Grow From Here

I was reading some interesting articles online lately and this one by Paul Segreto stood out because it gives a realistic impression of Franchise Candidates’ changing needs and perspectives. Paul as always, kindly, agreed to let me post it here (it’s from a while ago, but just getting more true with time).

By Paul Segreto
A look at today’s franchise candidates will reveal they are more sophisticated, better educated, and more technologically advanced than ever before. In addition, and even more so because of the economic downturn, they are extremely cautious.

Today’s candidates are spending more time researching opportunities, and doing so at a much slower pace. In order to be diligent in the process, more time is spent online pouring through page after page of information, constantly bookmarking, and moving back and forth from new information to saved information. They’re comparing notes with other franchise candidates on social networking sites. As well, they’re gaining invaluable insight monitoring online discussion groups and forums.

Ultimately, today’s franchise candidate desires, needs, to be certain the franchise opportunity is as close to perfect for his or her situation, as humanly possible. In the past, and especially after previous recessions, franchise candidates took their capital gains and invested in a franchise opportunity. Many times leaving the principal investment untouched. There was a sense of throwing caution to the wind because they were investing profits. Many times ungodly profits, at least by today’s standards. Does anyone remember when money markets kicked out 17% profit margins?

Unfortunately, many individuals looking at franchise opportunities today are looking at things differently. They have to. Many are transitioning corporate executives staring at the back end of illustrious careers trying to squeak out just ten more years before retirement. Facing the challenge of younger talent, new technology, and a rapidly changing business environment, many opt to “buy” a job and explore franchising and small business ownership.

What Changed?

Here’s the difference between today’s recession, and of those in the past. As huge fortunes have been lost, and large gains have not been realized in current financial markets, today’s candidates are forced to invest all or part of their remaining nest egg in order to enter the world of business ownership. Of course, everyone knows and fully understand the risks involved in owning a business. But in yesterday’s business environment, many franchisees and business owners were “gambling” with profits.

Certainly, no one wanted to lose money in a business venture. But, many had fallback positions with funds still in retirement accounts and of course, if they had to, employment. For many of today’s candidates, failure is not an option because fallback opportunities are fast becoming non-existent. Actually, I believe many of today’s candidates might not have even considered franchise or small business ownership in the past.

So, as many individuals explore their options, they will focus more and more of their efforts online. Franchisors must embrace this fact, and dedicate more resources to the internet and look to social media to complement, not replace, their traditional franchise marketing strategies. By doing so, they’ll realize multiple benefits for their entire system including:

- Creating or further developing brand awareness with franchise candidates and consumers alike
- Generating franchise leads that are genuinely interested in exploring what franchising and small business ownership has to offer, and how a particular concept may be the vehicle to achieve their goals and objectives
- Establishing an interactive environment of communications and information sharing that will become the backbone of future franchise relationships throughout franchise systems

Last, it used to be that many franchise candidates viewed franchising and small business ownership as a way of achieving their wishes, hopes and dreams, regardless of what they may have been. Today, it’s more about goals and objectives, and necessities. We, as an industry need to fully realize this, and understand the mindset of today’s franchise candidate.

To see the original post go to:
http://franchisessentials.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/franchise-candidates-a-changing-mindset/

Katryn Best Practices, Business Growth, Franchise, Marketing Franchise, franchise candidates, franchise market strategies, franchisees, Paul Segreto, recession

Today at the CFA (in Niagara Falls), Greg Nathan from the Franchise Relationship Institute offered a master class on Franchisee Relationships.  It was a rare occasion to hear him speak in person in Canada, and hugely valuable, both for his insights and ideas and fact-based conclusions, but also for the opportunity to see how he led the group.  The session was like drinking from a firehose (or Niagara Falls, where we are happily ensconced).

We started off with an ice breaker (and usually I don’t much care for ice  breakers, but this one had an amazing transformation effect on the group) that had everyone laughing and sharing and picking up on one another’s points.  Within the space of twenty minutes, not only did we all know interesting things about one another, but as a group we were bonded and sharing and ready to go.

There’s no way to cover all he had to say, but a few highlights were:

• the Platinum rule  :  ”Do unto others as they would do unto themselves” - a novel take on the golden rule, and

2) the way he led the group through an exercise that got the collective wisdom of the group working, and then, not satisfied with all we had learned from that, invited us to reflect on the process and what we had just done & why we had done each part the way we had.  Thus giving us yet more tools to take away and apply in our own organizations.

The volume of data from the day was so high that I ended up with half a notepad of notes, and will need many more days just to see what it all means and what Open Box as a company can do with it all, but the top three points I took away (as intended) were the importance of

1) Trust

2) Competency, and

3) Transparency.

I also came away with a refreshed sense that while technology and systems can’t create brand or culture or communications, they can certainly go a long way to supporting those key elements in any franchise system.

Looking forward to more this evening & in the days to come as the Canadian Franchise Association convention continues.

Katryn Uncategorized

That’s the horned devil’s greeting on the website of Hell Pizza.  With its first Canadian location, in North Vancouver, the chain continues its ghoulish global spread.

Word has spread to pizza lovers everywhere, creating a cult-like following.

Cutting edge in concept, marketing and advertising, with a wildly creative menu, Hell Pizza is one franchise to watch out for.

The eatery began in Wellington, New Zealand in 1996, and quickly expanded to 63 locations in that country and 3 in Australia, before setting up shop in London, Dublin and now New Delhi, India.  The brainchild of Warren Powell, Callum Davies and Stu McMullin, they sold the New Zealand Master Franchise rights to Tasman Foods for a whopping $15 million NZ.  The trio then bought the rights back in 2009.

What are their secrets?

The darkly satirical and wickedly fun underworld theme is used throughout their menu and marketing campaigns.  The pizza boxes contain a coffin-like cut-out “for your remains,” the box reminding customers to “dispose of the evidence.”  The phone number is 1-888-HELL-911.  An after-hours message kindly requests that you “go to Hell.”

Pizzas choices are infinite, and devilishly named.  The ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ items include a lustful meat-laden pie slashed with your choice of sauce, a greedy double-cheese and double-ham option, and a proudly vegetarian creation.   Gore-Met offerings include seafood rich ‘Underworld’, a ‘Sinister’ Mexican variety, and a cream-cheese apricot sauced ‘Grimm.’   Fiery chili-toppers include ‘Forked Tongue’ and ‘Ring of Fire’ for those not faint of heart.

Besides the vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free ‘hell-thy’ options there are many other fresh ideas.  The menu prices include taxes, making bill time surprise free.  They have further added value by offering online orders in addition to delivery.

Some think that the franchise may have gone too far, but it seems to have worked wonders for them.  Besides, they are selling pizza- not plasma- so it’s okay to have a little fun.

Is it time for your franchise concept to incorporate some of new, fiendishly good ideas?  Maybe it’s time to add a little –gasp- playfulness into your franchise.   Perhaps a free-flowing brainstorming session is in order.   And if you decide to order a pizza for the party, I’d recommend Hell Pizza.  If you chose a different pizza palace – beware!  Who knows what in Hades might happen to you…

Katryn Business Growth, Franchise, Franchisor Spotlight, Fun creative, franchise concept, Hell Pizza, marketing campaigns, pizza, strategy

Guest Post by Nancy Baye

‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ is not just a motto: it’s a mindset.

I find waste offensive.  If it’s not needed, don’t use it.  If it is needed, then reuse and recycle it.  Go ahead and laugh at the re-used zip-lock bags and gently-damp paper towels that hang drying in my dish-rack; just know that this attitude is prevalent among today’s consumers.

Is it on the mind of your franchise operations?

On a recent visit to McDonald’s for a (relatively healthy) chicken wrap, I specifically stated that I did not need a bag.  My comment was noted by the girl who took my order and my money, then went to retrieve the order.  Another staffer (highly bored) ventured to the counter and glanced at my order.  He automatically reached for a paper bag and shook it open.  I tried to stop him, but he was quick as a bullet.  When I re-iterated my request he shrugged his shoulders, indifferently crumpled the bag and – to my horror –threw it into the garbage.

I explained to the blemished offender my attempt to avoid waste, adding that had I used a bag, (forgive me old growth forests) it would have been respectfully recycled.  Again, he shrugged his shoulders, and then walked away.  

My request was dismissed and I felt dismissed.

What recourse do I have?  What is the likelihood of the burger jockey reporting my feedback?  About two shoulder shrugs out of ten.

How do you, as a franchisor, keep up with consumers’ shifting mindsets and resultant requests?

Some encouraging examples to consider

• many grocery and liquor stores now give away reusable bags (with logos smartly displayed) to brace customers for the upcoming ban on plastic bags
• ‘Mom & Pop shops’ seem sensitive to their customers needs, perhaps because the owner is on the front lines to witness those glances of approval / disapproval

It’s too late for that McDonalds’ bag which now faces years in a landfill.  But my tale is not simply about a wasted bag: it’s about a principle. 

Today’s consumers want to be as socially and environmentally responsible as possible.   Can you afford to overlook this way of thinking?

How do you get feedback from the front line:  your consumers?

Katryn Best Practices, Focus, Franchise, Tips consumer's shifting mindset, franchise operations, franchisor, Nancy Baye, recycle, socially and environmentally responsible

Recently I came across an interesting tool on Google Labs that show’s how most people using the world’s top search engine view content.

Using the tool, you can input any URL and get an insider’s look at how visitors see the site:

Click on the image to visit Google Labs...

Most people using Google to search don’t have a full sized browser window open. When a visitor does click on your website link, they will only see a certain amount of the content. The smaller the window, the greater percentage of visitors.

This tool is a fascinating insight into what people see when they look at a website – especially as our fixed computer screens get wider and wider.

Looking at these results, the first assumption would be that the ideal website would fit into the small purple area that most visitors see.  I disagree.  I think it is important to be aware of what people on mobile or other devices will see, but at the same time, you don’t want to waste the real estate screen that other visitors will see.

So my advice is to design your website so that the most important message is getting seen by everyone, be aware of what is most common and how changing behaviors will start to affect website design, and then make an informed decision about what will be best for your company.

What would a visitor to YOUR site see if they had a smaller window open?

Click here to learn more about this tool and check it out.  Or visit Google Labs to take a look at all the other fun stuff they’re working on.  And come back to tell us what you find

Katryn Search Engine Optimization, Technology, Tips browser size, Design, Google Labs, search engine, Website

Selling a franchise is – by definition – selling a system of operations, sales, production and delivery that will make money for the buyer.

One often unspoken assumption by franchisees is that you will provide them with ‘best practices’ and will continue to provide them with improvements to procedures and operations.

The franchisee expects to acquire a system of operations, sales, production and delivery that will generate profits; and they expect it to be continually updated.

A big part of the value of a franchise is having a group of intelligent invested people who are constantly trying out new things and learning from their experiences.  Since the learning that arises from this is carried out in disparate locations, the challenge becomes how the franchisor can gather, collate, distribute and continually update these found improvements to all the franchisees.

Why this is so important

• When this does not happen, the learning process comes to a grinding halt and the newly acquired data is lost.
• But when it does happen, the competitive advantage of this franchise will go through the roof!

Sir Isaac Newton said:  “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”  (Letter to Robert Hooke, 1675)   This quote speaks to any successful franchisor who learns from his franchisees.

Set up systems for people to:

• See what has been done before, what worked and what didn’t
• Easily track what they are trying, and filter results for fellow franchisees
• Easily generate graphs to see trends, leading indicators, etc.
• Learn from you about franchise-wide best practices that have been discovered
• Have a place for updated best practices, and a forum for questions and conversation

Distributing continual improvements further benefits you as it is proof of all the ongoing advancements, upgrades and value that you are providing.

It helps to justify your royalties even before the franchisee asks the question,“What have you done for me today?”

Katryn Best Practices, Business Growth, Communication, Focus, Franchise advertising, Best Practices, investors, marketing, product, selling franchises, strategy, support development

Have you ever said that keeping franchisees happy is like herding cats?

The biggest impediment to franchise growth, as you likely know, is unhappy franchisees. Even if you have leads, you won’t be able to close them if the existing zees are unhappy.  Don’t worry; no one’s franchise operations are perfect!   Let’s look at how to improve this area.

While you are working to improve operations (or trying to find the time to do so…) good communication will go a long way to improving franchisee satisfaction. If you can quickly and easily share information with your franchisees and get useful feedback from them, then you will either:

• get good franchisee validation when new prospects are in the  funnel, or
• know why you’re having trouble with franchisee validation

Sometimes when I’m discussing communication with franchisors, I hear:  “The last thing I want is more complaints – then I have to deal with them!”

The trade-off is that allowing franchisees to express their thoughts and feelings often alleviates the emotional impact on them, and it deflates the problems.

You may be very pleasantly surprised by positive feedback that comes through these free-flowing communication channels.  This positive information can validate you as it confirms what you are doing right.  It can further be used to strengthen marketing materials.

You would be surprised how easy it is to set up a system that allows people to share their thoughts, comments and questions without taking up a lot of your time or energy. 

One great way to do this through the use of an employee ‘Intranet’ - a place where franchisees can have an online conversation with you (and ideally with each other) in a protected environment.  This system also allows you to review the exchanges at your leisure, and to share information with them simply and easily.

Managing these communications so that you don’t end up with online gripe sessions (which only further inflame people) is a huge issue in itself.  But that’s a topic for another post!

Does the idea of an Intranet feel overwhelming to you?  You’d be surprised by how easy we can make the process.   Contact us at online@openboxinc.com and a 15 minute demo will show you how you can get started easily.

Katryn Business Growth, Communication, Franchise, Technology franchisor, good communication, happy franchisees, Intranet, strategy

Continuing from the last post, “Your Secret Weapon for Social Media,” keep in mind that social media is one marketing tool among many.  Remember the keys to success:

1. know what success looks like for your company
2. use that knowledge to select your strategy
3. implement and then
4. measure using your key metrics
5. adapt direction as necessary based on your results
6. repeat

With a good plan, social media can be a great boost to your business.  Your first step lies in defining exactly what it is you seek to accomplish.   There are five common business needs that social media can facilitate.

Choose the most appropriate one for your company:

• You want to grow sales directly
• You are trying to drive online traffic
• You want to learn about what your customers are thinking and get product feedback
• You are building your brand
• You are looking for people who will make good strategic partners

Focussing on your goal will dictate what particular strategy to follow and what to avoid. We’ll describe strategies that one might adopt for each of these goals using fictitious companies.

1-          Grow sales directly. ‘Sock-It-To-Ya’ is a new company that manufactures ladies socks and tights (their customers are young, fashion-conscious women).  They have a website, have set up e-commerce and are eager to begin direct sales and are sure that having a presence online will serve them well.

2-         Drive online traffic to the company blog. ‘The Hard Software Company’ is expanding rapidly.  The highly creative owner knows that she has a high level of expertise, and wants to establish herself as an industry expert so that she can be invited to speak at conferences and further grow her business.  She has recently set up a content-rich blog and wants to drive traffic to it so that she can expand her influence and firmly entrench her industry position.

3-         Learn what my customers are thinking and get product feedback.

‘Juicy’s’ is a regional chain of juice bars.  They are about to introduce a new high-protein smoothy, targeted to fitness fanatics.  The samples have been well-reviewed, but the owners are deliberating what to call the new offering.  They decide to launch a contest that allows customers to vote on name choices.  Juicy’s already has a website and a mailing list; now they want to harness the power of social media to get as many people involved as possible, so they have a wide base of feedback.

4-         Build our brand.   Texas is no longer big enough for ‘Texas’ Biggest Buns,’ bakers and wholesalers of hamburger, hotdog and sandwich buns, and it is high time to move into the surrounding states.  Siggy, the CEO, turns the task over to Johnson, telling him to, “Spread the word over the internet waves!”  An anxious Johnston needs to formulate an online strategy to build the brand online so that other states will want to buy franchises.

5-         Find strategic partners. ‘Cats vs. Dogs’ find themselves in an enviable position:  their business has soared to new heights.  They have done so well, that they are ready to expand into bigger -perhaps international – markets.  They want to find experts in financing & business expansion in other countries that they can joint venture with.

Each business knows specifically what they want to accomplish.  But how will they do it?  Tune in to the next posts to follow their progress.

Katryn Best Practices, Business Growth, Technology, Tips

Many years ago, a highly astute man named Pareto, led a study which concluded that 80% of our success will arise from 20% of our efforts.  This ‘Pareto Principle’, also known as ‘The 80 / 20 Rule’ can easily be applied to an examination of priorities.

The 20% to focus on is that which will drive revenue.

One of the key challenges for any business owner is how to set priorities.  A glance at your listed ‘To Do’s’ will include many ‘Nice to Have’ items.  Yet you must distinguish between these lower priorities and those that need to top the list:  those that will spur profits.

There are many demands at any given time: from your franchisees, staff, your personal goals and business development advisors.  The secret is to know what drives your revenue, and to be ruthless about new ideas as they pertain to driving revenue.

What will drive franchise revenue?   Key areas to consider are:

1. Communication
2. Relationship Building with your Franchisees
3. Driving Sales

More specifically, items that often fall under each of these are:

Communication:

• your marketing and PR
• methods used to attract new franchisees
• tasks that aid in attracting customers to existing franchisees
• ways to keep franchisees excited, enthusiastic and involved

Relationships with franchisees:

• to make them aware of the value you provide them continually
• to help and support them in getting more sales
• to train and advise them on best practices
• to demonstrate how your training facilitates their increased profits

Driving sales:

• when franchisees make money and have a good profit margin, both them and you make increased earnings
• can be achieved through a combination of online marketing, development and implementation of effective marketing materials, the use of promotions and sales offers
• all begins with market research

Focus on what needs to be done with your existing revenue drivers, and as new ideas arise, be strict in assessing where they fall in regards to the 80/20 rule.  This simple principle will act as a powerful lens, narrowing your focus so you can strengthen the profitability of your franchise.

When is the last time you re-evaluated your priority list?

Katryn Best Practices, Business Growth, Communication, Focus, Marketing

Paul Segreto’s creative program inspired brand awareness and skyrocketed sales.

Paul Segreto of franchisEssentials

Open Box is a proud partner with Paul Segreto, founder, president and CEO of franchisEssentials and one of the most knowledgeable and experienced franchise consultants in North America. With two decades of experience in the franchise industry, he knows a thing or two hundred about the world of franchising.

One story really inspired me with how Paul Segreto uses his creativity and industry knowledge to help franchises succeed.  Here’s how one particular American Quiznos franchisee hit a home run by thinking creatively; with a little help from franchisEssentials of course.

Inspired by need the franchisee, whose store was in a tired, old shopping centre with business declining and tenants fleeing, was anxious to generate traffic and sales.  He turned to Paul Segreto.  Paul’s creative thinking led him to look at the many schools in the area and the potential market there.  Visiting one of them, he heard a big complaint from sports coaches:  they hated having to stop for food en route to away games.  The kids would stumble off the bus, goof around, debate orders, wait for food, count out change, goof off some more, and then would need to be corralled back on the bus.  The coaches hated it.

Paul recognized an unmet need and was quick to suggest a solution to the coaches’ problem.   Quiznos would provide away game sandwiches. The offer was quick to catch on.  Parents got involved.  It grew from a simple service where orders were called-in, to a fully developed online system.  Parents could log in, choose a meal for their child (a healthy choice!) and charge it to their credit card.  The traveling team picked up their pre-game meals as they boarded the bus or car pool at the school– each labeled with name and receipt of payment.

Local schools of all levels jumped on the bandwagon and soon this Quiznos was hopping.  The program then expanded to band events, and any functions where school kids were going off-site and needed feeding.  Kids, faculty and parents were happy; Quiznos and the franchisee were thrilled.  Brand and store awareness grew and more revenue was generated through this creative program (especially during football season) than through total in-store sales.

Although franchising is by its very nature about standard operating procedures and systems, there is still room, and need, for creative thinking.  As Segreto says, “You have to think outside of the box.  If that doesn’t work, then make another box.”

When is the last time you lifted your head up from SOP and had a good look around? Let the inspiration flow and you may be on your way to another great franchise success story.  And if you need a little help, contact Paul Segreto at franchisEssentials.

Katryn Business Growth, Franchise, Franchisor Spotlight