• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 19, 2025

It’s not easy managing franchises across markets: franchisors call it their biggest challenge, according to The State of Franchise Marketing, a study from Constant Contact, conducted by Ascend2.

Central franchisors try to help their franchisees market, providing email and other templates to maintain brand consistency. But does it work, given their different perspectives?

Franchisors want control, and franchisees value autonomy. 

According to franchisors, the biggest hurdles in this process are: 

• Managing brand reputation across multiple markets — 47%
• Balancing corporate control with local customization needs — 37% 
• Ensuring franchisees adhere to brand guidelines — 34% 
• Inconsistent training across franchise locations — 30% 
• Limited control over local marketing efforts — 27% 
• Navigating franchisor/franchisee relationship — 27%
• Deploying templates and marketing messaging effectively — 26%
• Gaining buy-in from franchisees on technology or messaging — 26% 
• Lack of standardized tools or technology — 21%

Naturally, franchisees face a different set of barriers:

• Limited budget — 52% 
• Time constraints — 34% 
• Lack of marketing expertise or training — 31% 
• Lack of localized marketing support — 30%
• Corporate policies or restrictions — 26%
• Difficulty measuring marketing performance (ROI) — 24%
• Technology limitations or outdated tools — 23% 
• Inconsistent communication or guidance from corporate — 22% 

Then there’s the perceived value of the help provided by franchisors: 

Social media scheduling tools are considered the most useful marketing technology provided by franchise brands — 55% of franchisers say so, compared to 50% of franchisees.  

Email is a close second, at least among franchisors: 54% cite it, but only 35% of franchisees agree. They are more likely to cite customer relationship management systems (45%) and analytics and reporting tools (38%).

Still, email templates are widely provided by franchisors to their franchisees. They offer help with:

• Social media posts — 61%
• Emails — 60% 
• Promotional offers or discounts — 53%
• Ads — 51%
• Video content — 46% 
• Landing pages or website content — 43%
• Text/SMS — 39% 
• Automation — 21%
• Other — 2%

What do franchisors hope to do to improve marketing by their franchisee partners? They are:

• Strengthening performance tracking and reporting systems — 46% 
• Providing better training and support programs — 45%
• Implementing or upgrading marketing technology — 42% 
• Enhancing communication and collaboration with franchisees — 40%
• Improving compliance with brand standards and guidelines — 39% 
• Offering more localized marketing support — 35% 
• Expanding the use of tools for email marketing — 32%

Meanwhile, 33% of franchisers are prioritizing AI tool implementation this year, whereas 30% are focusing on marketing personalization and 20% are focusing on data analytics improvements.

Constant Contact partnered with Ascend2 to survey 503 marketing decision-makers working for franchisors (239 participants) and franchisees (264 participants) throughout the United States and Canada in January 2025.