Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Franchise Buyer Persona

A franchise buyer persona is a detailed description of your ideal franchisee. It’s a tool used in franchise marketing to attract the right people and generate quality leads. In this guide, I’ll show you how to create a franchise buyer persona quickly and easily. No complex theories—just practical tips you can use today.

Why You Need a Detailed Description for Franchise Buyer Persona

When creating a buyer persona, it’s important to focus on detail. For example, saying “People who want to be their own boss” is too vague. Many people want to be their own boss, but that doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for your franchise. You need to go deeper and create a more specific description.

2 Simple Tips to Build Your Franchise Buyer Persona

Here are two tips to help you create a franchise buyer persona right now.

Tip 1: Use Data, Not Assumptions

Don’t guess who your ideal franchisee is—use data to find out. This is especially important if your franchise is new and you don’t have many franchisees yet.

How to Get Started:

1. Google Search: Start by opening Google and typing “top 5 pizza franchises with under 50 units” (or adjust this for your industry). This will give you a list of competitors.
2. LinkedIn Search: Next, go to LinkedIn and search for your competitor’s franchise owners, for example, “Domino’s Pizza owner.” Look at the profiles of their franchisees to see their education, job history, experience, skills, and interests. Save these profiles as PDFs for easy reference later.

This method gives you real data about people who have already become franchise owners. You can even take it a step further by finding these franchisees on Facebook or Instagram to learn more about what motivated them.

Tip 2: Create Your Own Franchise Buyer Persona

Now that you have a clear idea of what your competitors’ franchisees look like, it’s time to create your own buyer persona.

How to Get Started:

1. Create a LinkedIn Profile: Imagine you’re making a LinkedIn profile for your ideal franchisee. Give them a name, and fill in all the details like education, work experience, and interests. This should only take about 30 minutes.
2. Download and Share: Once you’ve created the profile, download it as a PDF and share it with your marketing team. You can even pin it on your office board as a constant reminder of who you’re targeting.

This simple exercise saves you time and money while giving you a clear picture of your ideal franchisee. You can build multiple personas if your franchise targets different types of people.

How to Use Your Franchise Buyer Personas

Now that you have your buyer personas, it’s time to put them to work. Use these personas to shape your franchise marketing strategy. Tailor your ads, website content, and outreach to speak directly to the people you want to attract.

Bonus Tip: Keep Evolving

As your franchise grows, your buyer personas will need to evolve too. You might want to target multi-unit owners or area developers as your goals change. Just repeat the process we discussed earlier, adjusting your search criteria to fit your new targets.

Final Thoughts

Building a franchise buyer persona doesn’t have to be complicated. By following the steps in this article, you’ll be ahead of the game, especially since many emerging franchises don’t take the time to create these personas. If you do, you’ll be well on your way to generating high-quality leads.

Remember, don’t spend money on marketing campaigns without a clear plan. Knowing your buyer personas will help you get the results you want.