Franchises are overinvesting in low-return channels and underfunding proven high-ROI tactics like email and SEO.

Essential Statistics

• Local SEO: 28% spend, 274% ROI.
• Paid Ads: 39% spend, 81% ROI.
• Directories: 11% spend, 172% ROI.
• Social: 6% spend, 17% ROI.
• Email/SMS: 4% spend, 595% ROI.
• Other: 12% spend, 106% ROI.

Key Takeaways

• Franchises overspend on ads and social while ignoring higher-return channels.
• Email and SMS provide the strongest ROI but are severely underfunded.
• Local SEO delivers excellent ROI at scale.
• Paid ads are the most-funded but least efficient.
• Directories are often overlooked but deliver solid returns.
• Budget distribution is misaligned with performance.
• ROI-rich channels are often the ones least prioritized.

Actionable Insights

• Shift a portion of paid ad spend to email/SMS. These channels generate outsized returns with minimal investment.
• Reevaluate budget allocations using ROI—not comfort or legacy habits—as your baseline.
• Ramp up local SEO efforts. It scales well and drives compounding returns over time.
• Don’t overlook directories—test inclusion on niche and review platforms.
• Cut social spend unless it drives measurable revenue.
• Use this chart to justify rebalancing your marketing mix in 2026 planning.
• Build internal dashboards to track spend-to-return ratios quarterly across all channels.

Chase what grows faster and bigger. Double down on the channels that compound your ROI instead of just consuming your budget. – Neil Patel