Importance of Smart PR for Getting a New Franchise Off the Ground

Remember the movie Field of Dreams? Kevin Costner’s character hears a voice telling him “If you build it, [they] will come” — so he builds a baseball field and, lo and behold, here they come.

In the world of small business, however, it’s not enough to open your doors, smile broadly, and wait for the customers to line up clamoring to buy. As a small business owner, you’ll be facing lots of competition. And the quality of the product or service you provide isn’t the only deciding factor in who wins that competition. What it will come down to in the end is not only what you offer customers, but how you reach out to them via public relations.

One of the main advantages of buying a franchise is the support system that comes with it — including support in public relations. But you can’t just assume that every franchisor offers the same type of public relations assistance. Here are some steps to PR that helps your franchise succeed.

1. Investigate PR services offered by your franchisor. Before you buy a franchise, take the time to thoroughly assess the support services the franchisor offers. If you’re deciding between two similar opportunities, the level of public relations and marketing assistance could be the determining factor in your decision. If you are not a natural salesperson, look for a franchisor that offers a lot of marketing, advertising and public relations support. This kind of boost can be crucial to success.

2. Do in-person PR. Getting out in the community is a great way to publicize your new franchise. For example, if you open a food franchise, you could choose to do free samplings in and around your store. In nice weather, have an employee smiling and walking around outside the store offering samples. You can even tap your own teenager or other family member to handle the duties!

3. Get known by local businesses. Businesses spread the word to others, so targeting them is one of the smartest PR tactics you can use. Visit the car dealership or hardware store across the street. Ask if you can put some coupons or flyers on their counter for customers to pick up. In turn offer to give their employees 10 percent off or a free beverage when they eat at your location. That’s what I call guerrilla marketing.

4. Use press releases wisely. Start by contacting the right media members in the proper manner — with a press release that’s interesting, engaging and clearly spells out why the reporter or journalist should care. Unfortunately, most press releases are boring, not well written and go right in the DELETE folder. Reporters, editors and producers don’t have time to read though a fluffy, promotional story that doesn’t clearly convey the message of who, what when, where and why. If you or someone on your staff can’t write a good press release, or you aren’t sure which members of the media to target, try tip #5.

5. Consider hiring a PR firm to help you. Hiring a PR professional enables you to focus your efforts on getting your franchise up and running. Most franchisors have PR people on board, either in the form of an outside agency or an internal employee. Ask your franchisor who they have available to help you, as this person will prove invaluable for your grand opening.

6. Make sure your business is in order. All the PR in the world won’t help you if your product, service or food aren’t up to par. So before you ever start a PR campaign, address any glitches and issues that could lead to bad publicity.

Consider the example of a well-known burger chain that had an outstanding PR firm publicizing all their grand openings for them. The PR firm recommended the franchisor should wait for each new location to be up and running smoothly before inviting media in. The franchisor balked and demanded media presence at each grand opening. When the Chicago opening was a disaster — the chef and servers could not handle the crowd, the food came out dry and cold, and servers were rude and frazzled — the franchisor finally gave in and listened to the PR firm. The lesson: Get everything running smoothly before begging for attention from customers or the media — or you might get the wrong kind of attention.