7 Tips for Marketing Your Gardening Franchise

When starting your own gardening franchise, getting a targeted marketing campaign up-and-running can be the difference between your business launching successfully and not. So, if you’re looking to market your new gardening business, here’s what you need to know.

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Gardening is a popular and growing industry in the UK. More Brits than ever are looking to get their hands dirty in their gardens, allotments or community projects, and this scale of popularity has grown massively over the last couple of years.

So, if you’ve decided that now is the right time to start a gardening franchise, you’re in a fantastic position to capitalise on this sector’s growth. But, as more people are visiting gardening businesses, how can you make your gardening franchise stand out?

7 marketing tips to help grow your gardening franchise

1. Invest in data

It might come as a bit of a surprise that one of the most important steps to marketing your new business is to invest in data, but without it, you won't be able to put together a coherent marketing strategy. Marketing has come a long way over the last few years and is a far cry from many of the strategies used in the past.

Data lets you or your marketing team analyse who is clicking on your website and social media pages, who is buying things, who sees your adverts and which ones are more popular. The more sophisticated your data analysis, the better your strategies will be. Whether you’re working in-house or with an external agency, this is an investment well worth your time and effort.

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>> Read more:

• 6 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Gardening Franchise
• Top 6 Gardening Franchises in the UK
• How to Start a Successful Gardening Franchise
• 5 Things to Know Before Starting a Gardening Franchise

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2. Prioritise user experience

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One of the benefits of having well-developed data analysis resources is that you could learn some home truths quite quickly. One of the things you’ll need to grips with quickly is whether your websites and social media pages are effective at selling your business.

If your websites are slow, out of date, or messy, potential customers will be clicking away quickly, depriving your business of valuable revenue. In fact, 88% of visitors to your website won’t return if they have a bad experience [Gomez], but what does a good experience actually look like?

It goes without saying you’ll need to have an up-to-date online presence. But you could also consider whether you should have a list of products that you sell for the ease of your customers. Do you have accurate and updated contact details? Can customers check out when they want to? Is it easy to do?

3. Make it digital

Marketing a business online certainly includes having catchy taglines and a developed online presence, but there’s more to it than that. As you market your business online, you should make an effort to understand what makes a successful marketing campaign on social media.

One of the big ways that many businesses have been able to attract new customers has been through going viral on social media. While this won’t be possible for every business, having a digitally and socially appealing presence can see your online content rocket in popularity. As more people see your marketing, more people will visit, so being fully aware of how social media can influence your business is vitally important.

4. Reward your customers

Loyal and passionate customers should be rewarded. Not only will this keep many of your customers coming back, it will also give an incentive to new customers to visit your store. Some of the best ways to market businesses are thorough showing that customers are at the heart of everything the business does, and your gardening business is no exception.

By offering in-person rewards like loyalty and gift cards, or online discounts through email lists, you can help create demand for your business among both existing and new customers.

5. Encourage reviews

Lots of customers enjoy leaving reviews - for better or for worse - and these reviews can influence whether customers choose to spend their money with you or not. All reviews can be constructive, but by encouraging your customers to give feedback, you not only bring them closer to your business, but you also find ways that you can improve.

By being a responsive franchisee, you can bring in new and important customers for both yourself and the franchise as a whole, so don’t be afraid to encourage feedback.

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>> Read more:

• What is the Marketing Fee and Why is it Necessary?
• Developing an effective franchise marketing plan
• Try Out These 8 Outside-the-Box Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business and Engage Your Customers
• Franchising 101: 8 Essential Marketing Strategies for Promoting Your Business
• Franchising 101: 6 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty Through Marketing

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6. Be unique

As a franchisee for a big national company, your individuality will be what makes your business unique. Many franchises don’t require you to have previous experience in sales or gardening retail to get started as a garden franchisee, so you can have as diverse a background as you want.

Both you and your employers will have worked in different roles and will have different experience and though your franchisor will have its own way of working, the franchisor-franchisee relationship should always be constructive. If you have new ideas for how to market your business, you should feel confident to pursue them.

7. Don’t neglect your local community

High streets and businesses have suffered greatly during the pandemic, and as life starts to return to many shopping areas, customers in your local area will be happy to see you coming back. This means that where possible, customers will visit your shop and will look to buy where possible.

There are different ways to sell your business to local customers and having a sophisticated digital presence won’t engage everyone. Don’t be afraid to market in the old-fashioned way through flyers, posters, and news and magazine ads.

Market your gardening franchise and reap the rewards

Without the right marketing tools and strategies, your new gardening business will struggle to attract the right customers. However, with the right tools and equipment, you will be able to grow your business and make the most of an amazing opportunity.

If franchising sounds like the right opportunity for you but the gardening, lawncare and landscaping industry isn’t, you can see a full list of available opportunities on the UK franchise directory.