How to Optimize Your Website to Capture Franchise Leads
According to FRANdata and the International Franchise Association, the total number of franchise establishments in the U.S. will increase by more than 15,000 units in 2024. It’s a safe bet many of those investors surfed their way to a franchise development website when things got serious.
Perhaps that’s when interest was validated, a prospect became a lead, a lead became a qualified lead, calls were made, talks ensued, a Discovery Day may have sealed the deal, and presto. Fast-forward and a franchise agreement was awarded.
However, the world is not perfect. And neither are franchise development websites that play such an integral role. So, how many others fell through the cracks because that online presence didn’t do the job?
Oh, the tangled web(sites) we weave.
When franchisors want to grow their networks, there’s a cart-before-the-horse problem that sometimes happens. And it goes like this.
Franchisors put money into paid lead gen ads, PR, franchise consultants, tradeshows and more. Those efforts work their magic to grow brand awareness and drive leads. Prospects land on a website to learn more. And then… crickets. No forms are filled out. No calls are made. No interest is shared. No conversions are had. What gives?
Maybe the website didn’t adequately represent the franchise opportunity in a meaningful way. Maybe it didn’t qualify the viewer as the right prospect for the right opportunity. Maybe it didn’t keep people engaged long enough to do the deed: fill out a form and carry them forward.
To change the outcome, franchisors need to adjust their thinking.
Franchisors conclude they are not getting enough leads. However, a poorly-designed website may be partly at fault. It’s like a boy inviting a date to the prom only to find out no band is playing. Not even a DJ. Who’s sticking around for that?
To change the outcome, franchisors need to adjust their thinking. And creating an engaging and informative franchise development website before spending money to drive leads to it should be at the top of the list. Start with the following four keys to a strong franchise development website to make the most of that traffic:
1. Have a Separate Franchise Development Website from a Consumer-Facing Website
While branding should be consistent, the messaging must match the audience. For example, you don’t want a multi-million-dollar restaurant prospect going to a consumer-facing website only to be prompted to place a lunch order. This user wants to inquire about opening a location. Also, scrolling around a consumer site to find a franchise tab for more information is way too difficult for today’s sophisticated investor. In short, don’t be difficult.
2. Keep it Current
The latest news, the newest photos, the freshest blogs, and the greatest videos of today’s happiest franchisees telling their success stories should be easy to find. New content should constantly be updated, too. Your website should never look the same as it did two years ago, last year or even six months ago. Old news, old pictures and old testimonials often mean old thinking that’s not worth pursuing.
3. Make it Easy to Navigate on Mobile Devices and Laptops
According to Statista, mobile phones were the preferred device for internet access by 95.3% of global users. In addition, 75% of smartphone users expect to receive immediate information while using their smartphones. Forty percent of internet users have reported abandoning a website if it takes more than three seconds to load. Your website should be quick to load, inform, engage and carry a prospect forward. Pardon the pun, but in the case of smart devices, don’t phone this in.
4. Offer Prospects a Visual Wonderland
Your franchise development website needs to tell a captive audience the kind of stories that matter. The average time spent by a website visitor on a single page is 54 seconds. The visuals and dynamic layout of your website should be quick to digest. Do that well with color, sharp text, strong photos, captivating videos and more. Get your visitor to stay awhile. Then use that time to gather the necessary information to turn a lead into a qualified lead.
Franchise Development Websites
A great franchise development website is considered owned media in the PESO Model (paid, earned, shared and owned media). It’s one of the strongest assets a brand can control 100% of the time. Smart franchisors use this to their advantage to load content that helps the development process. Don’t rely on everything else — which is not in the brand’s control — to do that with equal impact.
