It really can be the most wonderful time of the year…for franchise marketing.
It feels like the dust has barely settled from the 2024 holiday period, but this period can be key for franchises. That’s according to data we’ve just found from franchises that continued to market over December/January.
TFM Digital works with franchise groups on their B2B campaigns for attracting new potential franchisees. And the data we’ve collected shows that the holiday down time is prime time for considering new opportunities.
New year, new you
New Year resolutions are not only reserved for walking/swimming/gymming away the excesses of the holiday break. This time puts people in a unique mindset to focus on change and what they can do to improve their life in the following year.
For the majority of Australians (85 per cent) this means setting financial goals. And the top result for men and women is saving more. And the seventh most popular answer on that list was to find ways to increase earnings (including starting a business).
This is backed up by Google Search Trends which finds that queries relating to new business opportunities start to increase in December and peak during the January – March Period.
So with more people open to the idea of creating something new, it’s a fantastic window of opportunity to pad out your marketing funnel for franchises. Remember the sales cycle for new franchisees is often around the nine month mark, which is why it’s important to stack your leads now when the intent for change is already there. The reduced distractions make potential business leaders more receptive to new approaches and ideas.
The appetite is there
TFM Digital’s results for franchises that continued to market at the festive time of year are clear – all delivered amazing results, and smashed records.
One supply store that continued to market into December, benefitted from franchise leads 200 per cent above its target for the month. Even into January the first week achieved 70 per cent of the monthly goal, which in the end exceeded targets by 207 per cent.
Another franchise generated more than 980 leads in the first month of the year, which for the QSR brand is a six-year high, and record.
While another health and wellness franchise kept the same budget spend for the three months starting in November, yet generated 407 per cent more leads in December with a further 257 per cent increase for January.
Head of digital at TFM Digital Brisbane, Zaine Wilson-Hoyle, summarised the findings.
“All of the results we’ve seen fit this same mold, those that kept the same investment saw record results. In fact another, perhaps more important point is that because of the drop in competition at this time of year, the CPL (Cost-Per-Lead) reduction for two of the organisations cited above was 60 per cent.”
So what does this mean for your business?
Implications – rethink Christmas
Wilson-Hoyle said “We are advising franchises to listen to what the market is saying and rethink everything at Christmas. A seismic change is required in how your business is run to grow at this time. Everything from ensuring staff are available over the holiday period to capitalise on one of the peak ‘demand’ times of the year through to cultivating those leads.
“It’s a relatively small window, but as others plan where they’ll spend their holidays, another market of prospects are wanting to know more about getting involved with your business.”
One way to cope with the extra demand would be to move holiday periods of staff to later in January or February which will provide the best chance to best leverage this fresh interest in your organisation.
Curating the prospect experience should always be at the top of mind. With a longer sales cycle it’s beneficial to be able to start the year with such momentum. If new/top prospects are flagged in Dec/Jan, followed by an informative education period over the next few weeks and months, it can potentially reduce that length of time. So it’s well worth having the journey and appropriate prompts/guides mapped out, to make the journey as efficient as it can be. I should add that a fast-track path should be baked in for those prospects that show sufficient early-intent.
Cultivate a better 2025
The ending of one year, and the start of another brings with it optimism, renewed energy levels and reflection. There’s a more relaxed mindset that can flow into new investment opportunities. There is also reduced competition as others scale back their efforts and down tools seemingly until Australia Day. Bucking these trends could be your competitive advantage.
All of the signs for the end of the year point towards a pivotal moment for franchises to grow. The opportunity for 2025 is there, but you’ll need to start planning soon if you’d like to make the most of it.
