Introduction
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” This famous observation by John Wanamaker aptly captures the dilemma many franchisors face today. Navigating the complexities of franchise recruitment marketing is daunting, with estimates suggesting that 80% of the marketing spend may not directly contribute to successful franchisee recruitment. Understanding where to efficiently channel marketing funds can significantly enhance a franchise’s ability to attract quality candidates without unnecessary expenditure. This article explores the costs associated with various marketing strategies and highlights how to pinpoint the effective 20%.
Franchise Web Portals
- Pay-Per-Lead: Some portals charge franchisors on a per-lead basis, where the franchisor pays for each potential franchisee that submits contact information through the portal. Prices per lead can vary widely but typically range from $20 to $50, depending on the quality and level of exclusivity of the leads. It’s important to note that the same web portal lead is often sold to multiple franchisors, FSOs, and franchise brokers.
- Subscription Packages: Some portals offer subscription packages that include a set number of leads per month. These packages can range from $1,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on the expected number of leads and the level of detail provided about each lead.
Digital Marketing Breakdown
- Website and SEO: Initial setup fees range from $2,000 to $10,000, with ongoing monthly costs of $500 to $5,000. These investments are crucial for enhancing online presence and driving organic search traffic.
- LinkedIn: This platform is ideal for targeting potential franchisees, with lead costs between $50 and $200, depending on campaign complexity and competition. Additionally, you will need to spend from your CRM budget for each salesperson to have LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which offers three plans: Core, Advanced, and Advanced Plus.
- Facebook: According to leadppc.com, the cost for a franchise lead on Facebook can range from $15 to $40. However, the average cost per lead (CPL) can vary significantly based on target audience, industry, and ad quality. Survey respondents have reported average CPLs as low as $5–$7 and as high as over $25, making Facebook a versatile tool for targeted campaigns.
- Content Marketing: Requires a consistent investment of $1,000 to $5,000 per month, focusing on engaging potential franchisees with relevant content.
- Email Marketing: Monthly costs range from $100 to $1,000, offering potentially low cost per lead, especially with a well-curated list.
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Costs per lead can be high, from $50 to $200, heavily influenced by the competitive landscape.
Traditional Advertising Costs
- Print Media: Costs $500 to $5,000 per placement, a traditional method with variable effectiveness.
- Radio and TV Advertising: These channels are expensive, costing $2,000 to $20,000, dependent on reach and timing.
- Direct Mail: Campaigns generally cost $500 to $2,000, plus $1 to $10 per piece, offering a direct but often pricey solution.
Franchise Expos and Trade Shows
These events range from $2,500 to $15,000 per event, with lead acquisition costs of booth leads from $175 to $1,000, and post-show sales qualified leads ranging from $800 to $2,200. These gatherings provide invaluable face-to-face networking opportunities but require careful consideration of ROI due to the potentially high costs.
Cost Per Franchise Sale: Internal Franchise Sales Team
Franchise sales are the ultimate goal, with costs per sale ranging dramatically from $16,000 to $30,000 or more, depending on the effectiveness of the chosen marketing mix of strategies they utilize (and you do need to add in their salaries, benefits and incentives).
Utilizing Franchise Brokers
Franchise brokers are often critical in generating highly qualified leads, with their commissions typically starting at a minimum of 40% of the franchise fee. Average broker commissions are around $30,000, with some franchisors paying up to 100% of these fees. Additionally, brokers often receive substantial premiums on multi-unit deals such as 3-pack, 5-pack, and 10-pack agreements, where the franchise buyer pays the aggregate franchise fee upfront, and the broker is paid their commission upon execution of the deal. You will need to budget additional money for broker network annual franchisor participation fees and broker-only trade shows to convince brokers to show your concept to their leads.
Public Relations
Monthly fees for PR agencies now range from $4,000 to $15,000, with the potential to significantly enhance brand visibility and indirectly generate leads.
Retained Franchise Sales Outsource (FSO)
- Retainer Fees to FSOs: Compensates the FSO for their ongoing efforts to market the franchise and manage the sales process, typically ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 per month.
- Success Fees to FSOs: Paid when the FSO successfully facilitates a franchise sale, these fees are a percentage of the franchise fee paid by the new franchisee, generally ranging between 30% and 100%, with 50% being common.
- Commissions to Third-Party Brokers: These brokers provide potential franchise buyer leads to the FSO and receive a commission when one of their referred leads results in a franchise sale, typically ranging from $20,000 to $30,000 per franchise sale (this part of the blended/combined commission payout split between the FSO and independent franchise broker who are both franchise sales agents of the franchisor).”
Conclusion
The challenge in franchise recruitment marketing isn’t just in spending money, but in spending it wisely. Franchisors must critically assess which segments of their marketing strategy yield the best ROI and continuously adapt to market responses. By focusing on the most effective 20% of their marketing efforts, franchisors can optimize their recruitment process, reduce wasted expenditure, and more successfully grow their franchise network.
Joe, Ned and Mike guide franchisors to get this in place for their franchise recruitment email joe@franchisorsales.org or direct message Joe on Linkedin.