Article

Future franchisees are watching: What do they see in you?

Three restaurant industry leaders talk about branding strategy when it comes to the essential task of drawing franchisees in for business.

May 1, 2017 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

Many restaurant leaders get into the industry because they have a real love for food, hospitality, management or all three. But it could be argued that few actually stay and grow in this competitive industry unless they also know how to sell what they've created. And in the game of chains, that means selling the concept — not just to diners, but other restaurateurs — who, if the fit is right, will also become quasi-business partners and employees, as well as brand ambassadors and income sources. That, as they say in the psychiatrist's office, is a "complicated relationship."

So how does a chain develop a viable, successful marketing strategy for these key customers?

Well, for a delineation of what some of the best and brightest brands are doing (and not doing) we wanted to pass along some of the conversation from a breakout session on the topic of Building your Brand Personality for Franchise Development at this year's Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in Dallas in March. 

Waterfall Head of Strategy Matt Silk moderated the session, which included tips from three panelists, including McAlister's Deli Chief Development Officer Jeff Sturgis, CoreLife Eatery COO Scott Davis and Smoothie King Chief Development Officer Kevin King. 

Q: Where do you find your franchisee prospects?
 

Davis/CoreLife: Franchisees come in all different flavors … so we start with getting the profile right and understanding who we're looking for and then … we try to figure out where they're going to be. … Basically, it comes down to a lot of word of mouth. 
 

King/Smoothie King: A great source of franchisees for us has historically been our customers. Then, I think if we're thinking about adding a franchisee, I'd start with the kinds of (subjects) they are (involved in) and then go from there.Then we think about what kind of press (coverage) can we get … and we really focus on the (digital) publications. 

Sturgis/McAlister's:We're (franchise purchases) are a pretty large investment, not a mom-and-pop business, so 99 percent of most of our guests are not going to be our franchisors. … And we're really looking for multi-unit operators. And the good thing is there are not that many of them out there. … But then it's about finding the right time to develop (relations with them). 

Q: So then, how do you reach out to potential franchisees digitally?
 

Sturgis/McAlister's:From a social media perspective, we haven't used that much, but we have launched a digital marketing content platform. So, I would say digitally it's been more about having a content creation and dissemination strategy over social media. 
 

King/Smoothie King:For us, it's really about our calendar. So we create a calendar of content and use leadership to post (around those subjects or events) on LinkedIn and Facebook. That's been a great way to build interest in our brand and drive them to our website hopefully.

We are generally creating content on things like why they want to be a franchisee and occasionally we have we are generally creating content on why want to be franchisee, and most is created (in-house) content … usually saying what your brand strengths are because before they ever reach out to you, they've already done a lot of work and looked at all they could find on line … so this is just one way to give them things to look at. 

Davis/CoreLife: You have to think like a franchisee and … go online and try to put the puzzle together about (who they might be). The average franchisee, I  can tell you goes to your website and spends at least two hours to find out about you. So for us, we try to think like a franchisee and (how they respond) when they're seeing all that."

Q: Have you had any horror stories involving instances where you, maybe, picked the "wrong" franchisee? And if so, what did you do about it?

King/Smoothie King: Mostly it comes down to values because most of us do a good job of looking at (prospects') financials and knowing what kind of capital they need. But,  what's hard is during the process, people can hide their real values, so we're really concentrating on that. You really need to -- during the qualifications stage -- to make sure they are going to fit in your system. 

A lot of us call it 'franchise sales,' and it's interesting because you want to bring them in for sales, but you also really want them to be qualified and it's a whole lot cheaper to say 'No' when you start with someone than getting out later. 

Sturgis/McAlister's:We signed agreement five or so years ago, with some Subway operators and they had trouble understanding our system. We are a much bigger animal than a Suway and we quickly realized that there is a small shop-type of food person who doesn't operate well within our system. …

That 'cultural thing' is critical -- that service and hospitality element we have. It's probably the biggest thing we look for in franchisees because … it's actually what goes on between front door and front counter that really sets us apart.

Q: How do you differentiate your potential franchisees and ultimately decide who will make a good fit and who will not?

King/Smoothie King:Our question is, 'Is our franchise going to help them reach their goals?' That's one of the things we talk to our franchisees about a lot. You know, 'Can you see yourself selling this brand?' and 'What's your goal for owning a Smoothie King? You want to make their goals align with yours. That's where you start with a customer, then you have to make sure you can achieve their goals. 

Q What would you tell your corporate marketing people (at brand headquarters) to do differently or better to make your life easier?

Sturgis/McAlister's: Make sure the model still works and that the current model is hitting that still. Make sure (corporate franchisee marketing employees) ensure that (what they're doing) is relevant to the consumer or adjusting it to the consumer if it's not. 

Davis/CoreLife: Don't overlook the frontline folks. They are really a lot of what franchisees are going to pin the concept on. So make sure you think through what really makes a great customer experience and then train them on that.  

Register here for the first international Restaurant and Franchising Innovation Summit this July in London. Learn the players, the providers and the potential all in one very fun span of a few days under the toll of Big Ben. 

Feature photo: iStock

Inset photo: Networld Media Group

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.