Tag Archives: business advice

The Healthy Psychology of Franchise Relationships

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Franchising World Magazine recently wrote a piece on the healthy psychology of franchise relationships. The author Greg Nathan focused specifically on the how franchisees and franchisors feel about being legally and commercially connected, “It incorporates trust, commitment and the informal expectations people have of each other. We would call this the “psychological contract.” Nathan expresses that this psychological aspect of the franchise relationship can be a potent source of competitive advantage by those who recognize its power, as well as a source of misery for those who deliberately or inadvertently ignore it.

Nathan says that in order to achieve a healthy franchise relationship, there must be high levels of franchisee advocacy, commitment and engagement.

The team of psychologists at the Franchise Relationships Institute has been studying the factors that drive advocacy, commitment and engagement for more than 20 years. Nathan’s article includes the entire seven principles (which we encourage you to check out here), but we have chosen three of our favorites:

  1. Leadership messages should be focused on promoting optimism. The franchisor has an important role to provide franchisees with a sense of confidence in the future. Optimism drives positive attitudes, and in return, positive behaviors. Despite businesses facing significant marketplace or commercial challenges, many have managed to maintain healthy franchise relations because franchisees have confidence that their franchisor is taking them to a better place.
  2. The way in which changes are introduced is extremely important. A poorly managed introduction of new initiatives is said to be a common source of franchisee dissatisfaction. The loss that comes with change, financially, or with identity, status, certainty, convenience or relationships. Communication is key during these times of change, and will impact franchisee commitment to change.
  3. It is important to encourage connection and pride. A sense of belonging is a string that extends through seven of the principles that the Franchise Relationships Institute offers – not surprising given that the simple need to belong is a powerful human instinct. Having a sense of connection to the brand and culture, networking with other franchisees, and interacting with customers and staff is powerful for the business. The way group meetings and conferences are structured is important as they should maximize small group interaction, allowing people to get to know one another.

Franchise Profile: OxyMagic Carpet Cleaning

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OxyMagic carpet cleaners provide excellent carpet cleaning services.  Each carpet cleaning franchise is individually owned and operated by people that are passionate about clean carpets.  Throughout the lifetime of your carpet, the fibers are subjected to the day to day under-foot grind of typical household spills, dirt, children, pets and after a while it can all take its toll. OxyMagic uses the power of oxygen to clean a wider spectrum of soils that other cleaners may not get out. With the OxyMagic system, average dry time is reduced to 30 to 90 minutes, which eliminates the chance for old stains to return and for mold and mildew to form.

OxyMagic’s NaturesWay® cleaning solution and process provides a healthier home environment from common household contaminates. OxyMagic feels that its responsibility is to the environment, and to its customers. The company’s first  thought is to safe guard the environment while maintaining the highest quality of cleaning for our customer’s carpets, rugs, and upholstery. The company only uses safe solutions and strives to maintain a reasonable price for a superior service to its customers.

OxyMagic is also dedicated to its Franchise owners and are looking to expand within the franchising industry.

Franchise Opportunity
You now have the opportunity to own your own business in an affordable franchise featuring this EXCLUSIVE carpet cleaning system. If you’ve ever thought about owning an affordable franchise with the backing of a long-standing nationwide company there will never be a better time than RIGHT NOW!   Because of our exclusive Oxygenated Carpet Cleaning System…

You can own…
Your own Oxymagic Franchise and have a protected market to grow a database of good profitable repeat customers. By using OxyMagic’s “working on your business model” you will find out how easy it is to have one, two or even three carpet techs working for you everyday while you enjoy the financial freedom to live your dreams.

Which Means…
You own a rewarding business and not a job. This also means that you can get in on the Oxymagic ground floor opportunity.
• See for yourself the power behind our marketing niche and unique selling proposition to your potential clients.
• See for yourself the income building potential of repeatable residential cash business.
• Get fully trained on our unique Oxygenated Extraction Carpet Cleaning System.
• Leave with a vast wealth of knowledge and proven model to build your own Oxymagic business in your city.

Interested in learning more? Check them out over on our site here!

How to Embrace Change

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Whether you are a current franchisee, a future franchisee, or even just a fan of our blog, chances are that you have experienced major changes in your workplace. Changes can cause great anxiety, especially if you are forced to adjust the way you have always approached a situation. Changes in process are often the best way to enhance productivity in business, yet the transition can prove to be troublesome.

We wanted to take this week’s post to discuss dealing with change and the growth contained in the process of change. Most of us operate under the illusion that life remains constant, but in reality, it is always changing. Your business, if it’s growing, is always changing, too.

Based on a study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), the number one issue facing senior leadership today is “dealing with complex challenges.” Furthermore, studies say that the number one most important competency in shortest supply today is dealing with change. The CCL defines challenges as problems that:

  1. Lack a clearly defined solution
  2. Remain beyond an individual’s or single group’s ability to overcome
  3. Have significant strategic, cultural, environmental, and marketplace impact
  4. Create a paradox of reflection and action
  5. Render traditional solutions ineffective
  6. Demand flexibility and agility as challenges shift seemingly overnight

Being open to change and the lessons within change is no small task. Positive change requires letting go of old patterns and taking a fresh approach. In business, and in life, we must go beyond our preconceived ideas. We have to embrace, rather than resist, the change.

Change in an organization calls for a great deal of communication, specifically from the leaders in the group. What are some important lessons that you have learned about change from your business? Leave comments below!

Marketing to the “20-Somethings” of the World

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I have been reading recently about a hot topic in marketing and advertising – targeting the Millennial generation. Who is the Millennial generation, you may ask? While there has been some debate over when the generation starts and stops, generally, it is considered those born between 1977 and 1995. Larger than the baby boomers’ 76 million, there are an estimated 80 million Millennials in this group of 18 to 34 year olds.

So from a marketing perspective, how do we target this generation of people ranging from college students to young parents? First off, we must recognize that most Millennials are technology dependent. There are several tips that Susan Glosby from FIT4MOM offered in this past month’s issue of Franchising World magazine offers some advice.

1. Offer ease of access to your information

Most Millennials use their smartphones and other similar electronic devices to access webpages. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and is easy to read for those accessing info via a smartphone. Additionally, make sure you have all the information people are seeking on your site – contact information, sales information, costs of goods – if they can’t find it quickly, they may take their business elsewhere.

2. A sense of involvement and purpose

Millennials are said to care about the purpose and identity of the brands they support more than generations of the past. What does your brand do to make the world a better place? This generation wants to know. Do you promote local volunteering with your franchisees and employees? Do you help educate your community? Do you donate to certain causes as a company? They want to know those things, and are more likely to be a repeat customer if your ideals are in line with their own.

3. Peer value

Use social media to provide peer endorsements! Millennials have the sense that when using technology, they are never truly alone – their peers are always with them. Having Instagram tags, a Facebook page, a twitter account, allows this generation to easily do some of the advertising for you among their friends.

 

What other ways can we appeal to our 20-somethings? Leave your marketing tips in the comments below!