Branch, dealer & franchise networks
Franchise, branch and dealer networks: head office sets the framework, every location speaks in its own brand.
With the PBM Campaign Platform, you plan journeys, templates and contact rules once – and every location sends them in its own corporate identity, with its own sender, to its own customers. No location sees another location’s customers.
120 locations · Köln-Ehrenfeld location
Member Lena Koch, 27 · not checked in for 60 days
What questions do head offices and locations ask before communicating together?
Network head office
“Every location builds its own logo.”
CI locks per field:
Head office locks the logo, fonts, legal notice and sender identity. Accent colours and local content remain open.
Location management
“We don’t have time for head-office campaigns.”
Arrives ready to go:
The template arrives in your corporate identity. You only add what is local.
Location management
“These are my customers.”
Hard visibility boundary:
Every contact belongs to exactly one location. Head office only sees what has been agreed.
Network head office
“How do I compare 120 locations fairly?”
Insights per brand:
Metrics per location, per channel, per campaign – for those who are allowed to see them.
Architecture
What is the difference between single-tenant and multi-tenant logic?
With multi-tenant logic, many companies share one installation. Single-tenant means your network gets its own isolated installation. Your locations are brands within it – connected by head office’s rule set, separated by a hard visibility boundary.
| Question | Multi-tenant logic (shared installation) | PBM Campaign Platform: single-tenant + brands & locations |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses the same installation? | Many companies, logically separated | Only your network – your own isolated installation |
| What is a location? | Depending on the product, a separate tenant, an account or a filter | A brand in your installation with its own corporate identity and its own sender |
| How do central templates reach locations? | Copied or shared, depending on the product | One template adapts automatically to every brand; special layouts possible |
| Who enforces CI rules? | Depends on the product | Head office, locked or unlocked per field |
| Do contact rules apply network-wide? | Depends on the product | Yes, installation-wide and inherited by all brands |
| Where is the data stored? | Depends on the provider | In Germany by default; optionally AWS, Azure or an environment of your choice |
Comparison of typical architectures, not a statement about individual providers.
Data sovereignty
Who in the network sees which customer data?
Every contact belongs to exactly one location. Who sees it is decided by three overlapping layers: access to the customer list, a hard brand boundary and responsibility, for example by region. The intersection applies, never the sum.
This is how the PBM Campaign Platform maps any model agreed between head office and locations. A regional manager gets access to the locations in their region. If a franchisee leaves, their brand’s data can be exported; retention periods and anonymisation follow your rules. Every access is recorded in the audit log.
| Area | Location (e.g. Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld) | Head office (e.g. Muster Fitness) |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | only its own members and prospects | only brands to which access has been granted |
| Metrics | own campaigns, own funnel | per location, per channel, comparison of locations |
| AI overview (Daily Digest) | own warm leads, pending approvals | anomalies across all enabled locations |
| Intervention | remove individual customers from a campaign, maintain local content blocks | journeys, templates, contact rules, priorities, CI locks |
Question: Why can’t the Bonn-Beuel studio management see the member Lena Koch?
Explanation generated- 1 · List access List “Members NRW” – access (met)
- 2 · Brand boundary Brand “Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld” – not unlocked ← visibility ends here (not met)
- 3 · Responsibility Region West (met)
Intended brand boundary
Journeys from practice · Example: Muster Fitness
Which journeys pay off for franchise and branch networks?
Four journeys using the example of a fitness chain with 120 locations. Transferable to branch networks, dealer networks and cooperative groups. All names and values are examples.
Journey 1
EmailLanding pageSMSNew location goes live: franchisee onboarding and opening
- Trigger / occasion
A new franchisee opens in eight weeks, for example Muster Fitness Bonn-Beuel.
- Segment
Prospects who register on the location’s opening landing page (self-service registration, consent documented).
- Channels & steps
- Head office creates the brand: the corporate identity is inherited, the franchisee’s legal notice and sender are entered, and studio management users get access to this brand only.
- Head office activates the opening journey from the template; the location adds its address, opening hours and opening date as local content blocks.
- Registration → confirmation email with an invitation to a trial session.
- 14 days before opening – programme for the opening day; reminder by SMS the day before (with consent).
- After the trial session – welcome with a membership offer; a reminder after 7 days if there is no response.
- Fallback
Without SMS consent, reminder by email.
- Personalisation levers
Location, preferred training time from the registration, sender: studio management.
- Compliance specifics
Template approved once centrally; the location cannot change locked CI fields.
- Goal
Micro – trial session booked · Macro – membership signed (event via API).
- Metrics
Registrations up to opening, trial sessions, sign-ups per channel.
- Transferable to
- new branch opening
- new dealer in the network
- new member of a cooperative group
Journey 2
EmailLetterSMSReactivation of inactive members (example: Lena Koch, 27)
- Trigger / occasion
Lena Koch has not checked in for 60 days. The studio software supplies the last check-in daily via import or API.
- Segment
letzter_checkin > 60 daysandmitgliedschaft = aktivandgekuendigt = nein.- Channels & steps
- Email from Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld in the brand’s tone (informal “du” here): new classes at the usual training time, offer of a free training plan check.
- Wait for event: check-in, 14 days.
- No check-in → postcard or SMS (depending on consent) with a specific class at the location.
- After a further 14 days → task for studio management to approach the member personally on their next visit.
- Check-in → exit “Goal achieved”; no further reminder.
- Fallback
Without email consent, postcard.
- Personalisation levers
Favourite class category, usual training time (also controls the send time), class schedule of the member’s own location, sender.
- Compliance specifics
Line to creepiness: no “You haven’t been here for 61 days”. Body and measurement data can be health data (Art. 9 GDPR) – do not use it for advertising. Reactivation is not a barrier to cancellation.
- Goal
Micro – class booked · Macro – first check-in within 30 days.
- Metrics
Reactivation rate per location, cancellations in the segment (exit reason “Left segment”), unsubscribes.
- Transferable to
- Loyalty card holders with no purchase in the branch network
- Inactive workshop customers in the dealer network
Journey 3
EmailLanding pageLetterCentral seasonal campaign with a local sender (“Fresh start in January”)
- Trigger / occasion
Head office plans the January campaign once for all 120 locations.
- Segment
Members and prospects with consent, per brand. Anyone in the reactivation journey stays there – it has higher priority.
- Channels & steps
- Early January – email from the respective studio management with the local class schedule and a promotional offer.
- Landing page per location with dates and booking.
- After 10 days – reminder only to recipients who have not visited the landing page.
- Prospects without email consent receive a letter, provided they have not objected.
- Fallback
Letter.
- Personalisation levers
Location CI, sender, local offer as a brand content block, argument pool (getting started, getting back into it, new class).
- Compliance specifics
Approval centrally under the four-eyes principle; contact limits network-wide; location managers can remove individual customers.
- Goal
Micro – landing page visited · Macro – new contract or tariff change.
- Metrics
Sign-ups per location compared with the network, channel comparison, contacts displaced by prioritisation.
- Transferable to
- Seasonal brochure of a cooperative group as a personal letter from each specialist retailer
Brands & locations
- Muster Fitness head officeDefault brand
- Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld
- Studio Bonn-Beuel (new)
- Studio Aachen
- + 117
CI tokens · Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld
- Logolocked
- Primary colourlocked
- Fontslocked
- Legal noticeFranchiseelockedLocked by head office
- SenderStudio Köln-Ehrenfeldlocked
- Accent colouradjusted locallyeditable
- Social linkseditable
Preview · [SUBJECT: January email]
- Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld [SUBJECT: January email] Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld
- Studio Bonn-Beuel [SUBJECT: January email] Studio Bonn-Beuel
- Studio Aachen [SUBJECT: January email] Studio Aachen
Journey 4
EmailLanding pageLetterLocal location event from an approved template
- Trigger / occasion
Studio Köln-Ehrenfeld is planning an open day.
- Segment
The location’s members and prospects with consent; guests may bring a companion.
- Channels & steps
- The location selects head office’s event template and fills in the date, programme and contact person.
- Approval by head office (four-eyes), then launch.
- Invitation 3 weeks in advance; landing page with registration.
- No response after 7 days → one reminder; reminder to registered guests the day before.
- Afterwards, thanks and a membership offer to guests.
- Fallback
Without email consent, letter.
- Personalisation levers
The location’s programme, sender, timing.
- Compliance specifics
Head office remains the approval authority; contact rules also apply to local campaigns.
- Goal
Micro – registration · Macro – membership signed.
- Metrics
Registrations, attendance, sign-ups; comparison with other location events.
- Transferable to
- A dealer’s in-house exhibition
- Branch anniversary
- Advice day in the cooperative group
What sets the PBM Campaign Platform apart for networks?
-
One template, every brand.
CI-adaptive templates adapt to every location.
-
CI locks per field.
Legally and brand-critical fields are locked; design remains open.
-
Hard visibility boundary.
No location sees another location’s customers.
-
Local sender.
Studio manager, branch manager or dealer – with a fallback chain.
-
Relevance instead of volume.
Contact rules network-wide, local and central campaigns prioritised.
-
The AI writes. You decide.
The Daily Digest reports anomalies per location; actions are taken only after approval.
Your campaign overview, Friday 25 September
- AnomalyOpens at Studio Aachen well below average today
- 38 warm leads at 12 locations
- 2 location events awaiting approval Pending
Law · As of: September 2026
What needs to be clarified legally for customer communication in franchise and branch networks?
First clarify who is responsible for the customer data. Channels, consents and visibility rights follow from that.
- Roles: If head office and the location jointly determine the purposes and means, they are joint controllers and set out their obligations in an agreement (Art. 26 GDPR). Alternatively, head office processes data on their behalf (Art. 28 GDPR).
- Email and SMS: Advertising generally requires express consent (Section 7(2) No. 2 UWG); for existing customers, the exception in Section 7(3) UWG applies, with notice of the right to object.
- Objection: Customers can object to direct marketing at any time (Art. 21 GDPR). In the platform, an objection immediately stops all journeys.
- Memberships online: Anyone who lets customers conclude contracts via a website must provide a cancellation button there (Section 312k BGB). Reactivation must not make it harder to use.
- Health-related data: Body and measurement data in the fitness sector can be health data (Art. 9 GDPR) – deliberately leave it out of campaigns.
As of: September 2026. This overview does not replace legal advice.
Where would you like to go next?
- Brands & locations
- Roles, permissions & approvals
- Analytics & reporting
- AI with approval
- Use case: reactivation
- Use case: event communication
- Use case: new customer onboarding
- Industry: automotive & car dealerships
- Glossary
- Playbook: [BLOG: Steer dealer networks centrally, deliver locally]
- Playbook: [BLOG: Franchise marketing: data sovereignty between head office and location]
Frequently asked questions from franchise and branch networks
How does a franchise head office manage campaigns for all locations?
Head office plans journeys, templates, arguments and contact rules once. Each location is a separate brand in the same installation and inherits this framework. The template adapts automatically to each location’s corporate identity, and the sender is the local manager. Head office locks legally and brand-critical fields on a per-field basis.
What is the difference between single-tenant and multi-tenant logic?
With multi-tenant logic, many companies share one software installation and are separated logically. Single-tenant means your network gets its own isolated installation. In the PBM Campaign Platform, your locations are brands within this installation – with a hard visibility boundary and a common rule set from head office.
Who owns the customer data – head office or the location?
Head office and the locations define this contractually, for example as joint controllership under Art. 26 GDPR or as data processing. The PBM Campaign Platform implements the agreement technically: every contact belongs to exactly one brand, locations only see their own contacts, and head office only sees brands to which access has been granted.
Can locations create their own campaigns?
Yes, if head office allows it. Permissions are assigned per role. For example, a location can launch its own event campaigns from approved templates, while approval under the four-eyes principle remains with head office. Locked CI fields remain unchanged.
Do locations see the results of other locations?
No. A location sees the metrics of its own brand. Comparisons across several locations are only visible to users with access to several brands, such as head office or a regional manager. At the push of a button, the platform can explain who may see which record and why.
How many locations can the PBM Campaign Platform handle?
Any number of brands can be created within one installation – for locations, branches, dealers, franchisees or subsidiary brands. The platform is designed for large customer bases with thousands to millions of contacts.