Does your franchise company use its client-facing website to attract franchise leads? If so, you’re definitely not alone — but you’re also missing out on a major opportunity. By creating a separate, digital marketing strategy and website for franchise leads, you can better position the franchise end of your business for lead generation.
This means knowing how to make a franchise development website that attracts leads, captures their attention, and sells them on the opportunity offered by your franchise company. To help, the digital marketing experts at Qiigo have put together this guide on how to build a winning franchise development website outlining our strategy for franchising website success.
Build from the Ground Up
One of the most common mistakes that franchise companies make when targeting their online franchise leads is repeating themselves. If your customer-facing message has already been perfected, it can be tempting to mimic the structure, style, and voice of your customer-facing content when selling your franchise opportunity to budding entrepreneurs.
But potential franchisees will have different questions, goals, and priorities than your brand’s customers. Building a website optimized for franchise development means building from scratch: researching your ideal prospect, creating a detailed prospect profile, and making sure that every word and every pixel is targeted to his/her wants, needs, and concerns.
Craft a Step-by-Step Story
Buying a franchise is a major investment, one that few people take lightly. When serious prospects land on your franchise development website, they are there to learn everything they can about your business.
Depending on your brand’s market, this likely means taking a different structural approach than you might bring to a customer-facing website. Unlike a customer-facing website, which is typically designed for low-attention span browsing, your franchise development website should tell a step-by-step story for potential franchise buyers.
Introduce prospects to the “What?” “Why?” and “How?” of purchasing a franchise, tell a story that makes it easy for readers to picture themselves as franchise owners, and structure your website so that users intuitively move from point A to B to C.
Use Effective Calls to Action
Effective calls to action can make or break your franchise development website, so take time to carefully craft your CTAs and A-B test them against one another. One of the most effective strategies for capturing franchise leads is by offering an exclusive and up to date franchise information report in exchange for prospects’ email addresses and phone numbers.
Next Steps
Marketing your franchise opportunity online doesn’t end with making your franchise development website. After your site is built, you’ll need to:
- Develop a distinct SEO strategy to rank for franchise-focused search terms
- Create a PPC game plan for attracting franchise leads through paid search
- Market yourself on business-focused social networks and online spaces, like LinkedIn
- Explore content marketing opportunities with news sites, online magazines, and blogs frequented by your prospects
A franchisee-focused website can be an invaluable tool in expanding your brand’s reach and overall value. By following the above tips on how to build a franchise development website, your brand will develop a more comprehensive, efficient, and targeted digital marketing strategy for generating franchise leads.
Ready to launch a franchise development website for your brand? As the franchise industry’s digital marketing specialists, the team at Qiigo can help you target franchise leads online with laser-focused precision. Call (888) 673-1212 today to learn how we can unlock your brand’s online potential.
