Data-driven campaigns could be the difference between a lackluster year and a pop-the-champagne year. Dig into your data now and let it lead you to growth.

Look for these opportunities:

Keep your edge by identifying and cultivating clusters of efficient business.

Recent changes in consumer buying habits and channels have put businesses in contact with new customer groups. Have you examined the data and sifted for insights? Focusing on segmented groups and catering to their needs is essential to retaining those customers.

For instance, has your franchise seen a boom in mobile ordering? That’s a potential treasure trove of customer and transactional data. Add automated data analysis for fast reporting. Now you can easily look at order time, location, and size, identifying ways to drive loyalty and profitability.

Enrich your proprietary data warehouse to fuel more powerful targeted campaigns.

Companies that prioritize data prep tend to beat their annual business goals. Prep includes everything from cleansing to standardizing formats to enriching first-party data. With higher quality data, you get better-informed decisions. Now’s the time to reassess what you’re collecting and align your processes with your business goals.

Add targeted marketing campaigns to grow staff. 

46% of owners are unable to fill open positions (per National Federation of Independent Business jobs report – June 2021). And it’s not just QSRs looking for team members, but businesses in lodging, construction, restaurants, and home services industries. Obviously, we can’t serve customers without enough staff. So put some marketing muscle towards recruitment.

Use third-party data to target zip code areas or reach certain trait groups. Connect with candidates on the channels they respond to. Segment to test messaging and specific incentives. Tailor your approach to groups such as over-60 adults or Gen-Z students.

Gear up for the next wave of data privacy regulations threatening to wipe out paid digital efforts. 

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was top of mind for marketers because it allows customers in California to request that their data be disclosed and/or deleted from a business’s records. Since it took effect in January 2020, many companies have updated policies and added consent options.

But Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative is another major shakeup to brace for. The move to tighten the reins on third-party cookies will affect paid search campaigns. Many franchise-focused marketing vendors use digital strategies involving cookies and data collection online. That’s about to get tougher and will erase the current competitive advantage for leading brands and agencies. You’ll need a data analytics practice that uses your proprietary data to create your own targeting.

The solution is combining first-party data from a POS or CRM with third-party consumer data. That convergence preserves the ability to deeply understand who their customers are, why they purchase, and who to target with marketing campaigns — both digital and traditional.

Take advantage of soaring direct mail response rates.

During recent stay-at-home stretches, direct mail response rates soared. We saw trends that show:

• • postcards are on the rise and gaining popularity
  • direct mail copy became shorter by 62% with a move to stronger imagery
  • use of interactive digital (QR codes, social media channel info and website prompts) has doubled in the last 4 years
  • triggered direct mail – based on a specific event or behavior – is having a huge impact
  • data is playing an even more critical role in targeting segmented audiences with increased response rates

Reel in bigger ROI with cost-effective hyper-local SEO content for each of your locations.

You could pour half the annual ad budget into a splashy TV ad campaign and never see the payoff. Focus on hyperlocal channels for more impact. It’s a smaller investment to make adjustments that optimize hyperlocal SEO campaigns. But it’s an ultra-effective way to serve up the right message at the right time. It means your business pops up when customers want pizza after the baseball game or look for a 5-star-review painter in their neighborhood.

Dive into the Connected TV pool while competition is still low and TV consumption is high.

Franchises and Connected TV (CTV) advertising are a perfect match. CTV is streaming content delivered through devices and services like Apple TV, Hulu, or Peacock. Many people are shifting from cable boxes to digital, especially Gen Z and millennials.

CTV media buying uses data, technology, and analytics to automate, predict, and deliver relevant ads in real-time. Media buyers can also purchase ad inventory in real-time — serving the right message to the right person at the right time — and bid on the right price. On a local level, franchisees can compete with big-budget national advertisers because the platform makes it easy to microtarget.

Audiences can interact with localized ads based on their location – specific creative, nearest store location, specific offer served at a certain time. They can even self-select. For example, viewers can browse several offers and click to get a text containing the coupon they choose.

When we guide clients on CTV campaigns, we use data analytics to identify targeted audiences and decide the bid amount to reach them based on their potential value. Then we optimize with machine learning. It reads patterns and refines the strategy. In as little as a week, campaigns begin reaching peak performance.

To learn more about Connected TV, check out the replay of our recent IFA webinar.

Is your franchise business ready for a reset? Let’s talk.