Ryan Spalding and Jason Mudd discuss franchising, home improvement and home services. Guest: Our episode guest is Ryan Spalding of Toronto, Canada. He is the Director of Franchise Marketing at Garage Living where he has created and implemented the marketing strategy for over 40 franchise locations and leads the marketing team across all marketing channels.  Five things you’ll learn from this episode: How marketing in the music industry differs from the home improvement industryHow customer home service has changed after the pandemic How online reviews impact lead generationThe nuances of doing business internationallyHow PR can be used for franchisorsQuotables: [04:50] “[In the music industry and the home improvement industry] you’re still using the same marketing principles. You're identifying your target market and you’re looking at tactics to reach those of that audience, whether it’s through traditional marketing, avenues, digital marketing avenues, or whether it’s through publicity campaigns.” - Ryan[09:52] “During the pandemic, it was almost easier [for franchises] to launch, because everyone is really interested in improving your home during the pandemic.” - Ryan[11:12] “I think that the demand is reverting back to what it was before the pandemic. Now you’re maybe back in the office and can travel. There’s options to spend your money in other places.” - Ryan[18:37] “Now more than ever, online reviews are more important than perhaps they were a couple years ago. Especially for our industry and our segment.” - Ryan[19:04] “People are going to online reviews whether it’s Google, Facebook, or the platform to see what the reputation is of the company, especially if they’re not too familiar with it. That’s a perfect place for them to go to.” - Ryan[19:30] “Google reviews are obviously super important because they feed into other aspects like your SEO and your google rankings.” - Ryan[21:00] “People are going to look to profiles to see if they’re active, if they have a lot of followers, how they are responding to people leaving comments. It’s just another way to build your reputation and your social trust.” - Ryan[23:00] “When we’re looking at our marketing strategy, we’re not looking at just one area of marketing, whether it be digital advertising, Google reviews, or social media, we’re not just looking at them in silos, we’re looking at them as a whole picture. I believe that PR plays a big role in that.” - RyanIf you enjoyed this episode, would you please share it with others and leave us a review? About Ryan Spalding Ryan Spalding of Toronto, Canada, is the Director of Franchise Marketing at Garage Living. Before breaking into the franchising and home improvement industry, Ryan worked in marketing for the music industry for 17 years. He worked with both Warner Music Canada and Dine Alone Records. Ryan joined Garage Living in 2020 where he has created and implemented the marketing strategy for over 40 franchise locations and leads the marketing team across all marketing channels.  Support the show On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands. On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.