Franchise systems · Digital marketing
The fund buys impressions and the franchisee sees nothing.
Digital marketing for a franchise system is two programmes funded differently and judged by different people: development spend that answers to the board, and fund spend that answers to franchisees. GullySales runs both, reports per unit against that unit's own baseline, and keeps the budgets from hiding each other.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
What digital marketing means
Digital marketing is the combined work of search, social media, advertising and website channels running together rather than as separate projects with separate people. GullySales runs these as one connected system so a change in one channel, such as a new offer, is reflected everywhere at once.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026.
For franchise systems
Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.
“Owners resent the fund because of how it is reported”
A national impression count means nothing to somebody running one territory. The same money reported as enquiries in the candidate's own area changes the conversation.
“Adoption is the constraint, not strategy”
A campaign half the network runs is a campaign that half-works. What owners will actually do shapes the plan more than what is theoretically best.
“Two funnels in one number hide each other”
A strong year for development masks units that are struggling, right up until the validation calls start going badly.
What we do
What we deliver for franchise systems.
Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.
Development and fund budgets separated
Two plans, two sets of accounts and two reports, so money raised from franchisees is not funding candidate acquisition.
Result: Both sides of the business can be defended in a room.
Per-unit reporting against a unit baseline
Enquiries, calls and bookings for each location measured against what that location produced before work began, not against the network average.
Result: Owners can see what the fund bought them.
Campaigns prepared so an owner can run them
Dates, creative, offer and local variations built in advance, with instructions short enough to follow on a busy Tuesday.
Result: A campaign runs across the network on the same days.
An adoption record by unit
Which owners ran each campaign, which did not and what results followed, tracked so support goes where it is needed.
Result: You can tell a weak campaign from a weak rollout.
One plan covering the two audiences
A written split of channels and effort between candidates and customers, with the measure each part is judged on.
Result: Spending decisions stop being made in isolation.
A report for the board and one for franchisees
The same monthly data presented twice, once as cost per signed unit and once as enquiries in a territory.
Result: Both audiences get numbers that mean something to them.
How the result is measured
- Enquiries across channels
- Cost per enquiry overall
- Channel mix by contribution
Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.
Where to start for a franchisor
Separate the development funnel from the fund before you plan a campaign.
- Two budget lines
- Write the development budget for finding franchisees and the brand fund for local customers as two separate lines, with who approves each. Report them apart to the board and to the owners.
- A candidate tracker
- List every franchise enquiry with the investment they can afford, the city, the stage and the next call. Ring the candidate on the day they enquire, and record why a candidate drops out.
- A listing for each location
- Check each unit's Google profile for the right name, address, hours and phone. Mark which franchisee owns the login and which listing shows a different story.
- A ready-to-run campaign for owners
- Prepare a pack the franchisee can use without a designer, with the post, the offer and the message. Record which units used it, and what each said about it.
- A launch routine for a new unit
- Write a list for the weeks before an opening: the listing, local posts, a society or office visit and the first reviews. Note the first customers each unit sees.
- What to leave until later
- A national brand campaign and broker deals that pay for candidates who already knew you. Check your own tracker for where candidates came from first.
Who it is for
This is written for these franchise systems.
- Emerging franchisors under twenty-five units
- Established systems adding units in new states
- Food and beverage franchise systems
- Home services and residential franchise brands
- Health, fitness and wellness studio franchises
- Childcare, tutoring and education franchises
- Senior care and staffing franchise systems
- Multi-unit and area developer models
- Franchisors relying on a broker network for most deals
Not for
It is not the right fit if.
- Franchisees do not use the material the fund produces today, and more campaigns would pile up unused
- You cannot tell candidate enquiries from customer enquiries in the numbers, so one plan would hide which side is working
- The brand standard is not agreed, so each unit would run the plan in its own style
How it works
How the digital marketing work runs
The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.
- 1
Agree the one aim
We settle what the campaign must achieve, such as enquiries for a launch or footfall for an event, and the date it must be live.
- 2
Check what is ready
We list the channels you already run, who runs them, and what each can produce in the time available. Anything that cannot be done properly is left out.
- 3
Write the idea and the message sheet
We draft the one-sentence idea, test it against each planned format, and fix the wording that all channels will copy.
- 4
Brief every channel from the same sheet
Your agency, freelancer or in-house person receives the message sheet and calendar. Their work is checked against the sheet before it goes out.
- 5
Run on the shared calendar
Channels go live together. If the offer changes, every channel is changed on the same day from the same sheet.
- 6
Measure as one campaign
Enquiries and orders are read against the baseline. The reporting schedule is agreed in writing with the scope.
Where this fits
Three pieces of sales work, in this order.
This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 0, foundation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.
Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2 · you are here
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
How do we get franchisees to use what the fund produces?
Can you work alongside our existing agency?
Should a franchisee run their own local advertising?
How do we compare units that sit in very different cities?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
What if we are not happy with the work?
From the blog
Further reading for franchise systems.
More for franchise systems
Everything else we would do for you.
Closest to this: strategy and research
Also for franchise systems
Or start from the overview: sales and marketing for franchise systems.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.