Franchises that didn’t vow New Years resolutions for the sake of it

New Year's resolutions can easily fall to the wayside for many once the reality of getting back to a routine in January sinks in. However, these franchises prove sticking to them reaps massive rewards

Franchises that didn't vow New Years resolutions for the sake of it

Many people are raring to turn over a new leaf, wipe a slate clean and so on come New Year’s Day. With franchisors and franchisees being no exception, it’s the best time for energised networks to strive for fresh directions or stamp out bad habits. However, while pledges are easy to make with champagne flowing and fireworks cracking, sticking to them over the year takes dedication. And that’s something these franchises have no problem with as 2019 arrives.

Frank Milner, president of tutoring franchise Tutor Doctor

What New Year’s resolutions did you fulfil last year?

Our very first goal was to complete a rebrand. We realised franchisees would benefit from changing the look and feel of the business and welcoming a new brand identity would be embraced by our whole network. We also pledged to design our very own launch support programme that would facilitate franchisees towards achieving profitability as soon as possible from the launch of their business – especially within their first year.”

What are you vowing to change about your franchise this year?

We plan to create a next-generation, custom-built customer relationship management (CRM) system that would enhance the potential for each franchisee and optimise the efficiency of their business. With the first phase beginning in December 2018, January will bring further development in the shape of a mobile app that will provide a portal for families, tutors and education consultants to access information. It will allow everyone that’s connected to us to have an involvement in the tutoring process. Combining that with the launch of a new and improved support structure in January will create an enhanced introduction to the franchise for new franchisees.

What will your franchisees have to do to realise such pledges?

With our franchisees being the heart of our promises, it’s now up to them to decide how much they take from the new processes. With the new support structure, they have the opportunity to receive a much more specialised service based on their needs and that’s how we plan to develop in the future. Every franchisee will be using the new CRM system by the new year so they need to fully embrace the processes to make the most out of it. We will also be providing support during the launch to avoid any issues.

Matt O’Neil, head of partner recruitment at business consultancy franchise Expense Reduction Analysts UK

What New Year’s resolutions did you fulfil last year?

2018 was a year of substantial change for the Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) UK network. A change of ownership in April led to ERA UK becoming a part of the wider ERA Global network of more than 650 franchisees across 37 countries. The new franchisees pledged to integrate the UK business seamlessly with the international organisation during the remainder of 2018.

What are you vowing to change about your franchise this year?

We aim to create a new look and feel to align sales and marketing collateral and give the brand and business a lift.”

What needs to happen in order to stick to those vows?

We just need to complete the work. All the necessary wheels are in motion in order to create a new vertical marketing strategy. The central marketing function has been bolstered through the hire of a new vertical sales coordinator who will work with franchisees globally to develop initiatives and sales strategies to attack our industry verticals.

What will your franchisees have to do to realise such pledges?

Franchisees across the world will be involved in updated training and ongoing personal development opportunities as the ERA franchise continues to innovate and develop. Representative groups of franchisees from across the globe have been consulted during the integration process, as systems are aligned and the opportunities afforded by the two businesses coming together realise their potential.

Lisa Law, national franchise manager at tools franchise Snap-on

What New Year’s resolutions did you fulfil last year?

I believe we surpassed our goals for strategic development in 2018. We launched 124 new products that were designed, tested and manufactured from ideas, feedback and direct input from franchisees. We launched a dedicated in-house social media team for franchisees and now provide the structure, content and training for our network to utilise social media effectively. We launched seven new diagnostic trucks with one per region and employed seven new diagnostic sales reps who spend two days with a different franchisee every week. As ever, we do all of this at no cost to our new or existing franchisees, so the impact on the network has been incredibly positive.

What are you vowing to change about your franchise this year?

It’s not a change as such, more a continuation of our commitment to open up the Snap-on franchise opportunity to a wider audience. We know lots of people have always wanted to be their own boss sometimes but they’ve found the startup costs that little bit too high. So in October 2018, we launched a brand new special offer on our franchise startup costs meaning prospects can now join us in a selection of prime territories for less than £12,000. Usual business startup costs are £24,143 but for a limited time, prospects only need to pay £11,755 and then Snap-on will fund the rest. It’s really that simple.

What will your franchisees have to do to realise such pledges?

Nothing. We ensure the only thing our franchisees need to focus on is their own business. Of course, we get lots of referrals from within our network – franchisees put friends, family and even customers forward for the franchise if they think they’d be a great match. To help those inclined to do so, we’ve introduced a professional referral kit on top of all the usual fortnightly marketing collateral we provide to franchisees. This means they can quickly and easily pass on information and collect details for our recruitment team to follow up on.”

Dan Archer, managing director of homecare franchise Visiting Angels

What New Year’s resolutions did you fulfil last year?

The pledge we made in January 2018 was to be in a position to launch Visiting Angels, which is very well established elsewhere in the world, in the UK in October 2018. We started the business in the UK in August 2017, so around about this time last year we were really just getting going as a pilot business. Prior to recruiting franchisees I wanted to make sure that I and the rest of my team had the practical experience of running the model in the UK. So this time last year, our New Year’s resolutions were to be in a position to launch the franchise in October and that’s exactly what we did.

What are you vowing to change about your franchise this year?

We’ve got a couple of people who are going through the process of due diligence at the moment so the first challenge is helping those people to start and then it’s going to be a case of attracting interest from more people who are suitable candidates as well. We hope by the end of 2019 we’ll have ten franchisees in the UK. Obviously they’ll be at varying stages of development but we hope to be able to help them be as successful as we’ve been.”

What will your franchisees have to do to realise such pledges?

The best habit for me and our franchisees to get into is making sure we’re sticking to the plan we have. That’s a challenge when you have your own business because there’s always pressure on your time but we always come back to remind ourselves the thing that makes us different is we focus on the needs of the caregiver. If we put the caregiver first, they’re then able to make sure the families we support are put first. It seems quite simple but it’s something a lot of companies appear to struggle with. So the good habit is just to keep remembering that the most important people in our business are caregivers. Because without them, we haven’t got a product or business.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angus Shaw
Angus Shaw
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