Public Relations are used by successful businesses, whether they are franchises or not, to build a good name in the community. It's another thing you can use to market your business. We talk about the whys, wherefores, and hows of this very important part of your business in this article.
The first rule of building a successful franchise business is to set up a great PR operation. You need to make a good name for yourself as soon as possible.
You need to know how important and beneficial it is to have a perfect, honest, and trustworthy reputation. This should be one of your main goals, as the success of your franchise business depends on it. To reach this goal, you need to understand the idea of public relations and set up a program for constant communication.
What are public relations, or PR? PR is promoting and marketing the goodwill of your franchise business to different interest groups so that they can learn more about your business, its place in the community, and, most importantly, how to see and recognize your business in the community.
Here are some groups that your Franchise Public Relations should reach out to local and national newspapers, radio and TV news and current events, magazines, church groups, parents and teachers associations, sports associations, political and legal bodies, unions, employer associations, charity groups, local volunteer groups, social clubs, business associations (Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce).
Don't think that PR and marketing are the same things because they are not. Public Relations, like advertising, is a part of your marketing mix. If you use it well, it will help you gain acceptance and recognition in the community and make more money for your business.
As an example of public relations, you could make a perpetual trophy for a high-profile project in your area or region, like "The best green school." Keep the county looking nice. The high schools in your franchise district will compete for the title of "friendliest school." This is a very newsworthy subject that the local, state, and maybe even national media will want to cover if you do it right. This kind of project is great because it can be done every year for very little money, but it brings in a lot of goodwill.
Publicity takes work, and the faster your reputation goes through the roof, the more work you put into learning how to get good publicity and, more importantly, how to deal with bad publicity.
You should give the job of public relations (PR) to an experienced person, either from within your company or from a reputable PR consultancy company. If you can't do this, I suggest you find a retired PR consultant or newspaperman in your area and ask them for help. They might be glad to let you work a few days a week.
Many franchisors have a national public relations consultant and keep a close eye on what their franchisees do in this area, especially when it involves the national or major media. They do this to protect the franchise's name and reputation. You should make as much use as possible of this PR Consultant. If nothing else, they can be a great place to talk things over with.
You bought a franchise business, and now that it is up and running, you need to develop a well-planned franchise public relations program. This, along with a smart local marketing program, will make sure that the community accepts you, that people know about you, and that you make more money.
