I.T. company franchises have become a booming industry. Accessible franchise offers are leveling the playing field for new entrepreneurs by lowering barriers to entry. Once your franchise is launched and fully staffed, though, you should consider how to maximize your visibility. In today’s highly competitive market, small businesses need to earn positive exposure. However, it’s no longer enough to just build an attractive sales pitch – you’ll need to aggressively promote your franchise to stay relevant.
As it turns out, you don’t need a revolutionary marketing strategy to run a successful home technology franchise. On the contrary, it’s all about consistency and diligence in your approach. We’ve compiled 8 proven methods that can promote your new business:
1. Networking
Most professional network nowadays happens on social media platforms, particularly Facebook and LinkedIn. These accounts are free and feature a tremendous platform to reach your target audience. As a new business owner, you should share engaging content like articles and images. Beyond that, though, social media networking provides a way to engage with your customers and potential customers easily.
Make sure to strike the right balance of professionalism and accessibility – the more people think that your accounts are run by real people, the more trustworthy your I.T. company franchise will become. You can even schedule posts ahead of time to maximize efficiency.
2. Testimonials
When new customers use search engines for a business in your industry, reviews are everything. Whether on Facebook or Google, past client testimonials are a critical metric for your business integrity. People don’t like to risk an untested quantity, preferring instead to look for 4-star and 5-star reviews.
You can gain these reviews by incentivizing customers to share their experiences on whichever other industry platforms are appropriate for your franchise offer. We recommend sending professional and courteous reminders to your clients to do so. For example, after your help desk resolves a support ticket, customers are often the most willing to share their thoughts.
3. Client Relations
If your training program lacks a clear process for handling customer needs and complaints, your staff will be unprepared. When a complaint or miscommunication crosses their desk, they’ll be more likely to misrepresent the franchise, offer the wrong advice, or escalate the ticket. As the business owner, lead the way in how you deal with customers. Clarify your expectations and reward good behavior with positive case studies
Similarly, you should keep track of your staff to verify that they’re on message and resolving tickets in a timely manner. Both the help desk and on-site support departments at your I.T. company franchise should work together to achieve this goal.
4. Reward Programs
Customers love positive reinforcement. The services that your franchise offers should feature perks for continued customer loyalty. Whether it’s part of your franchise’s mobile app, referral system, or a social media contest, even a small reward can go a long way. Aside from being a conversation starter that can establish goodwill with your client base, it creates an open dialogue for how your franchise offers services.
Transparency is key. Even if the savings of your promotion or rewards program is relatively low, it can add up over time. In that way, your return on investment can become recurring.
5. Community Outreach
Social media isn’t the only place where you can conduct networking. Seminars, charity events, and home technology franchise conferences all provide outlets to get your name out there. Networking this way is a powerful branding opportunity that works regardless of your industry or service area. You may even reach audiences that you normally wouldn’t via paid online media. People might initially talk to your sales staff or company representative out of curiosity, but that’s also the beginning of your sales funnel.
You should also check whether your area includes an economic partnership such as a BNI International or Better Business Bureau. Membership in groups such as these is another reliable branding method.
6. Local SEO
Before you even launch your franchise, you’ll want to make sure that customers can find you through search engines. By properly formatting and verifying your business name, hours, and location, your franchise offer will be able to compete for local attention. Engage with the public and let them know how to best contact your I.T. company franchise.
Furthermore, blogs and website optimization will allow you to rank for the important keywords that relate to your business. When you claim that top spot on the first page of Google’s results, you’ll grow your franchise’s customer base even further.
7. Press Releases
The more you can communicate with local media connections, the better. Where available, you should reach out to media sources and offer your expertise within the home technology franchise field. Subscription services like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) can facilitate your outreach to newspapers and bloggers that have different audiences than your social media platforms.
The formation of a new I.T. company franchise or home technology franchise often revitalizes a business community, especially if you serve small businesses.
8. Milestones
As a new franchise owner, there are certain benchmarks that you’ll want to use to share your progress. These can include hiring quotas, sales achievements, or territory expansion. In general, you’ll want these milestones to be SMART goals (that’s Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Sensitive). Facebook also has a specific post-sharing tool for logging these Milestones on your Business Page. If you go to the “..” button next to “Share,” you’ll see the “Create Milestone” option. Milestones that you list this way will be visible in your About Us section for anyone visiting your page.
If you apply these methods together, you’ll be better positioned to both retain your existing customer base and attract new clients. By diversifying your marketing strategy, your I.T. company franchise can rule the market as a top contender.
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About Cinch I.T.
Since 2004, Cinch I.T. has been providing customer-focused I.T. support for businesses of all sizes. Every element of its support provides not only the best I.T. solutions, but also the fastest and friendliest network and computer support in the industry! Cinch consistently ranks as a top-performing I.T. company franchise with locations in multiple states. To learn more, visit cinchit.com. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit cinchfranchise.com.
