Franchise marketing costs: what do you pay per location?

What do the costs of franchise marketing consist of?

Many quotes look cheap until you see what is not included. So always distinguish between work, media and internal hours.

Worked examples: 10, 30 and 50 locations

The amounts below are based on our own package prices per location per month, excluding VAT and excluding media budget.

How does the marketing fee relate to the costs?

Most franchise brands fund marketing from a marketing contribution paid by franchisees. Work it back: how much does the fund raise per location per month, and how much does the local work cost per location? If too little is left for national campaigns after the local work, you will have to make choices or revise the split. You can read how to do that in splitting the marketing budget between franchisor and franchisee and how a marketing fund works.

What does it cost if you do it yourself?

Doing it yourself looks free, but it is not. A marketing manager in the Netherlands earns an average of €6,000 gross per month, within a range of €4,000 to €8,000 (Nationale Beroepengids, November 2024). On top of that come employer costs, software and onboarding time. What is more, one person cannot do everything: profiles, reviews, campaigns and reporting for fifty locations is more than one job.

When does cheap turn out to be expensive?

A low price per location is only cheap if the work actually gets done. With every quote, ask: is performance measured per location, within what timeframe are reviews answered, and who is your fixed point of contact? Use the scorecard for your agency for this. And calculate what poor visibility is costing you now with the calculation of missed revenue per location.

Who pays which part of the costs?

In most franchise brands, the franchisee contributes through the marketing contribution and also bears local costs themselves. Put the split in writing, so there is no discussion about paying twice. A common arrangement is that the fund pays for the central work per location and the location funds additional local activities itself.

Also agree how often you review the split, for example once a year when the marketing plan is set. That way the budget matches what the locations actually need in practice, and the arrangement stays fair and explainable for everyone.

How do you work out whether the costs pay for themselves?

Costs only mean something next to returns. A simple calculation per location helps: how many extra customers are needed to recoup the monthly costs? Suppose local visibility costs €250 per month and an average customer brings in €50 of margin. Then five extra customers a month are enough to break even. For a franchise brand where one customer is worth hundreds of euros, such as an estate agent or installer, the break-even point is even lower.

Then measure whether those extra customers actually come in. Phone calls and direction requests from the Google Business Profile are a good first indication; enquiries via the location page are a second. Compare the same month with the previous year to rule out seasonal effects. If a location is clearly lagging behind after six months, look first at the basics of the profile and the reviews before committing extra budget. For a more detailed approach per location, read calculating return per location.

When working out the return, also take into account the costs you save. If head office handles reviews and profiles centrally, franchisees no longer need to spend their own hours or separate subscriptions on them. That time goes back to the business and the customer. Duplicate spending also disappears, for example when several locations independently hire the same tool or the same local agency. Put those savings next to the costs in your calculation; the picture is then often more favourable than a bare comparison of quotes suggests. Also factor in the cost of doing nothing: a location that misses out on a few customers every month pays for it again every year without noticing.

Put the outcome on paper every year, so the franchisee advisory council can also see what marketing delivers per location.

How do you request a fair quote?

In your request, state the number of locations, your current way of working and your goals for the year. Ask for a price per location, a separate media budget and a sample report. Our prices are listed on what franchise marketing costs; a scan of three locations is free.