87% of Franchise Marketing Executives Report Improved Optimism for U.S. Economy

87% of Franchise Marketing Executives Report Improved Optimism for U.S. Economy

According to the results of the Franchise Consumer Marketing Survey, 87% of franchise marketing executives are “more optimistic about the U.S. economy compared with last year.” Franchise Update Media Group, the leading industry resource for franchise development, conducted a survey of marketing executives from 54 franchise organizations to get detailed insights into their marketing strategy, execution, and outlook.

This optimism is somewhat tempered by the fact that 58% of respondents reported business at the unit level as “good,” while 33% described business as “neutral” and 9% as “poor.”

The most surprising finding to me is the power of print in gaining new customers. Three of the top four “most effective media” are print – direct mail, coupon programs, and newspaper, followed by local television. Not surprisingly, social media is still in the experimental phase, with franchisors “continuously seeking knowledge on how to use it best.”

As always, the “most pressing” challenges for franchise marketing executives are amplified in a sluggish economy. They are concerned with evaluating the impact and reach of their “advertising budgets, strategies, customer profiling, media selection, tracking, and ROI.”

I think that most of the sentiments expressed by the franchise marketing executives reflect those of marketing executives across all industries. I sense that they are now focused on identifying and executing the best ways to succeed in the new economy rather than continuing to try and figure out what happened to the old one, and looking forward rather than back is always a cause for optimism.