‘Tis the time of year when good franchisees make their Christmas wishes lists for Santa Claus! Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, here are a few things you might want to put on your list.
1. Customers That Keep Coming Back
If there’s one thing that should be at the top of your list, it’s easily getting repeat business. After all, once a customer is sold on your brand, you have to do little to get them to return again and again.
Do Your Part: That being said, you do have some work to do to continually attract customers to buy from you over and over. Make sure to leverage effective email marketing that provides customers with relevant offers that will get them back into your store or restaurant. And make them feel like you value them!
2. A Great Relationship With Your Franchisor
A positive relationship with your franchisor can help you succeed with your franchise. It can open you up to new opportunities, and help you stay cutting-edge with technology and strategy for your franchise.
Do Your Part: Every franchisor has a different level of involvement with its franchisees. Do your part by showing that you’re interested in fostering active and open communication. Volunteer for opportunities to show your interest in leadership, and stay in touch with your rep at the franchise headquarters so you’re the first to know when something new is coming down the pipeline.
3. The Perfect Balance Between Franchisor Marketing & Your Own
In an ideal (but lazy) world, your franchisor would do all of the marketing to drive sales to your location. But we all know that’s not reality, and we know that much of the marketing will fall on your own shoulders.
Do Your Part: Ask Santa for a healthy balance so the franchisor does its part to make your brand known, then put your efforts into the marketing strategies that are most likely to deliver the results you’re looking for.
4. Employees That Actually Stick Around
One of the biggest frustrations for franchisees is high employee turnover. It often seems like as soon as you hire and train one employee, you’re replacing her soon after. Oh, Santa, please send us employees who want to work for us forever!
Do Your Part: While some industries, particularly restaurants, will always have a high turnover rate, you can do your part to mitigate it by spending time on the hiring process, only hiring the most qualified candidates, and investing heavily in properly training each new hire.
5. A Record-Breaking Sales Year
All business owners, franchisees or otherwise, want to see continual improvement in their sales numbers. And while some of that is at the mercy of brand reputation, the economy, your location, and other external factors, there are some ways you can safeguard your business’ future.
Do Your Part: Never stop trying to improve your products, customer service, and marketing. Even if you had a great year in 2016, there is always room for improvement, and that requires constant innovation. Keep striving to find new ways to engage customers, and measure results.
If you’ve been a hard-working franchisee this year, here’s hoping Santa brings you everything on your list!
Image: Photospin
