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Restaurant Marketing Best Practices: How Franchisors Support Business Owners

When starting a new business, marketing is going to be one of the most important aspects of your overall business plan. A restaurant business is no different. Part of the appeal in joining a restaurant franchise is your ability to take advantage of the work headquarters is already putting in place to increase brand awareness.

As part of your franchise agreement, your franchisor must provide restaurant marketing support to you as a franchise owner. Learn what they do and how their efforts support your individual location.

NATIONWIDE ADVERTISING

Your franchisor should have a multi-level marketing plan, with initiatives at the national and local level. Since the franchisor is trying to grow their system across the country – and maybe even internationally – they’ll have a multi-pronged approach to their national campaign. Some tactics they may use include:

  • Traditional media: Such as TV and radio ad campaigns to run in all markets where the brand has locations. Traditional media can also include direct mailings.
  • Digital marketing: In addition to having a strong social media presence across multiple platforms, the franchisor will also probably run ads on those platforms in an effort to have their target audience see them multiple times. Their digital marketing strategy should also include an easy-to-use website that allows for online ordering at individual locations.
  • Limited time offers (LTOs): A huge advantage of joining a franchise is that they have a full marketing team that comes up with special deals and offers so you don’t have to. You focus on running your business and they focus on the curation of new marketing ideas.
  • Loyalty/rewards program: A great way to bring customers back to your location, franchisors commonly offer loyalty programs to reward repeat customers. Often tracked on the brand’s mobile app – another great marketing tactic – guests can check the status of their next reward right from their phone.

All of these strategies take place at the corporate level, but greatly help individual locations. Increasing brand awareness is always going to be the franchisor’s goal of their marketing campaigns. When more people know your brand, they’re more likely to visit your franchise location.

LOCAL LEVEL ADVERTISING

In addition to their national advertising campaigns, your franchisor should also be providing restaurant marketing support at your location level. This type of support can take many forms and include initiatives such as:

  • Ad templates: Looking to do a direct mailing in your area? Your franchisor should have a template ready for you to use that adheres to their brand standards. Some other ad templates your franchisor should have available to you are posters, flyers, business cards, and social media ads. Looking for something your franchisor doesn’t have? There should be someone at headquarters who can help you bring your idea to life.
  • Digital marketing: The same way the brand needs to have a social media presence, your individual restaurant does, too. The franchisor’s marketing team should be ready and equipped to help you set up a Facebook, Instagram, and even a TikTok page to help you build your digital footprint. You’ll also want a Google Business Profile and listings on other review platforms like Yelp. Digital marketing support should also include assistance with running social media ads to promote your location.
  • Grand opening/event marketing: Arguably the most important part of a new restaurant marketing strategy is the grand opening event. A reputable franchisor will have a team to assist you with planning and executing your event. Even after your grand opening, if you want to host an event within your location, your field representative should still be able to help you make sure it runs smoothly.

Of course, these local level initiatives are vital to your business because they directly drive traffic to your location. However, without the national efforts working in tandem, the local strategies wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

FRANCHISE WITH GOLD STAR

At Gold Star, we’re proud to be a family-owned franchise. When you join our system, you join our family and that means we’ve got your back from the moment you sign your franchise agreement. We have a team of industry professionals who are committed to providing you with a strong new restaurant marketing strategy so your location can start right on the path to success as soon as you open.

Our brand has a multi-faceted franchise marketing support program that’s generated proven results among our locations. Our process is broken out into four stages – kickoff, pre-opening, online engagement, and post-opening – to ensure we’re providing the best possible support throughout the entire restaurant opening timeline. Gold Star didn’t become a household name in the Cincinnati area by having poor marketing strategies. And we’re committed to passing on what we’ve found works best to all of our franchise owners.

Candidates interested in franchising with Gold Star are required to have a net worth of $750,000 and at least $125,000 in liquid capital. The total investment to open a Gold Star location ranges between $496,000 and $1,003,500, which includes our $30,000 franchise fee. Our brand has ample growth opportunities throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

To learn more about our franchise opportunity, fill out this form, and one of our representatives will be in touch.