(This is a guest post from Laura Petrolino, of Arment Dietrich)
Remember when you used your phone only to call people? That’s it.
No texting.
No looking things up on the internet.
No Facebook or Twitter.
No photography.
You picked it up, you dialed a number. You called someone.
A simple straight forward communications transaction. There was one goal and one tactic used to reach that goal.
Since that ancient time, phones and the options available when it comes to communication as a whole have changed drastically. We now can connect and communicate in more ways than ever. While this provides opportunity to reach a wider variety of consumers in a seemingly more effective manner, it also leaves you as a business owner wondering how and where to start to best reach the customers that need your product and service.
The seemingly endless options can be overwhelming. Time, resources, energy…trying to connect in so many different ways eats all of these things up. You feel like you need to be everywhere and do everything, but can’t even begin to imagine the cost or time that must be spent to accomplish that feat. You see different businesses utilizing a multitude of different communications tactics but have no idea if any of them would work well for your business and your customer.
Customer Motivation: The Secret To Your Franchise Communications Strategy
So, what’s the solution?
Know your customer.
Yep, that’s it.
Think about the research, analysis, and strategy you put into learning about your customer and their needs when you first started your business. You now need to take that same research and apply it to your franchise communications strategy.
What motivates your customer and their purchase decisions?
This question should not only be the basis of all the messaging you create, but also can help inform the tactics you use.
Let’s dig a bit deeper and look at some examples of how you might be able to specifically apply this knowledge for your franchise communications strategy:
Are they motivated by reviews?
If so, you want to make sure you actively utilize Yelp, Google Reviews, and other relevant review sites. You’ll also want to highlight customer reviews on your own website, in your blog, and share feedback through your social channels.
Use Video
How about video testimonials form happy customers to post on your blog and Facebook? Or ask customers to upload photos using your product on Instagram?
Are they motivated by influencer or friend usage and recommendations?
Think about compiling a team of brand ambassadors. These could be well know figures or just average spokespeople who do a really great job representing your ideal customer and overall consumer demographic base. While using full disclosure they are a brand ambassador, they can participate in fun on and offline activities promoting your brand and sharing their own experiences.
You can continue on in this manner, taking the information you’ve collected through your buyer personas, research, and simply knowledge from experience about your customer and their needs and translate it into your communications tactics just like you would any other part of your business plan.
Once this is done set your plan to motion and keep monitoring to see what works, what doesn’t and what needs to be tweaked. This provides you even greater information from which you can improve your communications outreach methods and constantly improve the effectiveness of your communications outreach.
(Laura Petrolino is the Client Services Director at Arment Dietrich, Inc.)
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