Social Opportunities for Multi-unit Franchise Operators

Continuing the series, How Are Franchise Brands Utilizing Social Media, this week on Franchise Today, Paul Segreto was joined by BJ Emerson, Director of Information and Social Technologies at Tasti D-Lite. Featured in Twitter’s Business 101 Case Study, BJ has spearheaded the integration of the Tasti D-Lite brand experience with online communities by engaging customers and working with franchisees to expand the brand through Social Media. Paul and BJ focused their discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing multi-unit franchise operators. Fresh from his participation in Franchise Update’s Multi-unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, BJ brought some insight from the conference.

This segment of Franchise Today aired LIVE on Thursday, April 1st at 12 PM CDT/ 1 PM EDT

Previously on Franchise Today, Paul Segreto was joined by Amy Nichols, CEO and Founder of Dogtopia, a full-service dog day care, spa and boutique franchise. An avid participant within Social Media, especially Twitter, Amy shared her thoughts and insight about using Social Media on a national scale and at local levels for the benefit of all within the Dogtopia franchise organization. In addition, Paul and Amy discussed various ways of utilizing Social Media as an effective extension of Public Relations efforts. The podcast is now available on-demand.

Squeezing ROI From Social Media Marketing

Recently, Christopher Petix, President at Clash-Media US wrote an article about the changing world of Digital Marketing and how it would evolve in 2010. The article, The World of Digital Marketing 2.0, touches upon how brands utilizing social media marketing must establish baselines and understand metrics as part of their social media marketing strategy Doing so is paramount to their marketing success.

The past couple of years have been all about squeezing as much Return on Investment as possible from every marketing effort. As a result, advertisers and marketers have a new set of parameters and broad goals for establishing a campaign. The good news for these groups is that there are a number of tools and techniques available to help them achieve these goals.

He goes on to talk about how brands are partnering up with digital marketers and focusing efforts on evaluating their campaigns. Doing so helps them achieve optimum efficiency as they can turn on a dime if they’re need achieving their goals and objectives. Sure, conversion rates will fluctuate during a campaign, but quick reactions can improve the campaign’s performance.

Another point Petix makes is about niche websites and networks. As today’s consumer (and franchise candidates) are more technologically advanced and social media savy, more time is being spent outside the realm of typical social media circles of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Instead, being more diligent is more the norm rather than the exception. Diligence that takes marketing targets to industry sites, brand-specific social networks and blogs to gather even more information. More importantly, it takes them to places of interaction and information sharing between and among others with similar goals and objectives.

Using Social Media as written by Christopher Petix

Burger King’s “Sacrifice Whopper” was one of the most infamous campaigns of 2009 to have created a social media buzz. One of the biggest on-going hot spots for 2010 will be how can more companies tap into the vast resource of social media.

Social media accurately gauges consumer brand perception and sentiment, though the avenue for more direct marketing and advertising opportunities is harder to navigate. The key to using social media for marketing and customer acquisition is targeting, which helps ensure that the highly coveted user experience is not affected.

Individual organizations can use several approaches to identify customers through social media, they include: post-registration offers, banner advertising, Facebook CPC or social media apps. All of these ensure consumer exposure, but which ones deliver measurable and effective results is individual to every organization. Those advertisers that have learned what they need to look for in a campaign should be a step ahead as they explore new avenues of customer engagement – so by the end of 2010, most will have a coherent social media strategy producing bottom line dollars.

Christopher Petix serves as the President of Clash-Media working in the US office. With over 15 years of online experience he brings a wide variety of knowledge working at company’s including Double-Click Media in the start-up, founding his own tri-lingual travel site, heading up Vendare Media’s team on the East coast, as well as CoregMedia. His emphasis on client services and retention have allowed him to cultivate numerous longstanding business relationships in the online advertising industry.

Great Facebook Apps for Business

Great article in this month’s issue of Website Magazine, Making the Case for Facebook by Matt Goulart, Founder and Lead Consultant with Webstar Content. In this article, Matt states, “With the decline of traditional television and print advertising, it is getting harder and harder to find effective ways to attract consumer attention. Increasingly, many businesses are moving toward online and social networking tools. Facebook can be a highly effective cost-free solution.”

So, why Facebook? Well, as many are aware, Facebook is the world’s largest social network!

Seven Great Facebook Apps for Business
From the Staff at Website Magazine

Contests – Businesses can create and launch branded contests on Facebook Fan Pages within minutes. Available formats include photo contests, video contests, design contests, logo contests, essay-based contests and more. Contests are a great way to build brand awareness, build content on Fan Pages and recruit new fans.

SocialToo – Enables users to update their personal profile pages, any Facebook Fan page they administer and even remotely to Twitter from the convenience of the status update box.

SocialOomph – Provides productivity tools for social media users and includes tools for Twitter, StatusNet, and Facebook. Facebook users can schedule status updates for their accounts to be published at dates and times of their choosing.

NetworkedBlogs – Promote your blog on Facebook and discover new blogs. NetworkedBlogs is a community of bloggers and blog lovers. Join the fun, add your blog, and connect with others who read and write about subjects you like, as well as promote your blog to active social media users.

RatePoint – Lets users create e-mail newsletters, collect reviews and testimonials and build surveys for free. Connects to Facebook and Twitter easily and allows for share reviews and newsletters with Facebook Friends and Fans, and Twitter followers.

Jobmagic – A social media recruiting application that expands a recruiter’s reach by leveraging Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter social media channels to help start a dialogue with other candidates which other recruiters cannot.

Social Store Builder - Enables a Volusion store owner to display and sell products directly on their Facebook page. After clicking on a featured product, the customer is taken to the store owner’s secure, one-page checkout to complete the transaction.

Social Media Enhances Email Marketing

In 2009, e-mail marketers started to get social, but 2010 will be the year social media makes e-mail marketing more powerful, according to eMarketer.

Social media is a partner, not a threat, to e-mail marketing because it provides new avenues for sharing and engaging customers and prospects.

Even though people are spending more time using social media, they are not abandoning e-mail. The two channels can help each other, offering the opportunity for marketers to create deeper connections.

Source: Adweek

Financial Performance Representations: A List of Things to Avoid

Several weeks ago there was a discussion in the Linkedin franchise groups about Earnings Claims and Financial Performance Representations (FPRs), inadvertent or not, within social media. From the responses that were submitted it appears there may be some confusion, or attempts at justification, in using information outside the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for discussion with franchise candidates.

Today, I received a copy of The Franchise Seller’s Handbook by Warren Lee Lewis at Ackerman Senterfitt, Attorneys at Law. Joe Caruso, a well-known franchise executive, attended on March 16th, the Capitol Area Franchise Association (CAFA) meeting where Charlene York provided copies of this handbook to all in attendance. Joe was so impressed with the handbook that he felt compelled to send one to me as we are both committed to best practices in franchising. This handbook is a must-read for all within the franchise community, and especially those responsible for franchise sales and development efforts.

A quick review of the handbook, although it is not to be construed as legal advice, made me realize that many of the questions franchise professionals have regarding Earnings Claims and Financial Performance Representations are within this concise reference guide. I’m sure I’ll find it to be a very valuable resource moving forward and hope other franchise professional will use it as well.

With respect to the aforementioned discussion on LinkedIn, Chapter 4 of this handbook entitled Prohibited Franchise Sales Activities will most likely answer any remaining questions about earnings claims and financial performance representations. At least it should for the individuals that want the correct answers to the questions. For the ones that don’t, they may just use this information to manipulate and further justify their means to an end.

Examples of FPRs to avoid…

As listed in Chapter 4, below is a list of “some of the examples of FPRs outside of an FDD that must be avoided.” Please understand this list must be avoided within social media as well. So, a link to this or that, is the same as saying it or showing it in person.

1. A chart, table or mathematical calculation that shows possible results based on a combination of variables.

2. A software program containing a spreadsheet with assumed cost percentages.

3. A copy of a published article which states that some franchisees have earned a specific amount.

4. A pro forma showing assumed low, medium and high sales and costs based on actual average cost percentages.

5. “You will earn enough to own a new Porsche within a year.”

6. “You will break even within 6 to 9 months.”

7. “Your sales will increase 20% to 30% if you convert to be a franchised outlet.”

8. “The sales and cost projections in the pro forma prepared by your accountant look reasonable to me.”

9. “You are likely to realize a 100% return on investment within the first year of operation.”

The list continues with “examples of statements related to sales, profits and costs that likely are not FPRs, subject of course, to the full context of what is said to a prospect.”

1. “This franchise offers exceptional profit potential.”

2. “Your sales will depend on your location and how much effort you put into the business.”

3. “If you want to know about typical sales, profits and costs, you should talk with our franchisees.”

4. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime.”

From the original LinkedIn discussion…

So, to the individual that posted the following comment to the original post in the Franchise Executives LinkedIn group discussion, I believe it’s overdue that you review the items listed above and get yourself a copy of this fine handbook before you wind up on the wrong side of things. Unless, of course, you intend to stay the course despite what is right or wrong.

His comments… “My opinion would be this: if a non related party writes, talk about, or diseminates information which touches on or reveals financial data about the concept, the franchisor cannot be in violation. Think about the franchisees in the system who reveal secrets and offer “validation” in an unedited manner and according to their own take on the subject. What about the ordinary business broker who has a listing with all the juicy metrics in his info packet..and all that can makes its way through the informal circuit and ethnic groups and social media comments…The franchisor cannot possibly be held responsible for this.”

Thank you…

A special thank you is in order to Warren Lee Lewis and contributors Michaele (Shelley) Weatherbie, Charlene York and Julia S. Badaliance for sharing their fantastic guide.

Note: At the request of the many franchise professionals that have requested copies of The Franchise Seller’s Handbook, we have secured permission to refer all requests and inquiries directly to the author, Warren Lee Lewis at warren.lewis@akerman.com. So, be sure to request your copy today!