5 Essential Tips for Local Lead Generation for Franchise Brands in 2025
1. Funnel Strategy: Focus on the Lower Funnel
When it comes to digital advertising for franchise brands—especially home service brands and gym brands—a well-structured marketing funnel strategy is essential. While upper-funnel activities like brand awareness are important, local lead generation requires a strong and strategic focus on lower-funnel campaigns. These local lead generation campaigns are designed to capture intent-driven leads who are ready to take action.
For example, a home service brand running Google Search Ads or Local Service Ads might focus on keywords like “carpet cleaning near me” or “emergency plumbing services.” Gym franchises could target terms like “affordable gym membership” or “24-hour fitness near me.” Lower-funnel campaigns typically include offers, booking options, or sign-ups, giving the audience a clear and immediate path to conversion.
The key takeaway here is to focus on lower funnel lead generation campaigns, while not forgetting about the rest of the funnel. Depending on the individual franchisee or region, this strategy may require more support from the top and middle funnel awareness campaigns, especially in new markets or when introducing new services/products. In these scenarios Performance Max campaigns can be very effective.
Statistic: According to HubSpot, 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information, and 72% of consumers that did a local search visited a store within five miles.
2. Budget Strategy: Use CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) as Your Lighthouse
Following the previous tip, once you’ve established where on the marketing funnel you’re spending, establishing a clear budget strategy is critical, and the key to getting it right is understanding your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Think of CLV as a lighthouse—it illuminates the path to success by showing where to allocate your resources effectively while avoiding overspending. I.e just like a lighthouse, your CLV is a navigational tool that tells you both where you need to go and also what you need to avoid. By calculating the total revenue a customer is likely to generate during their relationship with your brand, you can determine how much you should invest in acquiring and retaining them.
For example, if the CLV of a gym member is $1,500 over two years, you can justify spending a higher amount per lead while staying profitable. But if you’re targeting a one-time customer with low lifetime value, you need to keep acquisition costs significantly lower.
In the end as a franchisor the CLV will allow you to communicate ROI to your franchisees and this is key to any franchisor’s relationship with their franchisee network.
Statistic: Harvard Business Review reports that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%..
3. CRM Integration: Measure ROAS Effectively
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are a must-have for franchise brands aiming to optimize local lead generation. Integrating your CRM with ad platforms allows you to accurately track your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and measure the profitability of your campaigns.
CRM integration bridges the gap between marketing and sales, providing actionable insights into which campaigns drive conversions and how much revenue they generate. This is particularly crucial for multi-location franchises, as it ensures each location’s campaigns are contributing to a positive ROI.
Statistic: Salesforce claims that businesses using CRM software see an average ROI of $8.71 for every $1 spent.
Note: this statistic should be taken with a grain of salt as it’s quite difficult for home service brands or gym brands to calculate true ROAS and ROI without a CRM in the first place.
4. Budget Management: Keep Fees in Check
Managing your budget goes beyond setting campaign limits; it’s also about controlling management fees to maximize ROI. High management fees eat into your profits, making it harder to achieve the ROI targets established through your CRM and CLV calculations.
For franchise brands, using tools or platforms that consolidate ad management across multiple locations can reduce overhead costs. This approach not only minimizes fees but also simplifies budget allocation, ensuring more funds are directed toward driving leads rather than paying for expensive ad services.
Statistic: According to a study by the CMO Council, 68% of marketers strongly agree that it’s imperative for CMOs and CIOs to collaborate to develop a competitive advantage with customer experience.
5. Cross-Account Conversion Tracking: Optimize for Scale
For franchise brands, cross-account conversion tracking is a game-changer. This strategy allows you to measure performance across multiple locations and optimize campaigns using insights from successful franchisee efforts. For example, if one location sees high conversion rates with a specific offer or ad copy, other locations can replicate this success.
Cross-account conversion tracking is particularly beneficial when launching new locations. By leveraging data from established franchises, you can create campaigns that hit the ground running, reducing the learning curve and improving ROI. Curious about how to set this up? The video below explains exactly the steps you need to take inside your google ads MCC to set up conversion tracking at the MCC level.
Statistic: Google Ads research suggests that advertisers using cross-account conversion tracking see a 15% higher conversion rate on average.
In Conclusion
A successful local lead generation strategy for franchise brands involves a mix of tactics that work together to drive results. By focusing on lower-funnel campaigns, understanding your CLV, integrating CRM systems, managing your budget effectively, and leveraging cross-account tracking, you can create a scalable and profitable approach. Remember, the key is not just to generate leads but to generate the right leads—those that convert and contribute to your bottom line. With these tips implemented, your franchise brand is well-positioned to thrive in the competitive local market.
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Sources:
- HubSpot: “16 Stats That Prove the Importance of Local SEO” HubSpot Blog
- Harvard Business Review: “Relationship marketing” Wikipedia
- Salesforce: “3 Ways To Boost ROI With AI for Business” Salesforce
- CMO Council: “66% OF MARKETERS LACK CONFIDENCE IN ABILITY TO ACHIEVE REVENUE GOALS” CMO Council
- Google Ads: “Making conversion measurement work for your business” Google Ads
