The franchise marketing industry is still affected by the recent pandemic. During that time, we saw communities coming together to help support local businesses in need, both online and in stores. Due to the changes all businesses faced, digital marketing had an unexpected amount of growth since companies began struggling to market online. Have no fear, Burkhart has come up with five (5) trends that can help shape the future of the franchise marketing industry and digital marketing.

Trend 1: Boost Your Customer Experience 

Now that it’s 2022, it’s time for people to return back to stores and shop. Customers expect relevant and positive experiences that are displayed consistently throughout their customer journey. Fittingly, businesses got a jump on their efforts to connect digital capabilities in stores; such as buying their product/items online and picking them up in stores. Taking a substandard approach with a heavy reliance on technology can pull you out of the competition. 

Trend 2: Create Videos for Every Platform & Channel

Videos should remain on your list as a key priority to improve traffic, sales, leads, and your overall brand perception. Before the pandemic, videos were only used for marketing purposes. Now, they are used for a variety of different goals. For example, during the pandemic, FIT4MOM, a workout for moms franchise, added a free online class for their clients’ children to help keep them busy while their moms were exercising. This simple add-on turned out to be very successful in increasing engagement and brand awareness.

Trend 3: Hyper-Localization & Personalization

Today, it’s not as important to have an attractive storefront to bring in customers; we now need to focus on hyper-local marketing. Marketers find it easier to deliver the right message to the right people online rather than to use traditional advertising channels. By using hyper-local marketing, you can develop a personalized approach to each individual customer, making their experience more enjoyable. 

Trend 4: Enable Mobile Apps for Better Service 

When the pandemic hit in 2019, a majority of consumers flooded social media, and ever since then, people have been enjoying all the new services that came along with it. From connecting with customers to keeping up with your local presence, it has changed the game. Using mobile apps will better connect you with your customers on a personal level. 

Trend 5: Stand Out From Your Competition in Local Search

In America, 82% of individuals prefer to support local businesses rather than corporations. Why? Because it’s so important to keep money in local communities and gain better customer service/product quality. For that reason, local online marketing should be the number one goal for all brands no matter the size. Be active, have consistent content, add SEO to grow and be findable in your community.

Using these trends will not only shape your company for a brighter future in the franchise marketing world but will also make you stand out from your competition. If this opportunity is still undiscovered in your company, you’re likely to be falling behind. Therefore, take this opportunity and connect with us here at Burkhart to get you on the path of the future!