As the internet boom has changed the way in which the general public engages with businesses, so too has it altered the way companies encourage budding entrepreneurs and established business wizards to set up shop and become a franchisee.
For businesses looking to grow big enough to become a franchisor – or for existing franchisors wanting to expand further across the UK – establishing a strong search engine optimisation strategy is essential.
Success with customers leads to success with franchisees
If a business isn’t obviously successful – pushing noteworthy marketing campaigns, drawing in fresh customers and hitting new highs with each year’s revenue reports – entrepreneurs are going to think twice before they approach it with a proposition.
If there are two businesses operating in a similar field, with one struggling to stand out amongst the crowd while the other is drawing the general public’s favour, a prospective franchisee is obviously going to choose the more promising of the two.
After all, the chief benefits of becoming a franchisee are the adoption of an existing brand, a ready customer base and support from the franchisor. What’s the point in becoming a franchisee if the brand name is wobbly, the customers are looking elsewhere and the franchisor has too much on its own plate to help its franchisees?
What SEO means for a franchisor
With a smart SEO strategy in place, a franchisor will be able to increase its revenue – and ultimately, present a more promising image to entrepreneurs – by tapping into a much wider consumer base.
The fundamentals of SEO mean that businesses are able to climb the ranks of the search engine results pages, which greatly improves brand visibility and drives customer traffic on the company website through the roof.
Social media and content delivery
Additionally, social media activity and the delivery of written and visual content are important aspects of a strong SEO strategy. Both work towards raising the profile of the franchisor in the public eye, establishing it as a key source of industry news and hot topics.
Again, this will help a franchisor by drawing entrepreneurs interested in becoming successful franchisees. They’re going to want to be a part of a brand that exerts a dominant voice in its field; a brand that makes itself aware of customers’ needs and engages with them closely.
Create a demand and then deliver
Reaching customers in other parts of the country often drums up a need for a franchisor’s products or services in areas that are harder to reach – either due to infrastructure niggles or distance – than regions that are, geographically, closer to home.
This lets businesses demonstrate to any prospective franchisees that there exists a real demand for the product in the area proposed as the new franchise location.
Perhaps most importantly, when individual franchisees have their own SEO strategies in place, they can reap the advantages of a strong online presence that any business can experience – increased visibility and conversion rates, broader social engagement and improved brand perception.