3rd Annual Franchise Marketing Report, Part 7: Loyalty Programs

This is the 7th installment in a series of highlights from the 2021 Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR). Find part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, and part 6 here.

2021 marked the release of the 3rd Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR). This report provides franchise consumer marketers with invaluable data and analysis they can use to benchmark their performance against other franchise brands and within their industry sector. In short, the AFMR is a unique resource franchise marketers can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and spend.

The ongoing pandemic, on top of franchising’s already competitive and frothy landscape, has strengthened the necessity for marketers to better understand how their brand measures up against the competition, as well as how it is performing in the wider marketplace. The AFMR can help franchise consumer marketers understand how their team compares with their peers and, more importantly, help them direct their limited resources into the most effective channels for achieving their system-wide goals during these uncertain times.

“This annual report was created at the request of our Franchise Marketing Leadership Conference Advisory Board to develop relevant content for CMOs, and to learn more about their needs and challenges,” said Diane Phibbs, executive vice president and chief content officer at Franchise Update Media.

Participants in the AFMR consisted of franchise marketing leaders who completed an in-depth questionnaire. Responses were aggregated and analyzed to produce a detailed look into the marketing practices, budgets, and strategies of a wide cross-section of franchise brands and sectors. The data and accompanying commentary and analysis provide the basis of the 2021 AFMR. Below is the 7th in a series of selected highlights from the new report.

• Loyalty programs are proven to drive traffic and revenue and to add value for both the customer and the brand – yet only 49% of respondents reported that they have a loyalty program.

• Loyalty programs are a great way to gather customer data. Offering incentives is effective in encouraging consumers to sign up.

• Brands seem to be getting the message. This past June, Popeyes launched its first loyalty program, as did McDonald’s. And in July, Papa John’s loyalty program reached 20 million members.

• When it came to managing their loyalty programs, respondents showed about a 3-to-1 preference for doing it in-house, versus outsourcing it to an agency or other third party.

Next time: Mystery shopping