INTRO

In 2018, the home services company Mosquito Hunters joined forces with veteran franchisor Lawn Doctor to provide a variety of high-quality outdoor services to customers. Over the 50-plus years that Lawn Doctor has been around, the brand has expanded its franchise system to more than 600 locations across the country. Mosquito Hunters has also been offering opportunities to aspiring franchisees since 2014 and currently has 50 locations in 18 states. Both companies currently operate under their new parent company, Happinest, along with recently acquired eco-friendly cleaning brand ecomaids®.

PROBLEM

Mosquito Hunters, Lawn Doctor and ecomaids are all looking to expand to new markets. All three brands attract franchisees because of their simple home-based business model, which presents candidates with a low-cost of entry and low overhead expenses, but they need to get in front of the right audiences.

SOLUTION

Mainland supports Mosquito Hunters, Lawn Doctor and ecomaids’ lead generation strategy by providing the brands with insight-rich content tailored to each stage of franchise development. Content management programs and demographic targeting through social media are both methods that Mainland uses to reach candidates when they’re still in the discovery phase.

RESULT

Mainland has developed dozens of rich stories to help the franchise development team educate potential franchise owners about the opportunity, ranging from profiles of successful owners and pieces about the culture of the brands to corporate support and growth opportunities.

HOW MAINLAND WON

Mainland understands the importance of telling human-interest stories that resonate and relate to Mosquito Hunters’, Lawn Doctor’s, and ecomaids’ respective audiences — and according to Martin, this marketing strategy is key to attracting franchisees.

“I’m a firm believer that people buy franchises before they ever talk to the brand,” Martin said. “You have to have content out there that captures a candidate’s attention and allows for a relationship to develop before there’s ever any contact between the two of you. Draw people in and show them why your opportunity should be on their radar. If you’re doing that well, they have a better understanding of their fit for the brand, which brings better candidates forward.”

“The franchise purchasing process is much longer now,” Martin said. “Your strategy shouldn’t be to rush a candidate. Brands need to maintain a presence and keep the content consistent to capture people when they’re ready to absorb it. That way, when they get to you, there’s a refined funneling process in place.”

Cassidy McAloon, Senior Account Manager at No Limit Agency and writer for 1851 Franchise, commends Happinest on how well the companies understand the importance of brand awareness and producing high-quality content through a third-party publication, such as 1851 Franchise.

“Mosquito Hunters and Lawn Doctor understand how content plays a role in brand awareness and how to get that content in front of their audience,” said McAloon. “The content Mainland produces on 1851 Franchise plays a significant role in their sales process. They’ve had people come onboard who said they learned about the brands through the articles on 1851 Franchise.”

Along with appealing to the human interest aspect through a content journey, Franchise Development Manager Ron Ens is proud of the personal touch that the brands incorporate into their lead discovery process.

“All communication that comes from us is personalized,” said Ens. “When candidates hop on the phone to learn more about franchise opportunities, they won’t hear the generic, ‘Welcome to Mosquito Hunters from our team.’ The message that the development directors design is created to inform and educate candidates.”

The content created by Mainland for Happinest proves that at the end of the day, people crave personal, human stories — especially so for the franchise industry.