Your Marketing Vendors Work for Themselves. Your Advisor Works for You.
Why Franchise Owners Struggle with Marketing
Most franchise owners know they need better marketing but don't have the time, team, or expertise to evaluate whether their current spend is working. Agencies and vendors have a financial incentive to keep you spending more. Corporate marketing teams build programs for the brand, not for your specific market. The result: wasted budget, unclear ROI, and a cycle of switching agencies every 12–18 months without improvement.
The Problem
The Fix
How Franchise Growth Advisory Works
This is not a set of marketing services. It's a strategic relationship with an experienced marketing executive who sits on your side of the table and helps you make better decisions about where to invest your marketing budget.
Phase 1 — Audit & Diagnose
We conduct a full digital audit covering your Google Business Profile, website conversion paths, paid ad accounts, social media presence, local SEO health, and competitive positioning. This audit identifies exactly where money is being wasted and where the highest-ROI opportunities exist in your specific market.
Phase 2 — Build the Plan
Based on the audit, you receive a prioritized 90-day action plan with specific dollar-impact estimates for each recommendation. This plan is designed so it can be executed by your existing team, your current vendors (with oversight), or new partners we help you vet.
Phase 3 — Guide & Optimize
On ongoing engagements, we provide regular strategy calls, vendor oversight, KPI tracking, and quarterly re-audits to ensure your marketing spend stays efficient as your business evolves. You get Slack/Voxer access for real-time questions between calls.
Engagement Options
Three tiers designed to match where you are in your growth journey. Every engagement starts with a full audit so we're working from data, not assumptions.
- Full 6-point digital audit
- 3 strategy calls over 90 days
- Prioritized 90-day action plan
- Loom video walkthroughs
- Email support between calls
- Vendor/agency evaluation
- Everything in Growth Audit
- Bi-monthly 1:1 strategy calls
- 48-hour Slack/Voxer access
- Monthly KPI scorecard
- Quarterly re-audits
- Vendor oversight & accountability
- Everything in Growth Advisor
- Weekly strategy calls
- Implementation support & direction
- Corporate marketing liaison
- Quarterly team training sessions
- New vendor sourcing & onboarding
- Ad account build-out oversight
How this compares to alternatives: The average marketing agency retainer runs $5,000–$15,000/month with inherent conflicts of interest. A full-time marketing director costs $80,000–$120,000/year plus benefits. Fractional CMO services average $7,500–$15,000/month nationally. Our advisory model gives franchise owners senior marketing expertise at 40–60% below comparable alternatives — and the advisor is on your side, not selling you services.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Growth Audit | Growth Advisor | Fractional CMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full digital audit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 90-day action plan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Strategy calls | 3 calls / 90 days | Bi-monthly | Weekly |
| Slack/Voxer access | — | 48-hour response | 24-hour response |
| KPI scorecard | — | Monthly | Weekly |
| Vendor oversight | Evaluation only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quarterly re-audits | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Implementation support | — | — | ✓ |
| Team training | — | — | Quarterly |
| Corporate liaison | — | — | ✓ |
À La Carte Add-Ons
Available to any active advisory client or as standalone engagements.
Who This Is Built For
Franchise growth advisory is designed for franchise owners and operators who are spending money on marketing but aren't confident it's working. Specifically, this serves single-unit franchise owners looking to grow local leads and reduce wasted ad spend, multi-unit operators who need marketing consistency across locations, franchise owners considering their first agency hire and wanting to make the right choice, and owners stuck in the cycle of switching agencies every year without measurable improvement.
If you're spending $3,000 or more per month on marketing across ads, agencies, and tools — and you can't clearly articulate your cost per lead and return on ad spend — this advisory was built for you.
Your Advisor
Cormac Jonas is the founder of The Jonas Agency and has spent his career at the intersection of media, technology, and growth marketing. Before launching the advisory practice, Cormac served as Head of Industry at TikTok, where he led growth strategy for clients in sports, entertainment, and media — working with brands like A24, the NHL, the New York Times, and Condé Nast.
That background means you're getting advice informed by how the largest platforms and brands in the world approach growth — translated into actionable strategy for your franchise.
- Former Head of Industry, TikTok (Sports, Entertainment & Media)
- Managed growth campaigns for Fortune 500 brands
- Based in Austin, TX — works with franchise owners nationwide
- Advisor-first model: no agency execution conflicts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is franchise growth advisory?
Franchise growth advisory is a strategic marketing service where an experienced marketing advisor works directly with franchise owners to audit their current marketing, eliminate wasted ad spend, build a local customer acquisition strategy, and provide ongoing guidance — without the conflicts of interest that come with agencies selling execution services. Unlike a marketing agency that profits from managing your ad spend, an advisor profits from giving you clarity and accountability.
How is this different from hiring a marketing agency?
Agencies make money selling you services — ad management, content creation, SEO retainers. Their incentive is for you to spend more. A franchise marketing advisor makes money by giving you clarity, even if that means recommending you spend less or fire your current agency. Advisory is strategy-first with full vendor oversight, while agency work is execution-first with inherent conflicts of interest.
How much does franchise marketing advisory cost?
Engagements start at $4,500 for a one-time audit and action plan, with ongoing advisory retainers at $3,500/month (Growth Advisor) or $6,500/month (Fractional CMO). For context, the industry average for comparable marketing advisory retainers is $5,000–$15,000/month, and a full-time marketing hire costs $80,000–$120,000+ annually. Advisory gives franchise owners senior-level marketing expertise at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house.
How quickly will I see results?
Most franchise owners identify significant wasted ad spend and quick-win opportunities within the first 30 days. The initial audit typically uncovers 30–40% in wasted paid media spend that can be immediately redirected to higher-performing channels. Within 90 days, clients generally see measurable improvements in lead volume, cost per lead, and local search visibility.
What does the digital audit include?
The audit covers six areas: Google Business Profile optimization, website performance and conversion analysis, paid ad account review (Google Ads, Meta, local platforms), social media presence assessment, local SEO and citation health, and competitive positioning analysis. The deliverable is a prioritized action plan with specific dollar-impact estimates for each recommendation.
Find Out What Your Marketing Should Actually Cost
Book a free 30-minute strategy call. We'll review your current marketing spend and tell you where the waste is — no pitch, no obligation.
Book a Free Strategy Call