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It's another year and another Franchise Leadership & Development Conference Mystery Shop. With a few modifications to the process we have some big findings! Our eyes have been opened much wider to what's truly happening in the pre-engagement phase of recruitment. If you care about growth and shareholder value, keep reading and get your results from the 2018 FLDC mystery shop today.
Before I share key findings, let's start with defining "pre-engagement." Pre-engagement is where an individual goes from being a suspect to a prospect and then a candidate for a franchise brand. A suspect wants to remain at a distance. They will go to your website, social media pages, mystery shop a location, research your industry online, and more. They like getting information from a brand but want it on their terms. Their desire as a suspect is to keep things safe and efficient in the beginning to determine if they will become a prospect.
A suspect becomes a prospect when they decide to communicate. It's now two-way with the brand vs. one-way from the brand. Based on the quality, style, and approach of communication a prospect will decide whether to become a candidate and engage in the brand's recruitment process or disappear. The activity before engaging and becoming a candidate, is the "pre-engagement" phase.
Here are our top takeaways from our 2018 mystery shopping:
The 2018 Mystery Shop has again pointed to what we believe is the #1 problem facing franchise brands in recruitment: poor execution in the pre-engagement phase. To have a better shot at solid brand and shareholder growth make it a priority in 2019 to track and improve your brand's pre-engagement.
Let's go to work!
Art Coley has been helping franchise brands maximize their investment in recruitment and onboarding of new franchisees for more than two decades. Contact him at 254-239-5411 x101 or acoley@cgifranchise.com.