Frank Milner, the president of in-home and online tutoring franchise Tutor Doctor, believes in debunking the ‘seasonality myth’. Frank is a firm proponent of the idea that with proper planning and execution, no business should fall into the trap of seasonality.
While seasonality can indeed impact some businesses, it’s often exaggerated or misunderstood. For us, as a franchise operating in the education industry, the summer months are believed to be quieter due to students being on holiday and the exam season being over. However, there are effective strategies a franchisee can use to keep business consistent, even during traditionally slower periods.
So how do franchisees escape falling into the trap of seasonality? Those traditional slower periods are the perfect time to make small tweaks to your operations and attract more customers. With new trends and tools constantly emerging, it’s crucial to keep your marketing strategy fresh and engaging. During the summer, our franchisees actively seek ways to make an impact in their local communities, whether by attending events, offering advice or supporting charitable causes. Always be strategic – use last year’s date and stay on top of current trends to remain relevant.
Being absent doesn’t make the heart grow fonder (especially with your marketing)! Not all prospective clients will be away over the summer, and even if they are, many will still be active on the internet or via social media. An active online presence is critical – the summer is an ideal time to plan and refresh your marketing materials. Tutor Doctor franchisees benefit from a steady supply of seasonal impactful marketing collateral tailored to our customers, resulting in impressive year-round engagement.
Those periods are also a great opportunity to prioritise your staff. Allow team members to explore new roles or develop new skills, boosting their motivation and confidence, ultimately benefiting the business in the long run. It is also important to note it is crucial for franchisees and their staff to take a break and recharge, returning to the business with renewed energy and focus.
The key for franchisees is to be proactive, flexible and continuously seek opportunities for growth.
The franchisor also has a responsibility to its franchisees to ensure the ‘seasonality myth’ doesn’t occur. One key approach is to diversify, expanding your services to include a variety of options for franchisees to maintain current and attract new customers. Whether it’s new programmes or workshops, providing diverse services, associated with the time of year, helps keep your business appealing and relevant. We have resources highlighting the importance of continuing tuition throughout the summer meaning franchisees are able to maintain cash flow, even in the school holidays.
Robust support is a must in any franchisee-franchisor relationship. Whether this is for marketing, providing year-round customer engagement strategies or access to a platform where franchisees can see trends and best practices to manage potential seasonal fluctuation, the franchisor should be consistently updating their offering to avoid the negative effects of seasonality.
At Tutor Doctor, we have regular bootcamps along with weekly and monthly calls with our UK franchisees. This year we also introduced ‘Super Sessions’ – run by head office with franchisee collaboration, the purpose is to ensure we give franchisees the personalised support they need, at any given stage of the business. Franchisees also have access to one-on-one coaching, tailored to their specific needs, to assist with their continuous growth and development.
To challenge seasonality taking hold, you need to emphasise the importance of franchisees being proactive and that there is support available to them. Embracing continuous improvement and adaptation is pivotal to create ongoing growth for franchisees. Through a strong partnership and the resources we provide, franchisees can achieve consistent success throughout the year.
