Scaling a Franchise Takes More Than Marketing: A Conversation with Epic Septic

What does it actually take to market a growing franchise system?

It’s more than launching campaigns. It’s building a strategy that can work across different markets, keeping franchisees informed and confident, and learning what works so those insights can benefit the entire system.

We recently sat down with Chad Riddersen, Co-Founder of Epic Septic, one of Rocketbarn’s newer franchise partners, to talk about brand, franchise growth, AI, and what he was looking for in a marketing partner.

Here are a few of the biggest takeaways.

Standing Out Matters

Epic Septic operates in an industry where differentiation isn’t always easy.

The company offers septic pumping, maintenance, repairs, inspections, and installations across residential, commercial, and municipal markets. But what immediately sets the business apart is its brand.

From cheeky messaging to trucks designed to get noticed, Epic Septic has built personality into an industry that can otherwise look pretty similar from company to company.

And that brand recognition has a real impact. Chad shared that customers regularly reach out simply because they saw an Epic Septic truck driving around town.

It’s a good reminder that brand and performance marketing aren’t separate. A memorable brand can make every other marketing effort work harder.

Franchise Marketing Requires a Different Approach

Knowing digital marketing is one thing. Knowing how to apply it across a franchise system is another.

One point Chad raised during our conversation was the importance of taking something that works in one market and figuring out how to apply those learnings elsewhere.

If something works in Kansas City, how can that insight help Connecticut?

That’s where systems, communication, and documentation become critical.

At Rocketbarn, our goal isn’t to make every franchise location market itself identically. It’s to build a framework where local markets can perform individually while the entire franchise system continues learning together.

Communication Builds Confidence

When Epic Septic began evaluating marketing partners, technical ability wasn’t the only consideration.

Chad also wanted a partner that could confidently communicate with franchisees without requiring the franchisor to constantly translate what the marketing team was doing.

That’s a major part of franchise marketing.

Franchisees should understand where their marketing dollars are going, what’s being tested, what the data is telling us, and what they can realistically expect.

That combination of technical marketing expertise and franchise expertise was one of the things Chad said stood out about Rocketbarn during the selection process.

AI Raises the Baseline, Not the Finish Line

AI also came up throughout our conversation.

As Chad pointed out, AI is making better copy, cleaner creative, and smarter optimization more accessible to everyone.

But that also means simply using AI isn’t much of a differentiator anymore.

The advantage comes from the people behind it.

Who’s paying attention when Google changes? Who spots an opportunity early? Who understands the individual market well enough to know when the data doesn’t tell the whole story?

Technology can make marketing smarter and faster. Human strategy, context, and judgment are what turn those tools into an advantage.

Building for What Comes Next

Epic Septic isn’t just thinking about its current locations.

As Chad put it, the opportunity ahead is the next five franchisees, then 50, and eventually potentially 500.

Marketing has to be able to grow alongside that.

For Rocketbarn, that means building systems that capture what we’re learning, keeping communication strong between the franchisor, franchisees, and agency, and continuously adapting as the marketing landscape changes.

We’re excited to be working alongside Epic Septic as they grow.

And, to borrow Chad’s goal for the partnership, we’re aiming for “riches and glory.”

We’ll start with the marketing.