Bob Heid of We Are Kymera Shares How Hyperlocal Marketing Helps Franchises Stand Out and Thrive Locally
Bob Heid, co-owner of the multichannel marketing agency We Are Kymera, encourages franchise owners to think small… and take advantage of hyperlocal marketing. Although small in scope, hyperlocal marketing – which targets consumers in close proximity to businesses – can deliver big benefits to franchise owners, he says. This marketing tactic prioritizes nearby franchises when consumers perform “near me” internet searches for a business, product or service. Hyperlocal marketing can increase in-person sales, raise brand awareness locally and more.
If the limited reach of hyperlocal marketing seems inconsequential, consider that in the past few years, ThinkwithGoogle.com reported growth exceeding 900% in mobile-device searches for “near me open today” or “near me open tonight.” The website also states “open now near me” searches have increased by more than 200%. Consumers often use “near me” searches to find stores and services such as restaurants, salons, hotels and real estate open houses, according to ThinkwithGoogle.com.
Other Uses of Hyperlocal Marketing
But Heid sees even broader applications of hyperlocal marketing that We Are Kymera may help franchises to explore. “It’s an excellent way to promote franchisees through specials and events to support a cause or illuminate an issue. This lets locals know you’re involved and you care about the community you serve. You can include specials wherein a portion of the profits get donated to a cause and invite new clients to come in and support the cause while getting to know your business.
“This type of community engagement creates a bond between the franchise and the community in which they live. It provides a tremendous opportunity for garnering support and public relations at a very low cost versus the high return.”
We Are Kymera also put together a successful hiring campaign via hyperlocal marketing for a franchise, Heid says. “A membership-based spa had difficulty expanding in some areas because it was unable to hire enough massage therapists to staff the new locations. They had relied on national outreach campaigns that were ineffective for recruiting in areas with high competition. We Are Kymera developed an omnichannel hyperlocal campaign package specifically for recruiting massage therapists in a specific area for a specific spa. This campaign increased the hiring rate, decreased the fulfillment time, and exceeded their expectations for hiring.”
Digital Marketing, Too
He adds that digital marketing is crucial to every hyperlocal marketing campaign for franchises. “Paid and organic search are paramount, necessitating local branding to support the organic reach. Having an individualized local web presence with local landing pages for specials and bookings is also a must. Geofencing marketing [which confines consumers’ search results to specific, GPS-defined boundaries] allows you to remarket to people patronizing competitors for outbound email and banner ad remarketing. And you can never overlook the impact of social media for both B2B and B2C clients.”
The effectiveness of hyperlocal marketing for franchises is quantifiable, which is reassuring to franchise owners, Heid says. “Traffic to websites and social media; “likes” and engagement on social media; and conversions on emails, social and landing pages can all be measured. In short, we look at activity and new clients. The key is to set up a measurement system such as smart QR codes, site analytics, call tracking and social analytics that enable you to track responses to individual campaigns and to refine both your messaging and targeting as needed.”
Franchises should constantly keep their fingers on the pulse of their hyperlocal marketing campaigns, he advises. “Test and measure! Test ads, test landing page designs and content, test social media targeting and test keyword response. You cannot refine your marketing approach for better results unless you know what is working versus what isn’t.”
Tips for Successful Hyperlocal Campaigns
Heid suggests the following ways to enhance the success of hyperlocal marketing campaigns for franchises:
- Be human in communications about your products and services. “Give information, make them laugh, show them how great it is to be part of your customer base, and then try to sell them something by letting them become a member of your ‘family.’”
- Franchises need to add local flair while using corporate-approved brand images and messaging. “At first, the messaging needs to be 50-50 local versus corporate. After the brand has been established locally, that ratio should flip to 60-40 local to national, and then 70-30.”
- Harness the growing power of live-streaming. Broadcast the community events that your business hosts, sponsors or is otherwise involved in.
- Supplement with geofencing and individual targeting through social media to land clients.
If you’re interested in learning more about hyperlocal marketing opportunities with We Are Kymera, please visit https://wearekymera.com/.
