Your first step is to find out whether your contract sets a local-marketing minimum. Some agreements use a fixed monthly amount; others use a percentage of sales. The calculation might be based on “gross sales,” “gross revenue,” or another term. Use the definition in your own documents, not an assumption.

You may see industry discussions cite ranges such as 2–6% of gross sales for local marketing. That is a broad reference, not a rule or a recommendation. Franchise systems and contracts vary, and the percentage alone does not tell you whether a separate shared-fund contribution is due.

Once you know the contract requirement, build the rest of your plan around your branch’s goals:

1. Estimate how many new customers you need. Use your branch’s capacity and business plan. Avoid promising yourself a response level before you have results.
2. Estimate what a customer is worth over time. Customer lifetime value means the revenue, or, more usefully, the gross profit, you expect from a customer over the full relationship.
3. Choose a local mailing plan you can repeat. Set an area, message, and mailing schedule that fit your branch’s service territory and brand standards.
4. Decide how you will measure results. Set up a way to count calls, form requests, booked jobs, or sales tied to each campaign.

A simple monthly budget starts with your required local minimum, then adds any extra amount you can afford to test a campaign. Keep that extra amount within your cash-flow plan; sales can take time to arrive.

Watch for these beginner mistakes: Treating marketing as optional after one good month, spending the whole budget on one large campaign, or mailing without a way to record what happened.

Before setting a number, ask your franchisor what counts toward the local-marketing requirement. For example, does a targeted postcard campaign qualify? Are only certain designs or offers allowed? Do you need approval before mailing? Get the answer in writing.

Targeted direct mail means sending a physical marketing piece to selected addresses in a specific area. For a franchise branch, that can make local marketing easier to plan: you can choose neighborhoods within your service area, use a consistent message, and repeat a campaign to build recognition.

It can also support what customers see locally. If your crews, vehicles, or storefront are already visible in an area, a postcard can help introduce or remind nearby residents about your branch. That visibility is useful context, not a guarantee of new business.

A franchise brand portal is an online ordering system that may provide approved designs, brand files, and campaign reporting. It can help branches follow brand standards while carrying out local campaigns. But the portal’s ordering process and the branch’s marketing budget are separate questions. Understand who sets the design and vendor rules, what the complete order costs, and what reporting you receive.

For a plain-English look at how portal fees and incentives can affect a branch’s marketing budget, read Enterprise Direct Mail and Brand Portals: What Franchise Brands Should Look For (and What to Avoid). A portal should be judged by what it helps your branch accomplish, not only by how simple it makes placing an order.

When comparing campaign options, look beyond cost per order: the amount paid to place a campaign. Also measure cost per customer: the campaign’s total cost divided by the number of new customers it generated. A lower order cost is not necessarily a better outcome if the campaign brings in fewer customers.

For brands that want consistent templates, branch-level reporting, and locally selected mailing areas, the Neighborhood Postcards enterprise platform is one option to review. Ask any provider, including Neighborhood Postcards, to explain its complete fees and incentive structure in writing.