Franchise Guide: Best Practices - Franchising.com

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Best Practices

That's a great question! In fact, none of us can get better without knowing how we are doing in key performance areas.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 6,629 Reads 1 Shares
If I were to ask 100 business operators to define customer service, I would guess that 97 of them would say this: Customer service is providing the customer with service that is fast, accurate, and courteous. While those are indeed elements of customer service, there is more to it, so much more.
  • John Tschohl
  • 7,191 Reads 475 Shares
If you have a telephone at any of your franchise locations, you are most likely being overcharged. If you have trash service at any of your franchise locations, you are probably paying more than you have to. If you pay for worker's compensation at any of your franchise locations, there are almost assuredly errors in the way your coverage was categorized. To put it more simply, if you have walls, doors, workers, and customers, the monthly bills you're getting are probably too high.
  • Dan Schneider
  • 12,161 Reads 73 Shares
The goal of customer experience management is to move customers from satisfied to loyal and, ultimately, to be advocates for the brand.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 7,776 Reads 1,014 Shares
Our next financial concept? OPM (other people's money). As a former commercial banker, I've had the opportunity to see both sides of the "debt/leverage" issue. When you go to a bank for a business loan, your banker (whether they tell you or not) will quickly compute your debt-to-equity ratio. As bankers, we viewed debt as an equivalent of risk: the higher your ratio, the more debt you have in proportion to equity. Therefore, the higher your financial risk. Let me explain why this is so. It all goes back to the financial basics: Assets = Liabilities + Net Worth.
  • Steve LeFever
  • 9,353 Reads 1 Shares
Ask a group of multi-unit franchisees about the importance of customer service and you're likely to get a unanimous response. Strong customer service leads to positive operating results. However, creating a business environment that puts this customer service-focused strategy into action can be more difficult than it seems. The goal is to create a customer experience that brings loyal customers back again and again. One of the most knowledgeable experts on doing just this will be a featured speaker at this year's Multi-Unit Franchising Conference.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,587 Reads 40 Shares
Tom Kazbour doesn't believe the secret to success lies in studying the ABCs of business. He believes new franchisees can whiz on past most of the alphabet and focus on the letter "V."
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 15,032 Reads 1 Shares
Do you do your utmost to be recognized as the best? Or do you strive to be average, ordinary, run-of-the-mill? While it's not what anyone is aiming for, mediocrity is commonplace--mediocre products, mediocre services, and mediocre customer service are the norm.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 5,314 Reads
In his book, Hire The American Dream, Dave Melton writes about his first boss, Frank Meeks. Melton writes of how Meeks was not only a personal inspiration but an icon within the community of Domino's Pizza. Meeks was the first franchisee inducted into the Domino's Chairman's Circle Hall of Fame.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 6,773 Reads 1 Shares
Refugees from corporate America seeking capital to open a franchise business are tapping into their retirement plans to fund their fledgling businesses. So are multi-unit franchisees seeking to expand.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 8,791 Reads 1,023 Shares
In today's tight market, negotiation strategy plays an important role in the sale of any franchise. Even if you execute every other aspect of your business sale perfectly, the lack of a good negotiation strategy can still derail the deal. A good business broker can help, but ultimately the business owner will need to be an integral part of negotiations.
  • Mike Handelsman
  • 9,114 Reads
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Shiny objects marketing is a simple principle, ancient in origin and easy to apply. From open-air markets in Nepal to the local mall, everyone tries to make their product or service stand out. Yet many savvy entrepreneurs fail to grasp the full meaning of this elementary skill and run into difficulties when trying to put it into practice.
  • Dave LaBonte
  • 4,285 Reads 72 Shares
In the first part of my three-part series on leadership, I discussed leadership fundamentals and items needed in your leader's toolkit. Part two of the series outlined the three C's: Capability, Competency and Capacity. In part three, I will discuss putting good leadership to work and how to stay on track.
  • Tom Welter
  • 3,571 Reads 21 Shares
On the surface, franchise corporate executive appears to enjoy a comfortable, prestigious, and satisfying life. They often work in or head up a department brimming with resources and personnel, and the corporate perks aren't bad either. It's a life that can be seen in stark contrast to the often hardscrabble existence of the multi-unit franchisee who has borrowed money to open, invests sweat equity, and works long hours just to keep the business running and the cash flowing. Yet, despite this perceived contrast, some franchise executives chuck the corporate "good life" and set out into the franchisee frontier with their own set of hopes and dreams.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 9,011 Reads 235 Shares
Being a part of YouTube is no longer something franchise businesses can control. Chances are, you're there, whether you created the content or not.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 5,241 Reads 99 Shares
Jason Mann learned early that a career in advertising sales could get you just so far in life. And he wanted to go much, much further. So in 1999, at the age of 30, Mann stepped out of his sales role and joined forces with his father to enter the franchising business.
  • John Carroll
  • 15,070 Reads 1 Shares
There are some big franchisees out there, mega franchisees, in fact! We know because each year we rank them by number of units and brands in our "Mega 99" list. Beyond these black-and-white numbers--which are especially impressive since many began working part-time in low-level positions, or started with a single unit--are their stories of passion, creativity, long hours, and sheer will and determination to succeed. Multi-unit franchisees have many stories to tell, and their journeys to where they are today are filled with ups and downs.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 10,290 Reads 1,023 Shares
Gary Hughes turned 50 and decided he'd had enough of the corporate executive life. Based in the Seattle area at the time, he also decided he'd seen enough big city congestion to last a lifetime. Hughes soon found a picturesque, midsized town to call home and moved to Clarkston, Wash., pop. 50,000. "I used to say that we're so far out into the boondocks it's 120 miles to the nearest freeway," says Hughes gleefully.
  • John Carroll
  • 7,071 Reads 148 Shares
The remarkable change in his life is not lost on John Betz. It seems one day he was wearing a three-piece suit and hopping a private jet to meet with telecommunications industry clients, and the next thing he knew he was wearing shorts and rolling pretzel dough behind the counter of his first Auntie Anne's Pretzels.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 8,685 Reads 1 Shares
As a street-savvy franchise owner, you've done your homework. Your "shiny object" of brand, service, or product has been selected carefully, with an eye to profits and market-share. Now, you want to assess the current economic climate, to discover whether it best supports a full speed ahead approach or a careful step-by-step advance. The truth is that franchises have been known to both bottom-out and burst sales records in a variety of economic situations. Your best bet is to focus on using time-proven methods to grow a "demand for ownership" of your "shiny object" among customers and prospects.
  • David LaBonte
  • 4,064 Reads 19 Shares
Among the many costs associated with running a successful franchise are staff wages, marketing campaigns, and product costs (with regard to ordering and maintaining an inventory). One of the biggest expenses, without question, has to be your commercial rent. Higher income from rent-paying tenants, like you, will make a landlord happier. However, this remains as money out of your pocket. By decreasing your monthly rent, your profits will increase. Doing this is not impossible. Know that the amount of rent that you agreed to pay at the beginning of your lease term is not necessarily the amount of rent you will pay on your renewal. I have been quite successful in negotiating midterm rent breaks and lease renewal rent reductions for many clients - both independent business owners and franchisees.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 38,215 Reads 20 Shares
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In part one of this three-part series, I discussed self-assessment and how to take inventory of the leadership shadow that you cast. Nothing can be more fundamental to business success than acquiring the necessary skills that are critical to leading others in a multi-unit franchise operation.
  • Tom Welter
  • 10,432 Reads 1 Shares
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans five years ago, Glenn Mueller already was a grizzled veteran of the Gulf Coast hurricane season. Being a franchisee carries some special challenges for anyone who operates in the region, and Katrina put all of his considerable skills as one of the country's top Domino's franchisees to the test.
  • John Carroll
  • 7,726 Reads 393 Shares
In my 20-year journey of understanding leadership fundamentals, I have found change to be constant and adaptability to that change as the number one indicator of personal success.
  • Tom Welter
  • 5,959 Reads 143 Shares
In marketing, there are two basic ways to sell a potential customer. You can try to convince or argue them into buying your product (the classic salesman technique), or you can discover what it is that naturally appeals to them about your product or service, and use it to attract them, like a magnet. I call this latter approach, Shiny Objects Marketing. Everyone is attracted to shiny objects. We can't help it - it's in our DNA. The truly successful franchisee discovers the shiny object hidden in their product or service and puts it out in front of their customers, for all to see.
  • David LaBonte
  • 3,461 Reads 75 Shares
When a franchise unit or organization runs into trouble, what does your franchisor do to help? Unfortunately, according to several multi-unit operators we spoke with, not much, not enough, nothing at all--and sometimes worse, demanding future royalty payments for closed units, or refusing to allow franchisees to shut or relocate distressed units.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,741 Reads 1 Shares
It's often the case that the weaknesses of a system are not obvious until that system is catastrophically overloaded. That's when most breakdowns or failures occur. Overloaded electrical systems start fires, overloaded computer systems crash, and overloaded human beings suffer nervous breakdowns.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 4,022 Reads 1 Shares
Tulsa resident Bill Ramsey had worked hard in the international manufacturing business all his life, and was a bit disappointed when he learned that none of his five children were interested in following him into that industry. He didn't have a lot of family growing up, so he was determined to keep his close.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 7,682 Reads 17 Shares
All franchise brands strive to deliver a remarkable customer experience. Why? Because that's how you win customer loyalty. Customer loyalty shows up in greater share of the customer's wallet and higher frequency of purchase. Loyal customers spend more per average transaction, and they send referrals to you through the enthusiastic stories they tell, based on doing business with you. You can market all you want, but in the end, customers believe and talk about what they experience.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 8,123 Reads 879 Shares
This is the last in a three-part series on tackling the challenges posed by growing your organization into a true multi-unit franchise company. So, for those of you who have taken the first steps into replicating your success and going from one unit to two, and then have made the commitment to build a fledgling organization by growing from two units to five...now, my suggestion is, "Why stop there?"
  • Mike Pearce
  • 3,516 Reads 20 Shares
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