Marketing is one of those areas of business that is either a part of the operations plan or it is something business owners struggle with. In a franchise system, there are franchisees that assume the franchisor is going to do most of the marketing. The corporate office, after all, has the marketing money from all the locations in the chain that can be used to drive sales at each store. That is a gap in expectations that needs to be addressed early in the franchise process. Corporate office marketing is set on building the brand.  Local store marketing is done by, well, the local store.

Let’s spin the subject around and talk about non-franchise stores. Individual owners know that it is all up to them to get customers interested in buying. They have no parent company and they fight for each customer on their own. This is simply a “Me against my competition” way of doing marketing and it works.

What makes franchisees stumble sometimes is the system they are put in isn’t always innovative in planning for marketing at the store level. Sometimes it is the franchisee who does not have the full understanding of planning local store marketing or see it as vital to their success.  I have dealt with many franchise organizations that have a disconnect in expectations.  Those brands have been quickly dying out in this economy.

So what do you need to do? Since the you want to get the biggest results from the money you spend, let’s start with a very small budget that has elements of brand building and public relations.

Low Cost Marketing

Low cost marketing requires creativity and planning to make it work, but can be as effective than a big budget plan. I like to start with the question, “What can you brag about that your competitors can’t?” Yes, I want you to tell me what you are seriously proud of at your store. Something you want to tell everyone you meet.

I saw a store sign today that said “The best drive-thru…112 customers helped in one hour”. That is not only amazing, but as a customer (or potential customer) I now know that I will be helped quickly at the drive-thru. Personally, I go inside a fast food restaurant to get helped quickly since the drive-thru at most restaurants tend to be the slower option. I had to try thru drive-thru and I was blown away at the speed, the service, and the smiles from the hourly employees working the window.

For your store, what do you already have that you can use to promote your “brag-able” quality? It may be a reader board like in my example or a nice big window to paint. Another untapped option is your employees.

Your employees, as a group, know more people than you do, they get around town more than you, and can promote your store more than just a sign in the window. Give your employees t-shirts or jackets to wear that have the brand and the item of pride labeled on it.  They can wear it on the job and give them extras to wear when they are off the clock. They are walking billboards for your location.

You can also have a contest between employees to see who can bring the most customers to the store. Give them coupons to pass out to friends and family.  Make sure they initial the back of the coupons. Gather the coupons each day as they are redeemed and keep a count for the crew to see. The employee who has the most redeemed at the end of the week wins a prize.

I have even made a bingo card for the employees to use to see if they could sell the items on the card to win a prize. Instead of letters and numbers on the cards I used items for sale (ex. Sell 2 Daily Specials, Sell 3 Cakes). The center square was an item that was a tough sell.  Somehow, those tough sales seemed easier for the employees to sell when they were playing a game.

The options for low cost marketing are endless. The only way you can lose is if you do not follow through with your plans after getting your crew involved or you do not ride the momentum of one great plan with another one to keep employees and customers interested.The idea is to brand yourself and have fun doing it.  Even if you are in a franchise, you can be the leader in a specific area within the brand. Be known for being the best.  What you’re the best at is up to you!