Storytelling and Franchising: Keeping It Simple.

Franchise Update Media hosted another spectacular Multi-Unit Franchising Conference recently in Las Vegas. This is one of my favorite annual business conferences due the diverse backgrounds, skill sets, and interests of the attendees.

The final day included a fantastic session discussing issues impacting small business owners. The International Franchise Association’s Matt Haller moderated the panel which included Catherine Monson of FASTSIGNS, Matthew Patinkin of Double P Corp, Ron Feldman of ApplePie Capital, and IFA Chair Shelly Sun of BrightStar Care. This “A-Team” of business leaders offered their candid insights on many subjects, but the prevailing topic was the National Labor Relations Board and its 2015 ruling on the joint employer standard.

It occurs to me that such non-elected policy makers, as well as some elected officials, journalists, and activists are dreadfully uneducated about the ownership of a franchised business. This leads to the general public being uninformed and in many cases purposefully misinformed.

If we want to correct this, we need tell the story of franchising in simple terms — so simple, in fact, that a politician and maybe even a journalist could understand.

Here are my two suggestions to properly and simply communicate the role of a franchisee:

1. The Franchisee Is a Customer of the Franchisor

There’s no clearer argument than showing that a franchisee is a customer of the franchisors and not an employee or middle-manager. There are many things small business owners must purchase in order to open their doors. The purchase from the franchisor is just one of those things.

As an example, let’s use a home services franchise brand such as a plumbing, landscaping, or cleaning franchise. There are several things you need to buy If you want to own one of these businesses including:

A) The Franchise.
B) A Truck.

If you buy a Ford F150 for your business, does this mean The Ford Motor Company is a joint employer of your staff?

Of course not. The car brand from whom you purchased your truck is not in charge of your employees. Also, the plumbing brand from whom you purchased your franchise is not in charge of your employees.

2. Not Franchisees. Owners.

While some franchise systems may have specific language that they can or can’t use in some agreements, in general discussions we should refer to owners as owners.

If we, as an industry, had used this terminology more often in recent years, the anti-business Washington bureaucrats, lobbyists, and activists may have targeted a different industry. They would have perpetrated their schemes on a business sector without owners.

Social Channels Driving Business for Franchisors

I am excited to share a bit of a preview of one panel at this year’s IFA FranTech. This is the 4^th annual event (formerly FranCamp) focusing on Marketing and Technology for Franchises.

I am even more excited to be moderating a panel of Franchisors including Paul Segreto, CEO of Franchise Source Brands International, and Gina Svendsen, Director of Marketing of Scooter’s Coffee.

We will discuss the most successful social media channels that franchisors and franchisees are using to:

Market their brand to consumers
Drive traffic to franchisees
Engage with potential customers
Acquire leads in these channels

If you’re looking for a conference to hear self-described “experts” drone on and on about how cool they are, then this is not the session for you.

No PowerPoints. No phony stories about how Harvard Business School was holding them back. No sales pitches.

This will be an open discussion with CEOs and CMOs chatting with you about what’s working for them in social media and what’s not.

See you in Denver!

Local Social, Part 2: The Agency Menace

Misguided information is hurting franchise marketing when it comes to Local Social.

A public relations firm focusing on the franchise space that has recently positioned its team as being “social media experts” told me that they are advising franchisor clients not to allow local Facebook pages for franchisees. They recommend having just one Facebook page for the brand.

I asked why … because of a concern over consistency? Workflow fears? Worries over customer response?

No. Their answer was that it’s easier for the PR firm to measure that way.

I was at a loss for words. Instead of localizing social and growing communities of customers and potential customers, this agency was counseling its clients to make the agency’s own work easier.

My only response was that their approach was that it’s like losing a contact lens in the bedroom, but looking for it in the kitchen because the light is better.

This is not just uninformed. It’s lazy. And, if I were their client already, I could not fire this agency fast enough.

Social Is Local

Some will tell you that social media is all about making consumers and brands more global and creating virtual communities made up of people across the world. This may be true for entities that sell products only online, but it’s not true for small businesses or franchisees.

Customers typically don’t buy a large coffee, a slice of pizza, or a new SUV online. You can influence, engage with, and make an offer to consumers via social channels, BUT they need to come in to become an actual customer.

So many brands are selling at that local level, yet not marketing to or engaging with potential customers at the local level. Why are they missing these potential customers?

One reason is a misunderstanding about consistency. This is typical when the top person responsible for social marketing is not accountable for real business results (read: dollars!)

I recently spoke with a marketing and communications team at a large US-based oil company with several hundred franchised convenience stores in communities across the country. These mid-level managers couldn’t get past the idea of a local franchisee potentially saying something inconsistent in social media. They decided it would be safer to just have one corporate page and no local or regional activity in social.

This is exactly why franchisors need to lead, not just limit, social media communications. If that’s not possible, then they should remove their franchisees’ phones too. And, if inconsistency in social media scares you this much, then stop franchising. Close up shop!

The fact is, social media is the EASIEST place to manage your brand. Put some listening and publishing tools in place, commit an hour or two per week, and you’re good to go for your whole franchise system.

All that other stuff you’re already doing is the hard part of managing a brand!

Senator Marco Rubio to Address IFA

The International Franchise Association has just announced that Senator Marco Rubio of Florida will join an impressive lineup of keynote speakers at the IFA Public Affairs Conference in Washington, DC on September 17.

Mr. Rubio represents a new generation of political leader who will be moving our country forward and is also very hard to cast in a predefined label. Like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Mr. Rubio is a post-label politician; they’re pro-business and economically conservative, but they are by no means part of the old establishment when it comes to other issues.

I don’t know if Marco Rubio will be president someday (we can’t get that lucky) but it’s a sure thing that he will be a leader on many issues that affect American business, especially franchises and small business owners. From taxes to jobs to immigration reform to healthcare, Mr. Rubio will be a constant voice of reason and logic for decades to come.

If you’re a member of the IFA, you can register for the event now and sign up to meet with your member of Congress to discuss these important issues as well!

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