Author: Paul Segreto

CEOs & Social Media – There’s Still a Disconnect for Some

January 11, 2014January 11, 2014 · 1 Comment ·

I’ve recently posted in the Franchise Executives group on LinkedIn with the discussion question, “Why are CEOs and other top executives [still] not buying in to Social Media.” I’ve included a few of the responses below. Please share your thoughts and perspective as well…

Social media is certainly a primary means of communication that has quickly become a fundamental requirement to businesses just like the telephone, the website, or email. You could choose not to use any of those communication methods too, but it would be a brave person that tries to succeed without them. As a forward-thinking, open minded executive, how can you embrace social media in all of its glory to enhance your brand perception and be more effective in your leadership role?

“Social media is a good CRM tool for customers that are on it. Like any marketing tool it’s also demographic specific on the users. Also there’s the negative side of Social Media when a company cannot control it. Remember the Australian Subway franchise incident when a customer measured and posted a foot long sandwich on their Facebook page which wasn’t exactly a 12 inches long?”

“Sounds like I am preaching to the choir here, but here is my thought. We work with a few large franchisors. The difficulty they run into with social business generally falls into two distinct categories. 1. Brand protection. and 2. Return on investment. Things have changed, and continue to change every day as it relates to social. The measurement seen as success by a community manager vs. a CEO are vastly different. While likes and followers can, at times be a legitimate key performance indicator, the “C-Suite” is saying “show me the money” and “protect our brand identity”. There are options, and they get better everyday. The things we are able to deliver to our franchise clients today vs. 2 years ago would have been unthinkable. We can now control the brand pages on Facebook from one central location for an unlimited number of Facebook pages. We can change images, push offers to all pages at once, create and deploy tabs, etc. This removes the risk of brand sabotage by well meaning franchisees, yet still allows them to have a local Facebook presence. It took a lot of time and resource to develop, but we couldn’t have even imagined doing it two years ago. Funny thing is, I came to this exact group and asked in an open forum if there was anyone that would like to take a look and give feedback. Do you know how many replies I got? 0. Yep, ZERO. See, most folks don’t get it, or don’t yet understand the value. Even those who are commenting in this thread. 🙂 In reference to ROI – Another area with drastic change. The analytics technology is available now to measure all the way from a specific Tweet, Facebook, or LinkedIn post, clear to the web call to action. This shows a specific and clear path to purchase, or action, aka, a proven result. This is what the “C-Suite” wants to see. We do this every day. Its not magic, it is hard work and using the right approach. And yes, content wins and will continue to. But – Context trumps content all day long.”

“In addition to all the offers you can put to your audience we now offer a product that enables our Franchisees to push instant feedback back to the owner and the sites so that the people who really love the franchisee can share that more readily. This advocacy is a far more compelling tribute to the hard work franchisees offer to keep their clients happy! If you have a veracious appetite for growth you can get it in these channels.”

“CEO’s, other than the disruptors, like their position and want to protect their status. New ideas especially as it pertains to the increasing accelerating world of social media are threatening to those who don’t embrace and encourage leadership @ all levels within the organization. Top down is “OLD School.” Embracing existing media vehicles is “OLD School.” By the time I complete this comment 10 new social media ideas will have been hatched somewhere in the world, and it doesn’t have to be Silicon Valley!”

True Social Media ROI – Relationship & Community Building

December 10, 2013December 11, 2013 ·

Certainly, return-on-investment (ROI) is important but too many miss the boat by trying to make social media a line-item on their financials. First, social media is not advertising. So to think there will be a definitive ROI based entirely upon revenue generated against dollars invested is absolutely off-base.

One needs to look at social media as the glue that can hold several key functions of the business together such as bringing the customer experience to marketing complete with sharing operations role in making the experience positively memorable, and letting the end-user know about its objectives. Complicated? No, but not without proper planning and a long-term vision. Further, social media is vehicle that transports information from one function to another – it’s a conduit.

Social media is the communications tool that should lend itself to truth, trust and transparency in establishing or strengthening the business relationship. Last, social media is the tool that enables a brand or business to earn the right to “ask” for business from customers, clients and investors alike as it provides the platform for them to virtually see how your business operates, how it communicates and how it is perceived. The key here is in establishing community. The necessary steps are relatively simple to follow… Share, Interact, Engage and then, only then have you earned the right for a Call-to-Action. Yes, that’s when the right has been earned.

It does take training for social media to be utilized effectively at any level. But even more so at the local level as franchisees typically cannot afford the luxury of adding human resources to handle their social media. So, training and guidance is paramount. As is open communication and interaction between franchisor and franchisee in managing and monitoring social media. Yes, working together with common goals and objectives, as should always be the case in the franchise relationship. This is just another component of what I believe should be the everyday goal of working towards a truly interdependent relationship. The same should be said about all relationships in a business [and franchise] environment – franchisor/franchisee, employer/employee, business/customer, etc… Yes, it should be the norm, and not the exception.

Franchising Supports Small Business Saturday

November 30, 2013November 30, 2013 · 4 Comments ·

Yes, progress is being made and franchising is being recognized more and more by American Express in their Small Business Saturday efforts. When launched in 2010, franchises were not included in Small Business Saturday, being excluded with a specific clause in Small Business Saturday literature to merchants interested in participating in the new program. I was definitely surprised and although we still have a way to go I’m happy to say the past two years have seen franchises included in the list participating businesses. And that is great!

When I first realized franchising had been excluded I was quite surprised. Sure, as many are aware, I did flood the social media space with several blog posts about franchising being excluded. No need to regurgitate that any further and I’m not including links to those posts here as American Express did respond, and in a very positive way. They truly wanted to learn more about franchising and its role in small business today and I was more than willing to help. You see, despite the role American Express plays in business today and despite the fact that AMEX executives are very well-educated and understand business, they had huge misperceptions about franchising. Several of the AMEX executives I met with actually thought all franchises were just like McDonald’s – big and powerful! They also incorrectly thought McDonald’s and other [large] franchisors paid for all advertising on behalf of its franchisees. Thus, they excluded franchising, thinking all along that all franchisees had it made in the shade over independent small business owners.

Well, I was happy to share many statistics about franchising and the fact that many franchisees are the same Mom & Pop operators that built their businesses on Main Street USA. Just like many independent small business owners, they have invested their life savings in pursuit of the American Dream. And just like small business owners everywhere, they continue to fight off big box retailers and department stores alike for a slice of every dollars expended by today’s consumer.

Fortunately, American Express listened, and I was quite impressed. Unfortunately, and to my dismay things did not move along as quickly as I would have liked and although progress was made and franchising was included, but limited in the subsequent years since 2010, I was extremely anxious and wanted full inclusion for franchising, and I wanted it now! What I was missing and fully realize now, thanks in part to Tom Epstein, CEO at Franchise Payments Network, is that American Express, albeit a huge organization has a difficult time making abrupt changes to programs as there are many considerations… many financial ones that I had not even considered such as the sheer cost of marketing materials, just to name one of many.

In any event, I was excited to see Tom contribute to the effort of getting franchising more involved in Small Business Saturday. He has spent a great deal of time learning as much as he could from his various contacts at American Express. I believe the efforts are paying off and will continue to do so year after year. Others within the franchise community, including the International Franchise Association have contributed as well, and I applaud their efforts. Speaking of the IFA, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for all they do in promoting franchising as without those ongoing efforts we’d truly be dead in the water. You see, just as American Express promotes “Membership has its Privileges” so, does membership in the IFA.

So, on this Small Business Saturday, let’s pull out those AMEX cards, whether they be green, gold, platinum, blue, plum or black and spend away at small businesses across our great nation. Happy shopping!

Value-added Discussions – A Linkedin Best Practice

October 24, 2013November 9, 2013 · 1 Comment ·

In a recent discussion within the LinkedIn Franchise Executives group a question was asked about how best to present products and services to group members. The question stemmed from a revision in group rules put in place to keep the group focused on its objectives of exchanging ideas, sharing information, and promoting best practices within franchising. By attempting to eliminate the clutter of self-promotion, MLM opportunities, and even franchise opportunities, revising the rules was seen as the most practical way to retain group members and increase participation.

Here’s the question and my response regarding value-added discussions…

Question: “Outlining some guidelines is an excellent way to embark and start bringing a format or platform to enhance value to the group, congratulations on your initiative.

Please tell us at what point information and value added discussions should be introduced to the group in your mind. I think anyone here is interested in gaining value and as well, sharing value, but it all sooner or later leads to developing new business, directly or indirectly, that is mutually beneficial. There is a fine line between “advertorials” and “value exchanges”. Are you able to define further what format, discussion or response you think would serve the reader and the writer (group members) best? ”

Answer: “I believe value-added discussions can be introduced at anytime. However, I do believe it’s a social networking best practice to “earn the right” to do so by getting to know group members, participate in group discussions, and contribute to the same.

Then, based upon a perceived group or industry need, I suggest initiating a discussion about that need (or challenge / issue). Certainly, one can lead into presenting within the discussion details of their product and how it could satsify the need, address the challenge or resolve the issue. The key is not to immediately shove the product or service down members’ throats.

I believe what is often overlooked or ignored, is that group members, especially ones being sold to, have knowledge about franchising, are aware of the needs, challenges and issues the industry is facing, and may actually be aware of the companies providing services and products in the area of concern. What they may not be aware of is the person presenting a company’s products and services. And, people buy from people, right?

So, I recommend anyone with the objective of selling products and services be a person first, by developing relationships with group members. Then, be perceived as an expert in your field by sharing knowledge and experience through participation. I believe sales should follow…

As an added note, I believe the same process works within other social media including Facebook and Twitter, with platform appropriate modifications to plan.”

This post originally published January 2011.

Personal Branding and the Power of “YOU”

February 1, 2013February 2, 2013 ·

This is the final post in a week-long recap of my 2012 interview with Renee Bailey of Franchise Direct. The title of the post in Franchise Direct was “Marketing, Media and Franchising – An Interview with Paul Segreto”. The full interview may be read HERE. But if you’ve been reading along this week, the following represents my final answer along with some parting advice for prospective franchisees.

In August of 2011, HubSpot explored why every franchisee needs their own website (story link: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/bid/22027/). Does this relate to your philosophy that individual brands enhance the overall franchise system?

Yes. I don’t think that it can be argued that a franchise organization with franchisees with strong personal branding wouldn’t be significantly stronger than a system with franchisees that just stand behind the counter.

Now, I’m not degrading the efforts of franchisees that strive for 100% customer satisfaction and are willing to put in long hours to ensure the same. But with a strong personal brand that reaches into the local community, franchisees would be more successful driving the business. I refer to this as “GOYA marketing” – Get Off Your Ass marketing. Here’s the great part of GOYA marketing… in today’s digital world, much of the personal branding can be done online!

Are there any additional insights you would like to share with prospective franchisees?

It doesn’t matter what your level of investment, or visibility and strength of the brand, the key to your success is YOU! Yes, I am a firm believer in location, location, location, and I always stress not to fall so in love with a brand that you accept a secondary location because that is a recipe for failure. But as important is for me to stress: You, you, you.

Until next time, this is Paul Segreto, wishing you the best, the very best, in this great thing we call franchising!

The New Media Effect on Franchise Sales & the Franchise Relationship

January 31, 2013February 1, 2013 ·

This is third post of this week based upon my recent interview with Renee Bailey at Franchise Direct. In this part of the interview our focus turned to what many within franchising look for day in and day out… the silver bullet to increase franchise sales. When social media became more and more popular, many franchisors wanted to use social media to attract franchise candidates. Many thought, incorrectly that social media was a form of advertising. My response to the first question below sheds a different light on social media in the franchise sales process.

In the second question the focus was media’s affect on the franchise relationship. My answer was short, but to the point.

Finally, in the last question below we discussed a new trend in media – Social Mobile Local or SoMoLo.

How are franchisors utilizing social media to connect with prospective franchisees throughout the prospecting process?

Great question because many are not connecting with prospective franchisees. Social media is not the silver bullet many want and expect to make the sales process easier, or even to generate leads on its own.

Instead, social media for franchise development should be looked at as a vital complementing component in the traditional lead generation process. That means it should provide a support mechanism that candidates can be directed to and that candidates can find on their own in their own due diligence. Today’s candidates are also more diligent and cautious than ever before. Social media allows them to virtually stand next to a brand and experience how that brand interacts with its customers, franchisees, etc.

All that being said, social media can be utilized in the franchise development process as a way to drive candidates to a specific event like a webinar, where the concept can be explained in detail. The key here is that one-size-fits-all strategies with social media do not work effectively.

One more thing: it’s critical to ask questions at the onset of utilizing social media related to expectations and desired results. This is crucial in evaluating whether or not the program worked. As important as click-thru’s, insights, impressions, etc. are in analyzing the process and program itself, looking at desired results against actual results is really the true Social Media P&L.

Have new media options available altered the franchisor-franchisee relationship?

Of course, but they don’t need to. New media is all about truth, trust and transparency. Really, isn’t that what the franchise relationship should be built upon?

New media is a wonderful way of keeping in communications at all times. Embrace and adapt is what I typically advise. It’s important to receive proper training to fully understand new media and all its capabilities and features.

How does a personal brand enhance the overall brand of a franchise system?

The new trend in digital marketing, or better stated, in attracting today’s consumer is referred to as SoMoLo, or Social Mobile Local.

Social, we’ve touched upon above.
Mobile is just the way consumers are choosing to access and search information, and communicate.
Local, well, that’s all about the “personal side” of the business transaction.

People want to do business with people. They buy from people. Sure, the brand may get them in the door, but it’s the person representing the brand that they want to business with. So, as consumers technologically advance, it’s not uncommon for them to check out the local franchisee’s Facebook page or LinkedIn profile, perform a Google search of the franchisee, etc. What they hope to find is a person of experience and integrity. [Even] the banking industry is leaning towards utilizing a social reputation score for business loan applicants that will rival the credit score.

Tomorrow, in the last post in this series we’ll wrap up the discussion with a questions about local websites and a word of advice for prospective franchisees.

Franchise Social Media Basics – What a Great E-IDEA!

January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 ·

This is the second post based upon my recent interview with Renee Bailey at Franchise Direct. As the interview progressed, Renee and I discussed challenges franchisors face integrating new types of media and how franchisors and franchisees alike could better utilize mediums at their disposal.

What are some challenges franchises are facing concerning integrating new types of media?

The biggest challenge franchises face with new media is a lack of understanding that like anything else, requires planning. Many are not taking the time to:

develop and explore the various media available
identify their targets along with identifying where they congregate and communicate online
develop a strategy based upon the targets (which may actually require sub-strategies for each target and their online communities)
execute the plan and all that goes into it, including dedication of financial AND human resources in managing and monitoring activity, and of course
analyze and quantify results in order to continue moving forward or adjusting as necessary

Yes, that’s a lot to grasp but it is essential to developing an effective program utilizing new media. Basically, what I’ve described is e-IDEA, which is something we utilize religiously when working with franchise clients – Explore, Identify, Develop, Execute, and Analyze. It really is a great, simple guide to follow.

How do you feel franchisors and franchisees can better utilize the mediums at their disposal?

By working together, as many franchisees essentially “got there first,” meaning they were posting within social media in its early stages. It’s important to utilize their efforts as a foundation on which to build a uniform social media or new media program.

Franchisors should not take a rigid approach with respect to messaging and social involvement. New media is all about interaction and engagement, and as such, requires a “personal” touch at the local level. Of course, there needs to be guidelines and certain policies to protect the brand. But that is more common sense than anything.

Also, I believe franchises shouldn’t get all caught up in just driving LIKES. It’s more important to create a community of sharing and engagement. I much prefer seeing a Facebook with lower number of LIKES but a high number of post views. That tells me that people are coming back day after day after day to see what is on the page. Whereas just LIKING a page, they may never return. What good does that do?

Tomorrow we’ll turn our attention to how franchisors are utilizing social media to attract prospective franchisees and also, Social Mobile Local – more affectionately known as, SoMoLo!

Note: Photo credit to 1851 Magazine

Franchising Not [Completely] Respected by American Express!

November 24, 2012November 24, 2012 · 3 Comments ·

Yes, today is Small Business Saturday and I urge you to support local business everywhere. That being said, please remember that franchises are small businesses as well, and are locally owned and operated. Unfortunately, despite efforts to educate American Express about franchising, they still found it necessary to place limitations on franchising’s involvement by excluding franchises with over 100 locations.

I’m concerned about the local franchisees of BrightStar Care, Rita’s Italian Ice, Red Mango, Nothing Bundt Cakes or of the many other franchise brands whose franchisees invested their hard earned money and savings to develop a business in their local area, just like the Mom & Pop proprietors have done. A small business is a small business. Period.

Franchising is very much small business and AMEX would certainly have a different opinion if all franchises stopped taking the American Express Card! Yes, please visit and support local businesses, including franchise locations, but as a true sign of support for ALL small business owners, about your American Express Card, please do leave home without it!

And, it’s not like American Express wasn’t made aware of franchising’s role in small business.

Last year I wrote numerous articles and actually had multiple phone calls with senior executives at AMEX. All appeared to be on track for including franchising in Small Business Saturdays. I even followed up with phone calls mid-summer to make certain last year’s debacle wasn’t repeated. I was assured all was in order, that they did their research and yes, franchising would be well-represented in this year’s Small Business Saturday event. Well, shame on me for following up, but not following through. You can be assured that will not happen again.

Here are links to last year’s articles which I will build upon for 2013…

Franchising Excluded from AMEX Small Business Saturday Events

Franchises Are Not Small Business?

Franchises Excluded From Small Business Saturday – AMEX Responds!

Was Franchising Slapped in the Face by American Express by Accident?

AMEX Reassessing Policies for Small Business Saturday

Franchisee Disaster Recovery Kit

November 2, 2012 · 1 Comment ·

Yesterday, I heard from Franchise Relationship Expert, Greg Nathan, as he reached out to me to help him share information to assist franchisors and franchisees affected by Hurricane Sandy. Greg wrote, “In 2011 Australia and New Zealand were hit by unprecedented floods, earthquakes and fires. To assist franchisors provide relevant and useful business and personal support for their franchisees we developed a Franchisee Disaster Recovery Kit. Franchisors told us they found the kit enormously helpful. Given recent events on the USA East Coast we would like to make the Kit available to franchisors in the USA.”

Here’s the information Greg would like to share…

Stepping Up In Times Of Need

One of a franchisors most important responsibilities is to deliver useful and relevant support to their franchisees. Great franchisors understand that in difficult times they need to be out there, standing by their franchisees and their families.

Similarly in times of trouble, franchise systems with healthy cultures will quickly mobilize themselves into action with franchisees providing practical and moral support to their colleagues.

With any crisis, it is only natural that franchisors and franchisees will want to reach out to people who have suffered loss or trauma. With this in mind we have put together this Franchisee Disaster Recovery Kit, in downloadable PDF format, to assist franchisors and others wanting to help franchisees and families who have been affected.

Read more here or go right to the Disaster Recovery Kit below…

Click Here to download Disaster Recovery Kit PDF

Well, Greg, it’s not only my pleasure to help you share this great information, but it’s my honor to know someone as caring as you. It’s no wonder that you and your organization, Franchise Relationship Institute are true leaders in understanding and strengthening franchise relationships. It all does come down to caring. Thank you for doing so!

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Author: Paul Segreto

Franchising Supports Small Business Saturday

Franchising Not [Completely] Respected by American Express!

Franchisee Disaster Recovery Kit

Stepping Up In Times Of Need