Archive for September, 2008
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
The brand is more than product recognition or a simple logo. Is the intellectual and emotional impression people have when they think of your company and your product. It is a strong and coherent message about the value of your business.
A memorable and trustworthy brand reinforces customer loyalty. They help you remember that your company offers the perfect solution to their problems. Therefore, in order to succeed in the mark, you must understand their customers’ needs and problems.
Brand building is an ongoing business strategy that is easy to measure the costs in time, money and effort. Its value, on the other hand, is more difficult to establish because it attempts to measure the emotional associations that may not translate immediately into revenue. The mark is an essential element of success, however, and should be reinforced in times when business is booming and when sales are slower. You want customers and potential customers to maintain a positive association with your company and its services.
You control the messages sent through the marketing, advertising, customer service, and his presence on the Internet. The mark is a combination of everything your company uses to present itself. Here are some key elements to analyze and improve its brand strategy:
1. Professionally designed marketing materials (logo, stationery, advertisements and the like): These tell customers your company is strong, secure and credible. Your marketing materials should reinforce your company’s image and positioning more and more and more.
2. Consistency in advertising: Develop a tagline to succinctly describe your company - and use it. Develop a campaign that may offer different messages, but is recognizable as his trademark.
3. Excellent customer service - always. Make sure your entire staff positively represents your company’s image.
4. A strong and professional website: It must be easy for viewers to navigate and understand. Should let visitors know what your company does and why it should care. Provide mandatory and easy to understand, and interesting content. Make it easy for visitors to make purchases.
5. Differentiate your brand: Make sure your customers and potential customers understand why they are different from the competition. Want to create a higher profit with its target audience that encourages long-term loyalty.
Brand is not what you say about your company and products, their customers about the perception of your company and products. To strengthen its brand, make sure you can answer the following questions: What do you do that is different from anyone else? Why matter to your customers? If you can not answer these questions, you do not have an effective brand.
Action Item: take a good look at your company and product / service strengths. Determine your primary strengths and benefits, and then make sure your branding strategy (marketing materials, advertising, sales, customer service, logo, etc.) accentuated this. Simple, huh?
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Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Is your franchise agreement renewal comes from?
If so, in order to continue in business, you have to sign a new franchise agreement when their old agreement expired. The renewal of its agreement may be a time bomb. Most of the state to renew agreements, the franchisee has to sign it comes to the then current form of franchise agreement. That is, you will be asked to sign the agreement that the franchisor is making its new franchisees sign.
This new agreement will be substantially different from that one is about to expire. The franchise that you’ve had for ten years was changed suddenly and was operating under a new and largely modified document, and the rights it had under the old agreement may be removed.
For example, franchise agreements that originally appeared to provide an unlimited number of renewals may be limited to one or two renovations, and the term can be reduced from ten to five years. Despite its old agreement that grants an exclusive territory, the new agreement may allow the franchisor to establish new franchise or company-owned units nearby. Or the new agreement may provide that the franchisor can distribute the products in its territory through alternative channels such as the Internet or not brand outlets. Franchisors can also change the royalty rates, advertising contributions and the level of service they are obligated to provide its franchisees.
What can you do?
First, you need to know their rights. Have a professional review its franchise agreement and the original document of renewal. Find out what the differences are between the two. The original franchise agreement may provide more rights to you or you know that the franchisor wants to acknowledge. In some cases, the old agreement obliges the franchisor over the first ten years of time. It may not allow the franchisor to take away territory or invade its territory. The key is to know their rights and to enforce those rights.
An option for franchisees whose agreements expire is not renewed. If you want to stay in business, the concern here is that their franchise agreement may have a non-compete clause prohibiting the holding of a company similar to the franchise business for a period of time after the agreement franchise has expired. A franchisor can seek to enforce this clause is determined that its continued activities in the company are affecting the franchise system. This supply contract should be reviewed carefully to determine whether it is due. If the limitation is unreasonable in terms of the length of the restriction or the geographical area covered, it may be difficult for a franchisor to enforce.
Again, the key is for you to know your rights.
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Monday, September 29th, 2008
I am interested in selling my franchise. How can I sell a franchise? “This is an investigation that recently won a visitor to our site Resources for Entrepreneurs. Here are our tips on how to sell a franchise business.
Sooner or later, each franchise owner will have to go through the process of selling the franchise. However, many landlords to enter the sales process totally uninformed about what to expect, resulting in endless amounts of frustration and sometimes even a lower price for the franchise is worth.
You’ve worked hard to build your franchise and you deserve to get every penny that comes to you. With this in mind, here are some tips to help you get started.
Keep informed his franchisor
It is important to keep your franchisor informed about its plans to sell the franchise at the very beginning of the sales process. Many franchisors have rules governing the sales of franchise. These rules should have been listed under a franchise contract he signed when bought the franchise. Back on those rules with the franchisor to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Your franchisor may also be able to provide assistance in the sale of its franchise. Sometimes franchisors are aware of the potential buyers who are interested in a particular territory and are looking for a turnkey operation.
Preparing for the sale
Informing about his intentions franchisor is only the first step. They must also prepare to sell their franchise before you actually place in the market. Included among the preparations that need to do is establish the value of the franchise, setting a price, the compilation of financial information, notification of key employees (if necessary), and the development of a sales package.
Note that some of franchise sales in advance require more preparation than others. Once again, talk to your franchisor for specific advice about what you may have to make the sale of the franchise.
Know the market
It is absolutely imperative to have a basic understanding of the market prior to its list of franchises. How much have sold for similar operations recently? Is the market hot or cold now? What kind of person is more likely to buy a franchise like yours?
The answers to these questions (and many more) will have a direct bearing on the sale of its franchise. You can discover now is not the best time to sell their franchise. On the other hand, may discover that his franchise could be worth more than I thought.
Advertise your practice and pitch
Your franchise may be the best deal in town, but that is going nowhere unless buyers know about it. Make sure too to promote its franchise through all possible channels. If you need help with this, you might even want to consider the possibility of listing with an agent. Also take some time to practice their sales area. Recruit some friends to critique your pitch before “go live” with actual purchasers.
Assisting buyers
Ultimately, you might need to assist the purchaser of its franchise. Assistance comes in a lot of ways, but it could include training or even working together with the buyer during the first few months.
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