local issues into account if you really want to perform well.

Adapt and personalize your franchised restaurant's local communications

Personalizing your franchise's communications is essential to attracting local customers. Each region, town or neighborhood has its own culture and specific characteristics, which means that the same communication strategy won't work in the same way everywhere.The same communication strategy doesn't work in the same way everywhere.

a. Make your franchised restaurant exist everywhere online

Tailor your franchise's communications to the local clientele, their needs and consumer habits. This can involve targeted marketing actions, such as advertising or events organized in the community.

But to promote your establishment as a full-fledged restaurant in your geolocation area, start by creating your own media. In other words, create a listing in all the directories where your customers do their research. Once your restaurant is present on the most relevant platforms, it's time to feed your pages! With complete and precise information such as address, opening hours, menus, but also photo publications of your restaurant... After all, your aim is to rise to the top of the search results on these platforms, and thus appear in the eyes of potential customers.

> Discover the 14 best platforms for listing your restaurant Click here

b. Define and deploy a local SEO strategy specific to your franchised restaurant

To move up the search results for customers near you, you need to adapt your local SEO strategy to your restaurant. To do this, add to your keyword list terms specific to your location and customer target, in addition to the more global terms specific to the group. Then work on your positioning in search results by using these keywords in all strategic areas: your Google listing description, responses to customer reviews, captions to your Google posts, names of your posted photos... 

What's more, personalizing your communication can help build a bond of trust with local customers. By showing that you understand their needs and are attentive to their expectations, it becomes easier to build loyalty and encourage them to return.

> Discover our 16 tips to make your restaurant's Google listing rank No. 1 for your keywords Click here

c. Personalize your restaurant's communication on social media to reach and engage local customers.

social media is an important place to promote your restaurant and interact with potential customers. Create a page dedicated to your restaurant on Instagram and Facebook allows you to address your audience and use a more engaging proximity discourse with your subscribers. It's also a great way to appear on the Instagram map, a significant visibility lever today! Then regularly feed your page with posts adapted to demand, content that reflects your establishment's offering and ambience, relevant hashtags... These are all elements that are specific to each restaurant and not similar from one franchise to another. Don't forget to follow the franchisor's guidelines in your communications.

By proposing offers and services tailored to local customers, you'll be able to stand out from the crowd and become the benchmark for local residents.

> Discover all our 15 tips to increase the engagement rate of your Instagram page Click here

d. Responding to all customer interactions 

Who better than you to respond to your customers' interactions? By interactions, we mean your customer reviews, the private messages you receive on Google, Facebook and Instagram, as well as all the comments and other contacts you make on social media. It's vital to respond to them, not only to show your appreciation to your customers, but also to convert certain Internet users who might ask you questions before coming.  

> Discover all our tips on replying to private messages for your restaurant Click here

e. Monitor local communication performance

Track your site's performance and adjust your communication accordingly. Analyzing the performance of your communication on social media allows you to understand what's working and what's not. You can use analytics tools to track the number of engagements, comments, shares, and impressions. Using this data, you can adjust your communication strategy to achieve better results.

In short, by personalizing your communication on social media, you can increase your visibility and engagement, which can help boost your sales. Take the time to understand your audience, adapt your content, respond to all interactions and track performance to maximize the impact of your communication.

Find the right balance between centralized national and local communication for your franchised restaurant, with MalouApp

So, how can you optimize your communications as a franchisee? You need to strike a balance between personal communication that speaks to your customers, while respecting the world of the group to which you belong.

To help you, franchisees and franchisors alike, we have THE solution for you! An all-in-one solution for managing your restaurant's communications.

A solution designed by and for restaurateurs, to support them in their digital marketing strategy. As a franchised restaurant, working on your online storefront requires specific knowledge to make it effective. A profession in its own right. This is where MalouApp comes in: to enable professionals to keep control of their communications, without having to be an expert or hire one. A single, easy and intuitive interface that guides them through each essential step in order to :

• Rise to the top of Google search results and other platforms
• Improve the restaurant's online reputation on Instagram and Facebook
• Save time
• Convert customers
• Building customer loyalty

Thanks to a host of features! Discover what MalouApp can do for you

HERE

And what's in it for your franchisor-franchisee relationship?

The MalouApp allows several people to manage the restaurant's online visibility. All you have to do is grant access to some or all of the functions. Each person connected can then work together, leave comments and exchange information live on the solution. Several establishments can be synchronized on the same account.