Marketing Secrets of Subway

What does Subway have that you don’t? And how can you get it?

In 2005, Subway signed on 900 new franchise owners and opened 2400 new units, bringing their total domestic locations to 20,000.

What does Subway have that you don’t? Most likely: Awareness. Validation. And Momentum.

Awareness. People buy Subway franchises because they know about the Subway franchise opportunity. Subway has built unrivaled awareness of their franchise program. Ever since their franchise program was launched in 1974, Subway has relentlessly promoted their franchise opportunity: on napkins, cups, news releases, ads, newsletters and magazine covers.

Validation. People buy Subway franchises because they see that a lot of others have deemed Subway a credible opportunity. They see the Subway franchise regularly featured in the pages and on the covers of franchise and business opportunity magazines. Subway has gained immeasurable credibility by being named as Entrepreneur magazine’s #1 franchise for the past 14 years in a row.

Momentum. People buy Subway franchises because 899 others are buying Subway franchises.

Success breeds success. Would-be franchisees want to be associated with a company that’s a winner and the comfort of knowing that they are not alone in their decision. “Sure…and Subway’s got a huge ad budget and over 20,000 stores.” True. But they didn’t when they started out. They scrambled just like you. Their budget was just as tight… maybe tighter. They had to balance the conflicting challenges of running their own operations, supporting their new franchisees, and competing for new franchise owners, just like you do.

The good news is, you don’t have to add 900 new franchisees this year. You don’t need to open 2400 locations just to keep pace with last year. How many new franchisees do you need to jump start your franchise program? How many new units do you need to open to get your momentum, and cash flow, to the next level?

At this very moment, in the towns you have targeted for expansion, future franchise owners are researching which franchise opportunity they should open. Odds are, they’ll end up opening a Subway, a Quiznos, a Curves, a UPS Store, a Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, a Dunkin Donuts, a Jani-King, a RE/MAX Int’l, a 7-11 or a Liberty Tax Service…unless you give them a reason to choose otherwise.

If your franchise is as good as you think, you can beat the odds if you do what it takes to create awareness, gain validation, and start building strong momentum.

Want to know how to build awareness, validation and momentum for your franchise opportunity, even with a limited budget? Send me an email with a brief overview of your franchise opportunity and growth goals, and I’ll share some of the proven strategies of high-growth franchisors.