Franchise Finance and Development Conference: Strategies to Adapt to Your Environment and Ultimately Succeed

Next week I am looking forward to being one of the keynote speakers at the Franchise Finance and Development Conference, which will take place May 4th to 6th at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. The conference will focus on some key differentiators and winning strategies that successful franchisees use in order to promote their businesses especially in this economy. This will be a great place for franchisors and franchisees to share strategies and tactics that are working for them as well as a great place to network with some great brains in the franchising industry.

I was invited to share the strategies that have been successful at my franchise company that other companies can use in order to keep sales up for franchisees on the local level. After working with different businesses over the course of 17 years, I have a great understanding about the importance of adapting business strategies to fit with the current environment and climate of the time. This will be the main focus of my discussion at the conference in order to share as much helpful advice and strategies as possible.

I admit that 2009 has been one of the toughest years for franchisees with stock market investments slashed in half and the ability to get financing seemingly impossible, but I realize that the success of any business relies on strategies that are progressive, out-of-the-box and forward-thinking. The only way to succeed is to adapt and change with the times, especially in a stormy economy. Companies unwilling to become progressive and find new and unique ways to reach potential franchisees and customers, will inevitably be left in the dust.

One adaptation we made to our franchise system is we designed a program to open up new innovative opportunities for our franchisees so that they can be successful during this rough time. We created an On-Location Franchise as a lower cost avenue for people to enter our model of business. This has opened up an entire new channel for entrepreneurs who can feel confident that even in with this economic instability, starting your own business can be affordable and afford someone the opportunity to spring board to our retail model should they choose to. With the Events Franchise, potential franchisees can have entrepreneurship for lesser cost and unlimited opportunity.

Many of our recent franchisees have opened first with a On-Location Events Franchise, which allows  franchisees to work from their own home in the beginning. This model has proven extremely successful and sets our franchisees up for success all while helping them become familiar with our company so that one day they could move easily into opening their own retail location. This is exactly what the Event Franchise concept has done for some of our franchisees.

Another issue I will be speaking about is how we are using social media as one of our main strategies to make a connection which leads to a strong ROI. While it does take time to develop your social networking sites and make sure you are actively participating in the conversation with consumers and potential franchisees, this method does pay off. We have made sure to become a part of the conversation and while franchise expo’s and other traditional franchisee finding methods are a starting to be a way of the past, this is the way of the future.

These adaptations have helped us become one of the innovators of our industry and be relevant and exciting for consumers. I hope that attendees at the conference that hear my story take away that evolving and progressing forward is key for any company’s survival. Will you be progressive or be left in the dust?

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