Using video in franchisee recruitment is becoming more and more essential. A multitude of recent research has recorded that in our ever-changing digital world, the average human attention span is now at eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000. To put that in perspective, a goldfish’s attention span clocks in at nine seconds. So if you’re sharing content on your website and social media, you need to be using what we call “snackable” information and for this video is perfect.
Watch our #CocoQuickTip on how to create effective videos to use in your marketing.
If you have any questions you would like answered in a #CocoQuickTip video tweet them to @coconut_creativ using the hashtag #CocoQuickTip
As you may already know, our Founding Director Sarah Carlile, is taking a short step away from Coconut Creatives to have her second baby. From April onwards, Sarah will be putting her feet up and waiting for baby to arrive in early May. However, the Coconuts are sure she won’t be disappearing completely as Sarah has never been known to fully sit back and relax! Paul Clegg will be stepping up as Managing Director and taking the reins at Coconut Creatives.
As the former Franchise Recruitment Manager at Mac Tools, Paul has a great understanding and knowledge of the franchise industry and really knows what makes franchisees and franchisors tick. Having joined the team last summer, Paul has embraced the Coconut Creatives ethos and takes care of the client management and keeping the team motivated and organised!
Paul will be aided in his duties by two more Directors, Adam Knight and Adam Lovelock, as well as the usual Coconut team made up of Rebecca, Helen, Tania, Amy and Rachel who help to take care of the client work and keep the Coconut Creatives cogs turning!
“I’m happy to be leaving the day to day management and running of Coconut Creatives in Paul’s hands. I will be taking a short space of time away from the business but I will still be working away behind the scenes! The Coconuts know that they can call on me anytime. With the business in Paul’s capable hands, our clients both present and future can be assured that there will be no disruption from the Coconut service in my absence. The team are excited about the changes being made and we’re stronger than ever. Every member of our team has something different to bring to Coconut Creatives and Paul will be keeping them all in order and making sure we continue to provide our outstanding service,” explains Sarah.
It’s business as usual at Coconut Creatives and they will be continuing to work hard to make sure that each and every client receives the very best service and continues to recruit those all-important franchisees.
“It’s been an exciting couple of months at Coconut Creatives and I’m really looking forward to managing the team on a daily basis. They’re great to work with and have adapted really well to the change of directorship! They accepted me straight away as part of the team and are always receptive and responsive to new ideas. It’s great to see the way Coconut is evolving whilst still maintaining the core services and values. I hope to keep these as well as bringing my own ideas to the table,” adds Paul Clegg.
The first Coconut Qualified Professional Franchise (QFP) workshops of the year have got off to a roaring success. Our first QFP workshops of the year ‘Speed up Your Network Growth’ and ‘How to Motivate your Franchisees’ provided franchisors, both large and small, with skills and knowledge to take away and implement within their businesses straight away.
“Every time we hold a workshop, it’s great to see so many people in the room who are engaged and taking in the advice that we’re giving. We work hard to make sure the workshops run smoothly and that the content is interesting and valuable to everyone there. There was such great feedback at this workshop from the franchisors who attended and we’re so pleased that our content also helps even more people become qualified in the franchise arena,” explains Paul Clegg, Managing Director at Coconut Creatives.
Since 2010 we’ve had over 200 franchise brands from the franchise industry benefiting from our practical workshop programme to fine tune their franchise recruitment and marketing performance. Our workshops have grown year on year and we’re so proud that they’re now accredited by the bfa. Franchisors take away such valuable information and we provide relevant examples and case studies.
Here’s what a few of our attendees had to say:
“Great day with plenty of hints and tips to take back and start implementing. I loved the guest speaker and it was invaluable to share ideas with sector colleagues,” Karen Atkinson, Cafe2U.
“Fabulous, one of the best and most relevant courses I’ve attended for this stage of our franchise development,” Lisa Curteis, Rosemary Bookkeeping.
“It has been the most inspiring, relevant workshop and I’ve been left with so much that will help me to make improvements – something from every part of the day. The workshop content delivered above and beyond my expectations,” Amanda Wigzell, Little Squigglers.
“I have been wowed into a new world of marketing my business in a clear way and in manageable chunks,” Clare Carrick, Back in Motion.
“This course gave me the tools and the confidence to take my business further and feel ‘I can do this!’,” Rosie Mead, Musica.
Using your network of existing franchisees for recruitment marketing is one of the best and most effective ways for you to continue building your franchise network, explains Sarah Carlile, Founding Director of Coconut Creatives.
Referrals from existing franchisees have proven to be one of the most successful ways to generate new leads and recruit new, successful franchisees. Referral candidates are more likely to be seriously interested in a franchise opportunity because they have seen first-hand, the benefits of owning a franchise because they are a customer, friend or family of an existing franchisee.
To increase your chances of gaining referrals it is important to make sure that your existing franchisees are satisfied with the training, support and service you provide to them. Referrals are much better leads because people feel more comfortable with investing a large amount of money into something that has been recommended to them by someone they know and trust. Referrals are warm leads because there has already been a certain degree of interest, comfort and credibility established between you.
Engaging your franchise network
Implementing a formal referral system to reward your franchisees who recommend your franchise is a very worthwhile activity but do spend some time explaining this system to your franchise network otherwise you will only get a few ad hoc referrals. Let them know how beneficial a referral system is to the franchise network as a whole. Expansion provides the whole network with greater brand recognition and greater market share for individual franchisees. When individuals within the franchise network are productive, everyone benefits.
Your best-performing franchisees are most likely to bring in the highest quality leads. Referral candidates often share the same values, skills and experience as the franchisee that referred them. The basis for most referrals is often not an incentive provided by you but pride in their brand and joy in sharing their success story with friends and family.
Understanding top performers’ characteristics
Look at your top performing franchisees and identify characteristics or interests that they have in common in order to narrow down your target market for franchise recruitment. You can then tailor suitable messages and use relevant media to target similar people and generate new prospects. When asking existing franchisees for referrals, let them know the type of person you are looking for. For example, if you find that many of your top performing franchisees once took a managerial position within a service industry and enjoyed team sports, ask your franchisees to talk to colleagues within their business networks who share those characteristics.
Supporting events
Another way to use your franchise network for recruitment purposes is to take existing franchisees with you to exhibitions and events. This has a two-pronged effect; it will show prospects that you value your franchisees, their opinions and input into the franchise system and it also gives prospects the opportunity to talk directly to someone who actually has been through the franchise buying process.
Building trust
These activities are all trust-building exercises during the franchise recruitment process but franchisors can also build this in to all of their franchise recruitment collateral – online and print. Keep an up-to-date bank of testimonials from your franchise network to use in your collateral. Create franchisee case studies so that you can drip feed these throughout the recruitment process – always providing a realistic view of your franchise network, how it performs financially and how the culture of the business can benefit the prospect.
Ultimately, using your franchise network as your brand advocates will strengthen your position as a reliable franchisor and, in turn, support your franchise recruitment targets.
