2009 Trends | No Limit

And right there at No. 3: Social Networking.

And no, it’s not too late.

But the time is now. You cannot afford to wait much longer.

During a roundtable discussion at the IFA Convention, I mentioned a very important note all franchisors should grip. Even if you are not ready to commit the manpower and massive amount of time needed to maintain personal relationships with your customers in their personal spaces, you must take care of one important task: Securing the URLs.

For our clients, luckily we have been well ahead of the curve and have secured the right URLs that will help grow their franchise systems both on the sales side and the consumer building side. But, in some cases, the consumers are taking the names before your trademarked brand. While you may hold the trademark to the use of your name, good luck fighting through the very BIG companies of Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.

So, even if you are not ready for the investment of Social Networking – at the very least get a grip on the URLs that best represent your brand.

All franchisors, and more specifically franchise sales teams, are talking about finding new, creative measures for driving better, more qualified leads. Talk is cheap, though, and execution is difficult, especially with the time consuming measures needed for better lead generation campaigns.

No one has the time, nor the effort, nor the cash to launch new efforts on their own.

This is why communication firms that grasp Social Media/Social Networking, and how the new virtual universe can be vital to lead generation, will be the firms that thrive in 2009, despite the horrible economy.

Go back and read my blog. Constantly I am talking about Social Media/Social Networking. The reason is because I hope all franchisors understand just how much the virtual universe can do for your brand.

We all know the franchise portals are sinking. The portals, along with Google Ad Words, have really been the driving force for a lot of franchisors. These methods don’t work anymore, and are far more costly than using Social Media/Social Networking to drive your leads.