Franchise marketing for DIY stores brings DIYers to the DIY store in their area, with accurate stock, services and opening hours. Our team handles this for all locations at once, with one contract and one monthly report for the franchise brand.
What makes marketing for DIY chains different?
DIYers often search in the middle of a project: they are missing something and want it today. Stock, opening hours and services such as cutting or hire determine whether they walk into your store or the competitor's.
For head office this means keeping the brand strong nationally and helping every DIY store win locally at that moment of decision.
How do DIYers search for DIY stores?
The search query reveals what the customer needs. We build the profile, location page and advert around it.
| Search query | What the location needs to be chosen |
|---|---|
| DIY store open Sunday [town] | Accurate opening hours |
| wood cut to size | Services per DIY store |
| trailer hire DIY store | Hire services |
| paint mixing near me | Services and stock |
How the same question sounds in an AI assistant
In ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, DIYers ask longer questions, for example: "Which DIY store nearby is open today, cuts wood to size and hires out a trailer?" An AI can only recommend a DIY store if those details literally appear in its profile, reviews and location page. That is why we combine local visibility with automated hyperlocal marketing.
What goes wrong at DIY chains?
These are the four bottlenecks we encounter most often at DIY chains. Each one costs customers, and none of them resolves itself.
Stock not visible
DIYers make the trip for nothing.
Services not mentioned
Cutting, paint mixing and hire are not listed in the profile.
Wrong bank holiday opening hours
Disappointed customers.
Reviews about service
Complaints go unanswered.
Our approach for DIY stores
Our approach is set up channel by channel around the customer journey of DIY stores. Your team approves, we carry out the work for each location.
| Channel | Use for DIY stores |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Services, opening hours, posts with promotions |
| Local inventory | Stock per DIY store in Google |
| DIY store pages | Services, hire and accessibility |
| Google Ads | Campaigns in DIY season per region |
| Review management | Responses about service |
No time or expertise in-house? Leave your franchise marketing to us.
Rules and points of attention for DIY stores
Communicate promotions and discounts honestly. Sales rules apply to some products (such as pesticides).
We include rules like these in the marketing manual for franchisees. Legal questions are reviewed by the franchise brand's lawyer.
What does better visibility deliver for DIY chains?
The NFV non-food retail sector, under which we classify DIY stores, counted 180 franchise brands with 7,713 locations and €13.5 billion in turnover in 2025. That is an average of around €1.75 million in turnover per location per year. The worked example below shows the turnover effect at which the Growth package pays for itself.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Average turnover per location per year | €1,750,292 |
| Per month | €145,858 |
| 1% extra turnover per year | €17,503 |
| Cost of Growth package per year | €3,000 |
| Break-even point: required turnover growth | 0.17% |
Which KPIs count for DIY chains?
In addition to the standard KPIs in our monthly report (visibility, customer actions, reviews and position in Maps), in this sector we also look at:
| KPI | Why |
|---|---|
| Direction requests | Visits |
| Local inventory views | Online-to-store |
| Hire bookings | Extra turnover |
When should you plan marketing for DIY stores?
Spring and summer (garden and DIY projects) and the run-up to the festive season are busy times. We therefore plan campaigns, posts and review requests on an annual calendar that fits each location.
How do we start franchise marketing for DIY stores?
Every partnership starts with the same four steps, tailored to your sector. Head office approves, franchisees occasionally provide input, and we carry out the work. After three months you have a comparison between locations on the table.
| Period | What we do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | Baseline measurement at three locations for search queries such as DIY store open Sunday [town] and wood cut to size, plus an AI test with fixed questions |
| Weeks 3-4 | Google Business Profile: services, opening hours, posts with promotions |
| Month 2 | Local inventory and DIY store pages: services, hire and accessibility |
| Month 3 | Google Ads live and first monthly report with direction requests and local inventory views |
Checklist: is your DIY franchise brand in good shape online?
- Accurate opening hours
- Services per DIY store
- Hire services
- Services and stock
- Review management: responses about service
Can you not tick off every point for every location? Then the free scan shows exactly where the gains are.
Who works on franchise marketing for DIY stores?
You will not get a rotating cast of account managers. Gijs Bodenstaff is your fixed point of contact; Angela (Local SEO analyst), Elisabeth (local advertising) and Peter (Local SEO and link building) carry out the work, together with ten regular freelancers we have trained ourselves. Co-author Stanley Leijnse provides research and benchmarks. Find out more about the people behind this agency.
Related sectors and services for DIY stores
This page is part of marketing for non-food retail brands. Comparable sectors are marketing for pet shop chains and franchise marketing for bookstores. For DIY stores we mainly focus on local SEO for franchise brands and search ads around every location. Read what it costs under pros and cons of outsourcing marketing; you can get started by calculating the return per location.
Frequently asked questions about franchise marketing for DIY stores
Why is local inventory so important?
How do we promote services such as cutting and hire?
DIY stores: do you sign the contract with head office or with each location?
DIY stores: what if one location is already doing well on its own?
What does franchise marketing for DIY stores cost?
From how many locations is this worthwhile for DIY chains?
How does a DIY store chain avoid wrong opening hours on public holidays?
How does a DIY store chain handle reviews about in-store service?
What should a DIY store chain watch out for with promotions and discounts?
When are the busy periods for DIY stores?
Sources
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
Curious how the locations of your DIY franchise brand are doing? Request the free scan of three locations.