5 Tips for Marketing Your Burger Franchise

In an industry as popular and competitive as the burger sector, you’re going to want to take every step you can to ensure your business stands out from the rest. An easy and essential way to do this is to make sure you’ve really nailed your marketing right from day one. In this article, we outline all the ways in which you can market your burger franchise towards a more profitable future.

When you decide to invest in a burger franchise, you’ll enter into a UK market that is absolutely flying. In the world of fast food and quick and easy gourmet meals, there’s few things as popular as a delicious burger. But if you’re seriously considering making a career change with a burger franchise, ensure you enter into the process backed by a strong and well-thought out marketing strategy.

The current shape of the burger industry

Following a gradual return to normality after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, burger franchises are one of the industries really benefiting from the easing of restrictions. According to The Caterer, burger restaurants now account for over £3 billion worth of the UK’s market value.

The years during the pandemic were a tough time for a lot of industries, but burger restaurants are bouncing back. In 2022, the outlook for franchising in the burger sector is hugely positive - so there’s really never been a better time to invest.

5 tips for marketing your burger franchise

1. Build and maintain a well-designed, SEO friendly website

In this technology driven day and age, the first place a lot of people will see your burger restaurant might not be wandering past it in the street. It’s very likely that a large number of potential customers will first view your burger franchise online.

As such, it’s incredibly important that your franchise has an attractive and functioning website to entice new business and give you credibility. A good website should have the following:

• Content that is SEO friendly and will ensure your website ranks highly on search engines
• Pages that load quickly and look appealing
• Pages that are easy to navigate
• Pages that are mobile-friendly and display correctly across all devices
• Up to date content that keeps customers informed of any news or exciting developments regarding your burger franchise
• Promotion of all your different social media platforms

2. Promote your franchise through online ordering apps

Another technology driven aspect of franchising with a burger restaurant - or any fast food restaurant, for that matter - is the recent surge in popularity of ordering food through apps. It’s super convenient and will be very appealing to a large portion of your customer base.

UK households spend an average of around five British pounds per person per week on takeaway meals. With the emergence of online ordering technology and companies dedicated to restaurant delivery, the market has entered a new era. The total foodservice delivery market was worth around 8.5 billion British pounds in 2019, largely thanks to the rise of online delivery concepts.
- S.Lock, Statista

Getting your franchise represented by online ordering apps can be a great way to promote any deals you are running currently to entice new business and please existing customers. Using food ordering apps is amongst one of the top burger sector trends of 2022, so make sure you don’t miss out on this when considering your marketing strategy.

3. Have a presence on social media and promote your restaurant

As already mentioned in this article, representing yourself well online is a very important part of marketing in the modern day. Having a strong social media presence is right up there with having a brilliant website.

Social media is an excellent platform on which to promote any special items or deals your burger franchise is offering. You can also interact directly with your customers - both existing and potential - and make your business seem friendly and approachable.

Be responsive to customers - and curious potential customers - on your social platforms and answer as many enquiries as possible. One of the top tips for running a successful burger franchise is to ensure quality customer service is one of your top priorities.

4. Reward loyal customers and incentivise new customers

A great way to hold onto existing customers and win new ones is through incentivising marketing tactics.

According to American Express, 90% of customers - both happy and unhappy - share their customer experience with other people. Given this statistic, it’s vitally important to your franchise’s success that your customers are sharing positive experiences about your business with their peers. That way, they might well win you some new customers as well.

A great way to keep customers happy and coming back for more is with loyalty schemes, where customers are rewarded for repeated business and receive occasional discounts. 

5. Utilise the support of your chosen franchisor

One of the most important steps towards successfully marketing your burger franchise starts at the very beginning of your franchising journey - the moment when you do your research and choose the burger franchise that’s right for you.

One of the most appealing reasons to become a franchisee is that it entitles you to all the training and support your franchisor promises in return for your investment. In a lot of cases, part of this support will come in the form of assisting you with establishing a marketing plan for your franchise. Your franchisor should also provide you with marketing materials and include you in any marketing campaigns.

Market your franchise correctly right from day one to launch your burger franchise towards success

By using the tips outlined in this article and consulting with your chosen franchisor, you should hopefully feel you have all the tools you need to market your burger franchise successfully. If you can’t wait to start enjoying all the advantages of running a burger franchise, why not put yourself yet another step ahead of the competition by researching further tips on building a business plan for a successful burger franchise?