Franchise Brands Shift Focus from Traffic to Conversion

Franchisors and franchisees have been united in a singular focus over the last three years in an effort to develop more leads. Working across brands and industries as a fractional CMO, I’ve heard the same relentless refrain. In that same period, consumer behavior zigs where marketing leaders think it will zag. It is a challenge amplified by a K-shaped economy, increasing cost per lead across digital channels, and needing to do more with less.

It’s enough to make any marketing leader sweat.

But in recent interviews with franchise leaders at the International Franchise Association Convention, I heard a shift in focus. It was fueled by recognition that continued cries in desperate hope for more traffic, more leads, and more “at-bats” are not driving the revenue growth needed to sustain operations.

The conversation has shifted from “how do we get more leads?” to “how do we convert what we already have?”

Chris Walls, president and CEO of Go Mini’s, shared that improving conversion for the system is a major goal this year. “If we can increase our closing rate by even 5 percent, our franchisees don’t have to spend more money on marketing. They’re going to increase their bottom line with the things they have right now.”

Brands are implementing operational, technological, and brand positioning efforts to achieve revenue targets through increased conversions, and not just driving more traffic.

Operational discipline

Brands are simplifying processes, refining training and support tools, and shifting the conversation internally to “better conversions” as a key pillar in this effort.

“We have to make sure that the franchisee, the employee, and the guest all win. If one of those isn’t winning, the system breaks,” says Josh Lyon, COO at Scenthound, speaking about his brand’s recently launched journey maps and training programs for each audience. He said each constituent has five main touch points on their journey with metrics that can quickly identify if a location is “winning.” The training programs reinforce what to do when a metric is off.

Technology that improves experience

The strongest brands are finding ways to improve the customer experience with new technology. Kevin King, CEO & president of Donatos Pizza, says, “That’s how we think about automation and the technology that we use. How do we free up time so that we can give a guest experience that’s more face-to-face, more personal?”

The brands that are approaching technology integration with a problem-first mindset pull ahead in implementing meaningful technology tools.

For Donatos Pizza, that means implementing automation in perfecting their product with the ability to sauce their pizza in seven seconds, “something a human can’t do,” says King. It also includes identifying where AI improves the guest experience and using voice AI to take phone orders while their team members elevate in-person interactions.

Batteries Plus President John Sica is doubling down on investments in their technology infrastructure, saying, “AI is not about replacing people. It’s about giving you leverage and allowing you to move faster and make better decisions.”

Sica has been investing in modernizing Batteries Plus’ technology foundation for the past three years to position his team as nimbly as possible. In his words, “How are we gonna prepare ourselves to chase shiny objects?”

Sica’s ultimate goal is to ensure his franchisees can focus on their business, and not on an in-store maintenance problem. He is very clear on this, stating, “Our franchisees are funding all of this. It's our sacred obligation to make sure our uptime is in the 99.9 percent and that they have every opportunity to make money because they've got complete faith in us that it's taken care of.”

Clearer brand positioning

Brands are refocusing on their core purpose and clarifying their position in the market to their franchisees. Doug Flaig, CEO of Stratus Building Solutions, warns of veering from a business’s core purpose. “Sometimes there are things that are flash in the pan,” he says. “If you modify your business to build systems around that, and two years from now it’s irrelevant, you waste a lot of time and energy.”

As a marketing professional, I can attest that this clearer positioning and shared goal allow a decision framework for executives to say yes to the initiatives that will drive the highest impact on revenue growth and no to initiatives that are not rooted in their core purpose.

Kathy George, president at Spherion Staffing and Recruiting, shared that aligning franchisees around a collective goal helped her company succeed, saying, “We outpaced our competitors. We outpaced our parent company in a time when everyone was saying our industry was forecasted to lose money.”

This spotlight on conversions compensates for the decline in customer acquisition efficiencies. The brands I spoke with are aligning headquarters and franchisee operations to stand out in the marketplace and deliver a guest experience worthy of a referral.

Katherine LeBlanc is a fractional CMO specializing in franchise brands and is the founder of My Podcast Host, a podcast platform built for franchisors.