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Behind the Numbers
Auntie Anne’s Franchise Problem Solving
May 4th, 2012Read about franchise problem solving at its best in this article about World-Class Franchise Auntie Anne’s!
Preparing for Takeoff: Initial Training/Opening Support
May 2nd, 2012Mark Siebert, in an article for Entrepreneur, states, “Of all the tasks that befall the new franchisor, perhaps none is as important as the role of training. If the brand is the heart of any great franchise, training is the physical conditioning that keeps that heart beating strongly and consistently.”
At the Franchise Research Institute/FranSurvey.com, we believe strongly that the initial training and opening support provided by the franchisor is crucial to the success of new franchisees. Every franchise provides some form of initial training, and the quality of this training is of tremendous importance to high quality franchise companies. Likewise, opening support can be critical in creating a customer’s first impression of your business. Of course, this depends on the franchise category and product or service offered.
In our recently published 2012 World-Class Franchise Compilation Survey, we discovered that among our 25 World-Class Franchises, 93% of franchisees surveyed gave a positive grade to the initial training provided by their franchisor. In addition, when asked to grade the opening support supplied by their franchisor, 91% responded positively!
Very few new franchisees have experience in the field they have committed to joining. Also, far too many are in the category of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Naiveté can be a charming quality, but in franchising, it can be devastating. My advice to anyone considering investing in a franchise: look carefully “under the hood” to see what existing franchisees are saying (through confidential, third-party research, not in-house surveys or those which do not protect the identity of ‘zees). Be sure that the franchisor invests in the “conditioning” needed to see franchisees through the franchise business marathon, and in making sure the race gets off to the best possible start!
1. The combined score to this question encompasses all “A,” “B”, or “C” responses but does not include “D” or “F” ratings. Remember there is no such thing as “above average Franchisee satisfaction”, but there is World-Class.
Methodology for the series of articles: Franchise Excellence
The questions highlighted in this series of articles are taken from the 2012 World-Class Franchise Compilation Report, conducted by the Franchise Research Institute.
To be certified as World-Class, franchise companies must meet the following research requirements:
1. Access to every franchisee is required (including newly open and those who have yet to open).
2. A minimum of 70% of their franchisees must complete the survey (this reduces survey bias).
3. All franchisee responses are confidential (reduces false positive responses).
4. They must have a minimum of 20 franchisees that have been in business for two years or longer.
More details can be found at www.WorldClassFranchise.com
Liquid Capital Certified A World-Class Franchise
March 23rd, 2012LINCOLN, Neb. (March 23, 2012) – Liquid Capital has received World-Class Franchise® certification from the Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey®. Liquid Capital is an international network of franchise owners or “Principals” who help small and medium size businesses grow and succeed through “factoring,” a specialized financial service that provides immediate funding to new and expanding businesses secured by credit-worthy account receivables.
The recognition comes after an independent survey conducted by the Franchise Research Institute, in which 70.3% of all Liquid Capital’s franchisees participated. The survey was designed to determine the level of franchisee satisfaction within the Liquid Capital’s franchise system.
“Franchisee satisfaction is a key ingredient in creating a sustainably successful franchise brand,” says Jeff Johnson, founder and CEO of the Franchise Research Institute. “Liquid Capital utilized unbiased, third-party validation through confidential franchisee surveys to obtain open, honest feedback. They are not afraid of transparency, and use the data gathered for the continued betterment of the company and the franchisee experience.”
The survey asked Liquid Capital’s franchise owners to rate their franchisor through a series of questions in categories such as overall growth potential, quality, support and communication.
Among the responses received from Liquid Capital’s franchisees:
- 93% would recommend this franchise to a prospective franchisee.
- 98% gave a positive grade to direct and effective communication with senior management.
- 98% gave a positive grade to the helpfulness of the Field Representatives
- 95% gave a positive grade to the Franchisor’s timely response to questions and minor problems.
“Liquid Capital understands that high scores from franchisees (when obtained inclusively and confidentially) are proof that they are consistently meeting or exceeding franchise owners’ expectations. These ratings provide a scientific basis for continued improvement of the support provided to franchisees,” says Johnson.
“The management of Liquid Capital believes that support and training of our principles is a key aspect for their success. This is our core competency. We are extremely gratified that our efforts has assisted our principles in becoming successful factoring professionals” Brian Birnbaum, President, Liquid Capital Corp.
The Liquid Capital franchise satisfaction results are available:
www.FranSurvey.com/LiquidCapital
About the Franchise Research Institute®:
Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey® were founded in 2002 to study and promote franchise excellence. As a full-service research firm focused on franchising, we perform franchisee satisfaction research in the U.S. and internationally. Existing franchisees (as consumers of the franchise system) can evaluate their franchise as a business opportunity. World-Class Franchise® opportunities must demonstrate that they are endorsed by their franchise owners through scientific, confidential, third-party surveys.
Current World-Class Franchise opportunities include:
Auntie Anne’s
BrightStar
Children’s Lighthouse
City Wide Maintenance
CMIT Solutions
Color Glo
ComForcare Senior Services
Comfort Keepers
Compound Profit
CruiseOne
Express Employment Professionals
Express Oil Change and Service Center
FASTSIGNS
Fibrenew
The Goddard School
The Interface Financial Group
Liquid Capital
Miracle-Ear
Money Mailer
Mosquito Squad
Pop-A-Lock
ReBath Corporation
Speedpro Imaging
Spherion Staffing
Spring-Green
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For more information contact: Kristine Graham, Project Manager, The Franchise Research Institute, 800-410-5205 or Kristine@FranchiseResearchInstitute.com.
Spring-Green Certified A World-Class Franchise
March 8th, 2012LINCOLN, Neb. (March 8, 2012) – Spring-Green has received World-Class Franchise® certification from the Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey®.
The recognition comes after an independent survey conducted by the Franchise Research Institute, in which 73.9% of all Spring-Green’s franchisees participated. The survey was designed to determine the level of franchisee satisfaction within the Spring-Green’s franchise system.
“Using confidential surveys to understand franchisee opinions is vital to building a successful franchise brand,” said Jeff Johnson, founder and CEO of the Franchise Research Institute. “Spring-Green relied upon our unbiased, third-party research to obtain honest feedback from their franchisees, in order to help maximize franchisee sales and profitability.
The survey asked Spring-Green’s franchise owners to rate their franchisor through a series of questions in categories such as overall growth potential, quality, support and communication.
Among the responses received from Spring-Green’s franchisees:
- 95% gave a positive grade to the Franchisor’s timely response to questions and minor problems.
- 90% gave a positive grade to the initial training.
- 92% gave a positive grade to initial opening support.
- 99% gave a positive grade to the helpfulness and communication between fellow franchisees.
“High scores from franchisees, when obtained confidentially, are evidence that a franchisor consistently meets or exceeds expectations. Spring-Green understands this concept and they work diligently to improve services they provide to their franchisees,” said Johnson.”
“We’re excited to once again receive this prestigious award from the Franchise Research Institute. We’re proud of the excellent relationships we have developed with our franchise owners and the results of this survey reaffirm our efforts to help our franchisees succeed. We will continue to look for new ways we can provide support for our franchise owners,” James Young, President of Spring-Green Lawn Care.
The Spring-Green franchise satisfaction results are available:
www.FranSurvey.com/SpringGreen
About the Franchise Research Institute®:
Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey® were founded in 2002 to study and promote franchise excellence. As a full-service research firm focused on franchising, we perform franchisee satisfaction research in the U.S. and internationally. Existing franchisees (as consumers of the franchise system) can evaluate their franchise as a business opportunity. World-Class Franchise® opportunities must demonstrate that they are endorsed by their franchise owners through scientific, confidential, third-party surveys.
Current World-Class Franchise opportunities include:
Auntie Anne’s
BrightStar
Children’s Lighthouse
City Wide Maintenance
CMIT Solutions
Color Glo
ComForcare Senior Services
Comfort Keepers
Compound Profit
CruiseOne
Express Employment Professionals
Express Oil Change and Service Center
FASTSIGNS
Fibrenew
The Goddard School
The Interface Financial Group
Liquid Capital
Miracle-Ear
Money Mailer
Mosquito Squad
Pop-A-Lock
ReBath Corporation
Speedpro Imaging
Spherion Staffing
Spring-Green
###
For more information contact: Kristine Graham, Project Manager, The Franchise Research Institute, 800-410-5205 or Kristine@FranchiseResearchInstitute.com.
CruiseOne Certified A World-Class Franchise
March 2nd, 2012LINCOLN, Neb. (March 2, 2012) – CruiseOne has received World-Class Franchise® certification from the Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey®.
The recognition comes after an independent survey was conducted by the Franchise Research Institute of CruiseOne’s 485 franchisees (of whom a total of 232 responded). A control sample of 200 franchisees was randomly selected for detailed study and 68.5% of this group completed to survey. The survey was designed to determine the level of franchisee satisfaction within the CruiseOne franchise system.
“Using confidential surveys to understand franchisee opinions is vital to building a successful franchise brand,” said Jeff Johnson, founder and CEO of the Franchise Research Institute. “CruiseOne relied upon our unbiased, third-party research to obtain honest feedback from their franchisees, in order to help maximize franchisee sales and profitability.”
The survey asked CruiseOne franchise owners to rate their franchisor through a series of questions in categories such as overall growth potential, quality, support and communication.
Among the responses received from CruiseOne franchisees:
- 97% gave a positive grade to the overall quality of the franchisor.
- 99% gave a positive grade to the initial training supplied by the franchisor.
- 97% gave a positive grade to the ongoing training and supplied by the franchisor.
- 100% gave a positive grade to the overall communication between home office personnel and franchisees.
“High scores from franchisees, when obtained confidentially, are evidence that a franchisor consistently meets or exceeds expectations. CruiseOne understands this concept and they work diligently to improve services they provide to their franchisees,” said Johnson.”
“At CruiseOne, we strive to provide training, communication and support that meets the high demands of our franchisees but, just as importantly, continues raising the bar within the travel industry and franchise community,” said Dwain Wall, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CruiseOne. “This type of certification is a true honor. Franchising is competitive and we believe this designation speaks volumes about our commitment to ensuring the continued success of entrepreneurs who choose to join the CruiseOne family.”
The CruiseOne franchise satisfaction results are available:
About CruiseOne:
CruiseOne, the nation’s leading home-based franchise travel agent network, was founded in 1992. The company is part of World Travel Holdings (WTH), the nation’s largest cruise retailer, and has relationships with every major cruise line and many tour operators. As a result, CruiseOne offers travel agents the highest commissions possible, while offering consumers the lowest possible pricing. CruiseOne is consistently recognized for its efforts, including being named Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Elite Travel Partner of the Year,” Royal Caribbean’s “Partner of the Year,” Celebrity Cruises’ “National Account Partner of the Year” and Carnival Cruise Line’s “Travel Partner of the Year.”
About the Franchise Research Institute®:
Franchise Research Institute® and FranSurvey® were founded in 2002 to study and promote franchise excellence. As a full-service research firm focused on franchising, we perform franchisee satisfaction research in the U.S. and internationally. Existing franchisees (as consumers of the franchise system) can evaluate their franchise as a business opportunity. World-Class Franchise® opportunities must demonstrate that they are endorsed by their franchise owners through scientific, confidential, third-party surveys.
25 World-Class Franchise opportunities for 2012:
Auntie Anne’s
BrightStar
Children’s Lighthouse
City Wide Maintenance
CMIT Solutions
Color Glo
ComForcare Senior Services
Comfort Keepers
Compound Profit
CruiseOne
Express Employment Professionals
Express Oil Change and Service Center
FASTSIGNS
Fibrenew
The Goddard School
The Interface Financial Group
Liquid Capital
Miracle-Ear
Money Mailer
Mosquito Squad
Pop-A-Lock
ReBath Corporation
Speedpro Imaging
Spherion Staffing
Spring-Green
###
For more information contact: Kristine Graham, Project Manager, The Franchise Research Institute,
800-410-5205 or Kristine@FranchiseResearchInstitute.com.
© Copyright 2012 Franchise Research Institute