Business

Franchise marketing support is critical if you want to expand your franchise empire beyond just a few units. After all, with the market oversaturated as it is, even well-established chains may have difficulty reaching out from beyond their market base. Consider one of my favorite chains, the Mexican restaurant, Baja Fresh. This chain, popular for years in Southern California, only recently broke out.

Part of the reason Baja Fresh is suddenly showing up in Washington D.C. and New York is word-of-mouth advertising. Without a nationwide advertising program, Baja Fresh was able to enter these new markets. Yet for most small businesses, a more aggressive campaign is necessary. So what can you do to get your company into new markets?

Designing a Franchise Marketing Support Initiative
First and foremost, work in collaboration with your franchise consulting company to figure out ways of penetrating these markets. Its not enough to say that you want to expand to New York. You have to target a specific open niche in the city. Once you define your target zone, you can then develop an advertising strategy to reach customers in that area.

That being said, you can also leave it up to individual franchise owners to go where they see fit. The may be a better strategy, as it takes the burden off of you. While you can provide incentives for franchisees who want to expand into certain territories, your best strategy may simply be to let the markets play out and define your territory for you.