How to Market Like a Franchise
What do you see here? Most people would say they see a typical neighborhood in Any-Town USA. I see 150 homes with about 2250 windows (150 homes X 15 windows each).
Statistically, the average homeowner purchases new window coverings every 6.4 years. I point this out not to boggle your mind with a bunch of numbers but to demonstrate that too many window covering retailers are trying to go wide instead of going deep. My definition of “going deep” is hyper-focusing on one defined territory.
First, why go deep?
- Less travel time
- Easier to scale
- Higher profits
Going deep is important to your business for several reasons. The most important reason is you. You need to know the numbers that are possible in a given area. This data allows you to make better marketing decisions and grow your business like a franchise.
Going deep requires a bit of math. First, you must determine how many homes will be in your marketing area. Let’s use an example of 40,000 homes. That is equal to approximately 600,000 windows. I’m using 15 windows per home in this equation. Just for comparison, a Budget Blinds franchise is based on about 33K homes.
Now how do you go deep? Partly it’s trying to get into the shoes of your potential customers. Let’s go back to the photograph of the 150 homes. If you are one of the 150 homeowners and the kids are napping, you might go online and start looking at Houzz or Pinterest for ideas. Or a husband and wife may go online while watching TV after a long day and look for ideas. The point is they started their search online. If your online marketing is done correctly, your business will show up on page one for these homeowners to see.
Let’s talk about the sales funnel system and what to offer to potential customers and when.
At the top of the funnel are shoppers who are just looking for ideas. This is why you must have a gallery on your site which is fully optimized. Talk to your web designer about doing this.
The next step is a bit more targeted. The homeowner may be looking to start shopping. This is why you should have the path of least resistance on your site. I always recommend Free Shop-at-Home Services, Free Measuring, and Free Installations. You need to have vendors’ products on your site along with reviews from other local homeowners. You need to have videos educating them on the different types of blinds, shades, and shutters.
Many window covering retailers are only shop at home, this means their website must do the pre-sale for them. If you have an older or less sophisticated site, then you’re going to be left in the dust by the competition who keeps her site updated.
There are many other ways to get your name out to 40,000 homes: Valpak, Yellow Pages, wrap your van, sponsor a local sports team, get involved in the local chamber, street signs and countless other local opportunities. Start networking with all the local realtors, flooring dealers, window replacement contractors, and interior designers.
If you need additional help, please contact me, for your free onsite audit.