You measure the ROI per franchise location by comparing the marketing costs per location with the extra gross profit that marketing generates. Because most customers buy offline, you estimate that extra revenue through customer actions (calls, direction requests, appointments) and fixed conversion factors. The result is not an exact truth, but it is a reliable comparison between locations and over time.
In short: measuring ROI per franchise location
- ROI per location = (extra gross profit from marketing minus marketing costs) divided by marketing costs.
- The tricky part is the extra revenue: you have to estimate it through customer actions and conversion rates.
- Measure the same customer actions for every location: calls, directions, appointments, bookings and forms.
- Link those actions to revenue using a conversion rate and an average spend per customer.
- Compare locations with each other and with themselves over time; absolute precision does not exist.
- A monthly report with the same KPIs for every location is the foundation.
How do you calculate ROI per location?
The formula is simple: ROI is the extra gross profit from marketing minus the marketing costs, divided by the marketing costs. The challenge lies in the extra gross profit. You calculate it in three steps: count the customer actions from online channels, convert them into customers using a conversion rate, and multiply by the average spend and the gross margin.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Customer actions per month | Calls, directions and appointments from the profile and Ads | 120 |
| Conversion to customer | 120 × 25% | 30 customers |
| Revenue | 30 × €150 average spend | €4,500 |
| Gross profit | €4,500 × 50% margin | €2,250 |
| Marketing costs | Growth package plus local advertising budget | €550 |
| ROI | (€2,250 − €550) ÷ €550 | approx. 3.1 |
Which KPIs should you measure per location?
Use the same set for every location, so you can compare. Some come straight from the Google Business Profile and Google Ads, others from your own systems.
| KPI | Source | Role in the ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Views in Search and Maps | Google Business Profile | Reach |
| Calls, directions, website visits | Google Business Profile | Customer actions |
| Conversions from Ads | Google Ads | Customer actions and costs |
| Appointments and bookings | Booking system | Customer actions |
| Revenue per location | Till or accounts | Trend check |
| Marketing costs per location | Invoices and fund allocation | Investment |
How do you determine the conversion rate from customer action to customer?
It differs by sector and by action. A phone call to a dentist is more often a new patient than a direction request to a supermarket is a new customer. Determine the rate with a sample: for a few weeks, ask at a number of locations how new customers found you, or count how many online appointments actually go ahead. Then use a fixed rate per action, and review it annually. Be conservative; a rate that is too high makes the ROI look better than it is.
How do you link online marketing to offline revenue?
Not exactly, but you can with trends. Put the customer actions per location next to the revenue per location, month by month. If a location gets more direction requests after improving its profile and at the same time generates more revenue, while comparable locations stay level, that is a strong signal. A pilot with some of the locations and a control group makes that effect even clearer.
| Method | Strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Trend in customer actions vs. revenue | Simple, always available | No hard proof |
| Pilot with a control group | Strong proof of effect | Requires planning |
| Asking customers how they found you | Direct insight | A sample, not complete |
| Discount codes per channel | Concrete | Not suitable for every product |
What does a dashboard for ROI per location look like?
One overview for the franchise brand, with the same rows for each location: costs, customer actions, estimated customers, estimated gross profit and ROI. Alongside that, a twelve-month trend and a comparison with the average. Franchisees get their own view. This is also the best way to account for the marketing fund; see splitting the marketing budget between franchisor and franchisee. We describe the report itself under reporting per location.
Which pitfalls do you see in ROI calculations?
- Attributing all revenue to marketing, including revenue from regular customers.
- Estimating conversion rates too optimistically.
- Measuring only forms and forgetting calls.
- Comparing locations that are not comparable (city versus village).
- Drawing conclusions after one month; seasons distort the picture.
If your local ads are not working as expected, first look at local Google Ads that do not work. A simple worked example per sector is also on the pages in franchise marketing by sector.
How do you start measuring ROI per location?
Start with three steps. One: make sure every location measures the same customer actions. Two: set a cautious conversion rate and average spend per sector. Three: create a monthly report with costs and estimated returns per location. After a quarter you will have a reliable picture. If you would rather not build this yourself, we arrange it as part of outsourced local marketing for chains.
How do you compare the ROI of locations fairly?
Compare locations in similar circumstances: size of the town, competition nearby, age of the location and type of site. A location in a city centre naturally has more search volume than a location in a village. So look mainly at how each location develops relative to itself, and at ROI rather than absolute numbers.
Who is behind this approach to measuring ROI per franchise location?
This page was written by Gijs Bodenstaff, founder of Franchise-Marketing.nl. He has worked in online marketing since 1998 and since 2010 on the local visibility of more than 800 businesses, is a level 8 Google Local Guide and Google Product Expert, and wrote the Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027 (Dutch-language edition). He set up a franchise brand himself in ten countries. The work is carried out by our permanent team: Angela (local SEO analyst), Elisabeth (local Google Ads), Peter (local SEO and link building), co-author and researcher Stanley Leijnse and ten regular freelancers trained by us.
Read more about Franchise-Marketing.nl; the author's background is on Gijs Bodenstaff.
Frequently asked questions: how do you measure marketing ROI per franchise location?
Can you measure ROI per location exactly?
Which customer actions count most?
How often should you calculate ROI per location?
What is a good ROI for local marketing?
Do franchisees have to share their revenue?
How do you show ROI to franchisees?
How do you calculate the marketing ROI for a single franchise location?
How do you determine the conversion rate from a direction request or call to a customer?
How do you compare the ROI of a city location with a village location?
How do you show that online marketing generates more revenue per franchise location?
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
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