Eating pizza is a social tradition that transcends every age group and pervades every community. That’s why pizza franchise marketing often involves getting closer to the community as a whole in a number of ways. People who feel that the local pizza restaurant is a part of their community, a loyal ally in their civic concerns, make loyal lifelong customers.
Creating Community Sponsorships
Few things can create a sense of community with a business like sponsoring something that the community feels strongly about. Local sports teams are one of the easiest of these to find. They are in front of the public often, allowing community members to see your sponsorship logo frequently. This pizza franchise marketing strategy gives local teams as well as their family, friends and fans a frequent reminder about how much your business cares about locals.
When looking for a local team to sponsor, remember the many types available. There are far more than football, baseball and basketball teams. You may find that a less-well-known sport or activity also makes a good pizza franchise marketing opportunity, and there is not as much competition for those sponsorships.
Participating in Local Events
Every area has its own special events. It may be an annual golf tournament, a marathon, a parade or anything else that brings the community together. But no matter what it is, it probably depends in part on local business sponsors. These are useful pizza franchise marketing opportunities because they place your name in conjunction with a fun and memorable event.
Participation in these events may include paying for costumes, paying for placement in the printed program or it may be putting together a parade float. You may also consider providing pizza to participants or a pizza sales fundraiser for the event. These can be used to raise money for local schools or for charities that need the support of local businesses.
Getting involved in one of these events is a quick way for a new business to make a name for itself in the area. Even if there are many other pizza restaurants nearby, your business name will be remembered by those who attended the event and saw your business’ participation.
Chamber of Commerce Networking
One of the ways that local business owners can learn more about what works in the community and what doesn’t is to meet with other business owners. Joining the local Chamber of Commerce provides numerous networking opportunities that allow a pizza franchise owner to meet other entrepreneurs and to learn from their experience. They may have insight into events that you weren’t aware of. You may even be able to network yourself into lower-cost local advertising.
Participating in Chamber events such as ribbon cuttings and grand openings can further integrate your business into the community at large. They also offer pizza franchise marketing opportunities such as Chamber website write-ups and marketing areas that allow business owners to leave pamphlets and business cards on display. Some extend their local connections to business owners to allow them to make the most out of the local media. These are marketing opportunities that can be hard to find anywhere else.