5th Annual Franchise Marketing Report: Leads & Traffic Count

Benchmarking data and analysis at its best Results from the 2023 Annual Franchise Marketing Report (AFMR) were revealed this summer at the Franchise Customer Experience Conference, or FCXC. The AFMR was created at the request of our FCXC conference advisory board to develop relevant content for CMOs and to learn more about their needs and challenges. Its purpose is to provide the data and analysis CMOs and other top marketing executives need to measure their success and learn how they can do better at a job that seems to get more complex with each passing year.

(Think digital!) The AFMR delivers invaluable benchmarking data that provides franchise consumer marketers with the insights they need to know how they stack up against other franchise brands and their industry. In short, the report is a unique resource franchise marketers can use to improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and make the most efficient use of their marketing budgets.

Data was collected from a group of marketing leaders at 65 franchise brands who each completed an in-depth questionnaire. Respondents’ roles ran the gamut: co-founder, CEO, president, COO, CMO, chief growth officer, VP of marketing, director of marketing, marketing and operations director, director of advertising, marketing and communications director, general manager marketing, director of digital marketing, and VP of franchise development. Their responses were aggregated and analyzed to produce an in-depth look into the marketing practices, budgets, and strategies of a wide cross-section of franchise brands and sectors.

What follows are selected highlights from the 2023 AFMR, which offers commentary and analysis that provides context, insights, and a detailed look into the data contained in the report. Rebounding from 3 years of Covid and perhaps encouraged by the working from home movement, leads and traffic count were up this year for nearly half (49%) of respondents. Collectively, one in five (22%) reported leads and traffic count were the same, while the same number reported they’d fallen year-over-year.

Looking at lead-to-close ratios, digital marketing and referrals were highest across all general business categories.