E42: The Realities of Modern Franchise Marketing! With Gabby Powers of NetSertive

Hosts: Michael Hyam and Liane Caruso  
Guest: Gabby Powers, Product Marketing Manager at NETSERTIVE

In a recent episode of the LFG Podcast, we sat down with Gabby Powers, Product Marketing Manager at NetSertive, to discuss the evolving landscape of franchise marketing. 

With experience on both the brand and agency sides, Gabby shared valuable insights on breaking down silos, simplifying data, and preparing for the future of franchise marketing.

Podcast Summary: Gabby Powers of NetSertive Shares Insights, Advice, and Tips For Modern Franchise Marketing

The Power of Cross-Functional Alignment

One of the most persistent challenges in franchising is the disconnect between marketing, operations, and sales teams. Gabby emphasized that these silos don’t just create internal friction—they actively harm business performance.

The solution? Speaking the same language around success metrics.

“Having a consistent language around what success looks like and what the strategy is to actually get there” is essential, Gabby explained. When marketing teams understand operational metrics like booking rates and show rates, they gain crucial insights into lead quality. This allows them to move beyond defensive postures when operations claim “the leads are bad” and instead collaborate on diagnosing whether the issue lies in lead quality, the sales process, or somewhere else entirely.

Simplifying Your Tech Stack

In an era where new marketing technologies emerge constantly, many franchise brands find themselves drowning in data silos. Gabby outlined a practical approach to regaining clarity:

Step 1: Audit everything. 

Understand every platform containing important data—from ad platforms to CRM systems, POS systems, and reputation management tools. Many franchise marketers don’t even know the full extent of their tech sprawl.

Step 2: Consolidate ruthlessly. 

Franchisees will only log into so many platforms. Reducing from ten systems to five might still seem like a lot, but it’s a massive improvement in usability and data accessibility.

Step 3: Identify your key KPIs. 

Once you’ve consolidated your data, you can actually determine which metrics matter most for your specific business model. For reservation-based businesses, booking rates and show rates become critical indicators that both marketing and operations need to track.

The goal isn’t just having data in one place—it’s generating actionable insights and using those insights to coach franchisees effectively.

Tying Marketing to Revenue (Especially Now)

With ongoing economic uncertainty, franchisees are scrutinizing every expense. Marketing budgets, often substantial, frequently face the chopping block first.

“Franchisees are being responsible and looking at everything coming out of their business,” Gabby noted. “Marketing is always a huge chunk of that, so it’s the first thing that they want to question.”

The antidote is demonstrating clear return on investment. Franchise marketers who can show how marketing investments translate to revenue, membership goals, and lifetime value protect their budgets while positioning marketing as a growth driver rather than a cost center.

Building Trust Through Questions, Not Answers

Perhaps the most stand-out insight Gabby shared was about franchisee coaching. As a young professional eager to prove her value, she initially jumped straight to recommendations and solutions.

“Ultimately, I found that that wasn’t well received, and it was causing those franchisees to be overwhelmed,” she admitted.

Drawing from the book “Navigating Difficult Conversations,” Gabby learned to lead with questions instead of advice. This approach:

• Uncovers the real pain points (like “I don’t trust marketing” or “My FBC isn’t coaching me effectively”)
• Allows you to respond using language the franchisee already uses
• Builds trust before attempting to guide new strategies
• Applies core marketing principles—finding and alleviating pain points—to franchisee relationships

Looking Ahead: AI Clarity and Local Marketing Basics

As Gabby looks toward 2026-2028, she sees two major trends shaping successful franchise brands:

The Year of AI Clarity

After years of conferences warning that brands must adopt AI or fall behind, 2026 will be about practical implementation. Successful brands will help franchisees understand exactly where AI fits into their business—not everywhere, but in two to three key areas where it delivers real value.

“So many individual owners need to focus on the basics before they’re actually being able to implement it,” Gabby cautioned.

The Return to Local Marketing Fundamentals

The most successful franchise brands will master the combination of digital and local marketing efforts.

“We really can’t just invest in digital anymore,” Gabby stressed. “You have to be able to do both sides of the coin, because one feeds the other.”

Local marketing builds community trust, which in turn makes digital campaigns perform better. Franchisees who embrace both—rather than relying solely on digital channels—are building revenue “like no other.”

What Success Ultimately Looks Like

Gabby’s journey from brand-side director to agency product marketing manager offers a unique perspective on franchise marketing challenges. Her experience underscores that whether you’re working at headquarters or with an agency partner, success comes down to asking better questions, simplifying complexity, and building genuine trust with franchisees.

Listen to the episode now to hear more from Gabby and the LFG Podcast team!