Coconut Creatives client, Spettro, deal with insurance claims from home owners for a range of things such as fires, theafts, storm or water damage. It is not uncommon for the nature of the claims to adjust according to the seasons:

In 2005 Surrey recorded 2,216 fires with 678 starting in dwellings and 99 starting in private garages and sheds (1).  Mr Salter in Croydon knows only too well the danger of fires started in garden sheds after an enjoyable BBQ turned into a house-warming!

Mr Salter had a family BBQ last summer, when he finished for the evening he placed the used charcoal in his garden shed. Several hours later the shed was alight and as the flames grew higher they set fire to a nearby tree which, in turn, set fire to the fascia board on the end elevation of the house. Mr Salter explains, “The fire was fanned by the night breeze and spread quickly across the roof before we noticed what was happening.”

The fire was eventually put out by attending fire fighters who used several thousand gallons of water which then caused substantial damage to the rest of the house. Local company Spettro were called in the next morning to assess the damage and spent 3 months returning the property to its original state. “After such a shock, we were so pleased to have someone sort out the insurance claims paperwork and get on with fixing the house straight away!”

Kevin England, one of the Spettro directors, offers a few tips on BBQ safety:

1)    Avoid setting up the BBQ in draughty locations and keep away from flammable materials such as wooden fences and gazebos;
2)    Keep children, pets and guests away from the BBQ – even once the BBQ is over it stays hot for a long time;
3)    Be prepared - have a fire blanket and water close to hand;
4)    Don’t mix raw meats and make sure everything is completely cooked through to avoid food poisoning – fire isn’t the only danger at a BBQ.
5)    Don’t be caught drunk in charge of a BBQ - save your tipple until after the feast!
6)    Don’t put your BBQ away until it is completely cold – dampen embers with water.

For more information and stories about Spettro visit www.spettro.net

It seems that burglars are getting more creative in Mansfield when trying to access homes. Coconut Creatives client, Spettro, who deal with buildings insurance claims for home owners had an interesting enquiry from one home owner with an almost  comical problem.
The burglar climbed onto the roof of a house, removed some loose tiles and slipped through the hole to see what he could find!

Graham Calladine, who owns the local franchise of Spettro, was asked to repair the damage to the roof and, after getting over the shock of seeing such an odd break-in, suggests a few ways of keeping your home secure.
1) Keeping your house in good repair is a great start. If an opportunist burglar can see an easy way to enter your home through a rotten window frame then all the better!

2) Don’t forget to close your upstairs windows as well as the downstairs ones – there are several reasons for the name ‘cat burglar’!

3) Always use good quality locks on doors and windows - they are often the first line of defence and are mandatory with some insurance companies.

4) If you are going away on holiday then ask a neighbour to pop in and pick up your post from the mat – post piling up is a clear giveaway that your house is vacant.

5) Park your car close up to your garage door – garage burglaries are extremely common as people store so many valuables in there as space is at a premium in the house.

6) Get your house alarm serviced regularly. Many people have alarms but don’t use them because they are worried about them going off and annoying the neighbours – if you look after your alarm it will look after you!

For more information and stories about Spettro visit www.spettro.net

Coconut Creatives director, Sarah Dyer is a regular contributor to the national franchise magazine, Franchisor News.

The magazine contains a whole range of useful information from franchising overseas to ensuring your have a solid franchise agreement, as well as news and views from throughout the franchise industry.

Sarah’s contribution this issue looks at the topical concern of using marketing consumer data legally, protecting your intellectual property and brand and includes some useful tips and contacts.

To view the magazine online visit www.franchisornews.co.uk

Due to the current economic climate, fewer home owners are now moving house. They either can’t afford to move or maybe can’t secure a new mortgage and this has put pressure on families that need to move to gain more living space. These people are now seeking an alternative to improve on space and garage conversions are becoming increasingly popular.

Coconut Creatives started working with The Garage Conversion Company a few months ago to boost their marketing and PR campaigns with an objective to get more franchisees onboard to meet the demand in specific locations throughout the UK.

Being the UK’s number one specialist for designing and converting garages into bedrooms, play rooms, kitchens and a variety of other uses, The Garage Conversion Company now receive over 120 enquiries a week making a total of 6,240 enquiries a year, and this is rising weekly.

Whether a home needs adapting for a larger family, home office, has just been bought or sold, its owner is often interested in maximising on space and adding value to their property. Garage conversions provide an increasingly popular solution in a growing industry.

“It is a logical solution,” explains Phil Bateman, Managing Director of The Garage Conversion Company. “Many people just can’t afford to move house but need extra space. By converting their garage, they gain a room that they can use for a whole range of purposes and add value to their property.”

Due to this increase in demand for their services, The Garage Conversion Company is looking to grow their franchise network so that they can fulfil the ever increasing demand UK-wide.

Individuals or existing small businesses with experience or an interest in building are ideal candidates for a Garage Conversion Company franchise. “Ideal individuals come from a variety of backgrounds but all have good people handling skills, are motivated and ready to succeed,” says Phil.

The franchise costs £23,995 with huge earning potential. “Some of franchisees are turning over £100k a month. So many people are realising that this business is well worth the investment and that this investment can be returned quickly,” continues Phil.

The franchise industry in the UK is now worth over £13 billion. This is because many people now choose to work for themselves and prefer to reduce the risk of failure by starting their business as a franchise which offers proven systems and an established brand. The Garage Conversion Company offer an extensive training program which provides all the necessary skills to operate successfully. Their team of in-house experts will provide training in all aspects of the franchise with ongoing support in the field after initial training has been completed.

With an increase in redundancies predicted over the next year and a reduction in people moving house, this business presents a win/ win opportunity for both the home owner needing more space and the individual looking for a profitable new career path where they can be their own boss. Coconut Creatives is very excited to be working with such a dynamic, friendly company that offers a superb service at an affordable price.

Phil Bateman, Managing Director for The Garage Conversion Company

One of the latest companies to benefit from Coconut Creatives marketing services is The Satellite Shop. Owner, Phil Millington was looking for help in launching his franchise package which responds directly to some key growth areas in the UK.

The Satellite Shop has satisfied many requests over the last year from families that wish to view their home TV channels in the UK.

It is possible to receive hundreds of channels from different satellites using a dish and receiver. The demand for this service had grown considerably over the past few years with the expansion of the EU and more foreigners in the UK wanting to view their home TV channels.

As well as offering dish and receiver products, the Satellite Shop also specialises in home entertainment systems, plasma TV’s, DVD’s, Sky and freeview. They also offer a personal service to customers including a home visit to view the area lounge and recommend electrical and home entertainment systems that fit their space, family and budget.

The Satellite Shop franchise is available throughout the UK with additional demand identified in particular locations. At a cost of just over £40k this is a fabulous opportunity to be your own boss and build a great reputation in your own area.

By the time you start your franchise you will be confident in all aspects of the business and if you have any questions, you will be able to pick up the phone and speak to someone at their head office.

Sarah Dyer at Coconut Creatives launched The Satellite Shop last week and within 4 days Phil had received 26 quality enquiries for the franchise. “I am pleased with the initial launch,” comments Sarah. “We have a range of promotional activities planned for The Satellite Shop over the next few months and I am especially excited to see how they develop.”

The Satellite Shop is also working with Mike Gratwick from Franchise Your Business. Mike has been developing the franchise package alongside Phil for the last year.

For more information about the Satellite Shop franchise opportunity email phil@satshop.co.uk

Phil Millington, Managing Director of The Satellite Shop

You don’t have to allocate an enormous budget to get good results and recruit franchisees. But you do have to be clever and plan ahead, says marketing and PR specialist Sarah Dyer from Coconut Creatives.

This is the most ideal time of year to start planning for the year ahead to take advantage of the peaks of the franchise industry. Below, I will briefly look at the main aspects of creating a campaign that maximises budget, measures return on investment and can create the most benefit. In the next few issues of the Select Your Franchise newsletter, I will go into more detail on each aspect.

Planning, planning and more planning
We can’t state enough how important it is to plan your campaigns in advance. Many magazines will offer an early booking or series discount with good free editorial space to those franchisors that can produce well written case studies or interesting, fresh stories. It is often the same for online advertising with deals of booking so many months and getting some free.

It is a well known fact that advertising is best done over a long period of time whether this is on or off line. It builds your brand in the public domain and exposes your key messages to your target audience who will find it increasingly harder to ignore you when they have seen you for the 10th time!

In the franchise industry we have magazines such as Making Money, What Franchise or Business Franchise which are most effective if used more than once. Yet be realistic about this: whether you have £2k or £10k to spend over the year on magazine advertising, then spread it out across several issues to gain regular exposure and always discuss editorial opportunities.

We feel that it is better to have an increased number of slightly smaller adverts with negotiated free editorial space booked in advance, than fewer larger adverts booked at late notice.

Measure your return on investment
A simple spreadsheet is better than nothing when measuring the return on your investment. You can calculate this in several ways. To calculate the worth of free editorial space achieved over any period, it is best to look at the space that you have achieved and work out how much that same space would have cost you if it were paid for advertising space.

Ongoing market research
Again, this doesn’t have to be made into a complicated procedure. We recommend speaking to 5 existing franchisees, 5 that went to interview stage and 5 that were just spoken to on the phone and received information. Ask them all where they looked for information about franchising, how they found your franchise and most importantly ALL the places that they found your franchise that influenced them. They may have finally enquired through your own website and therefore be labelled a ‘website enquiry’ but what you should be interested in is how they found your website. Did they read an article in a magazine? Did they visit an exhibition and collect some literature? Did they read about you online?

If you can continually refine the combination of marketing and communication channels that are used for your franchise recruitment campaign then you will become more and more successful.

Don’t forget…
·    Plan your annual franchise recruitment cycle in advance
·    Book any advertising in advance to make the most of early space and series discounts
·    Offer good quality case studies which are current and interesting
·    Track the return on your investment using a simple spreadsheet or system that you are comfortable with (something is better than nothing)
·    Always, always ask prospects how they found out about you

Overall, plan ahead to make sure your business doesn’t get left behind…

Coconut Creatives Director Chris Cook has just returned (by train!) after cycling to Le Mans from Somerset in just 48hrs. The 232 miles of cycling is part of a training programme for a charity off-road mountain bike ride in the summer.

The ride was conceived by Chris’s friend Andy Stobart (PR at Bridgestone). Andy and Chris left Somerset, with pace man James Bowler, at 12.30 last Thursday. After a brief photo-shoot at J Day Engineering the 3 headed for Shaftesbury and then on to Salisbury along pretty country roads.

With a healthy tail wind and fresh legs the pace was rapid with a top speed of 50mph recorded after one descent. James departed in Salisbury and the 2 pedalled on to Portsmouth stopping for a shower and food before catching the overnight ferry to Le Harve. The average speed for the afternoon had been 15.2mph and total mileage 85…

After a poor nights sleep on the ferry and with sore legs the guys arrived in Le Harve. The rain eased and the sun came out as they headed East to cross the estuary and then West before dropping down South towards Le Mans. Day 2 saw a whopping 95 miles covered with rain ending play at the small village of Sees approximately 70kms from Le Mans.

An early rise on Saturday saw the remaining 55miles to Le Mans covered by 11.30hrs. The guys arrived picked up their passes and met the Lola press team.

Chris returned by train to St Malo and then over the channel by Condor Ferry. Andy has continued on to the French Grand Prix a further 250kms - ouch!

Pictures copywrite Coconut Creatives Ltd. 2008

Coconut Creatives have been invited to publish a range of articles in several magazines to respond to the increased interest that business people have in marketing.

Featured articles can be found in the national Making Money Magazine sold in Tescos and WH Smith, Start Your Business magazine also sold in WH Smith and independent retailers and the national Franchisor News magazine which serves the franchise industry.

“We are delighted to offer marketing features to complement the magazines existing articles and information,” says Coconut Creatives founder, Sarah Dyer. “We have been writing articles for the press and online sources for some time now and it is our pleasure to help spread the word about marketing through established and reputable magazines as well.”

Coconut Creatives Directors, Sarah Dyer and Christopher Cook also sit on the South West Regional Board for the Chartered Institute of Marketing and work tirelessly to help improve the awareness and standard of marketing practices UK-wide. “It is vital that a company’s marketing function starts from a strategic level so that it maps in with the direction of the business plan. Campaigns and promotions are then created to meet the objectives set out at this strategic level and we have found that our clients see and achieve much greater success by approaching marketing in this way,” explains Christopher.

For further information about Coconut Creatives contact Sarah or Chris on 01963 31030 or email helpme@coconutcreatives.co.uk.

Part of the article featured in the national magazine Making Money…

Many business owners are worrying about their brand and company’s reputation as more businesses take on board a corporate social responsibility strategy or policy for more ethical trading. This is beginning to affect the sensitivity and attitudes of todays empowered consumers.

With the rise in digital media, such as blogs and forums, consumers are publicly discussing every aspect of your business, their experiences with your brand – both good and bad, as well as highlighting the differences between your offering and that of your competitors. How does this affect franchising when you are dependent on an entire network to be consistent? Control can be hard.

So what can you do to ensure your business isn’t just keeping up, but leading the industry? How can you make more money? The answer comes through marketing communications…

· Build solid foundations
· Define strong brand values
· Build relationships with all stakeholders
· Communicate all of the above (listen as well)

The importance of brand values
Developing and maintaining a reputation in a competitive market can be tricky. Yet the best companies do this through consistent communication both within the business (through their network of staff and affiliates) and externally (by communicating with their suppliers, customers and prospective customers).

All businesses need a common goal and an aim, this is just like driving from Portsmouth to London, you need to know which roads to take, where to get petrol and how long it is going to take you to get there. If everyone is focused on a common goal, you are much more likely to achieve it.

Becoming recognised in your industry for doing something well and doing it consistently is vital in building a great brand, this where brand values come in.

Sarah comments “these values tell the world that you are the best, you are trustworthy and you are definitely worth the money. If you can then stand by your values over the long term, you might just achieve more than you can imagine.”

For more information about this subject contact Coconut Creatives on 01963 31030 or email tellmemore@coconutcreatives.co.uk

Coconut Creatives launched a franchise recruitment campaign for Murcia Villas last month and within the first 48 hours they had received over 40 enquiries for their franchise package.

The campaign started with a series of online messages and later continued into national press opportunities with a write up in the Daily Mail in early May 2008.

Information about the Murcia Villas franchise can be found at www.murciavillas.com along with details about the business and how it all started several years ago.

“This franchise package suits individuals that want to improve their lifestyle and live in a warmer climate,” explains Sarah Dyer, founder of Coconut Creatives and Murcia Villas account handler. “I worked closely with Hugh and Fiona, owners of Murcia Villas to understand their business and the type of person that would be interested in this opportunity.”

With the first franchisees now operational, a second signed up and several other hot prospects booked to fly out to Spain for a tour of the possible franchise zones, the future of the business is very optimistic.  Initially, Sarah set realistic objectives for 2008 with Hugh and Fiona. “Having a solid and achievable set of objectives for any project is absolutely essential. The objectives act as mile stones to show how successful the project has been,” adds Sarah.

Coconut Creatives work with a range of owner managed businesses on a variety of projects to help achieve specific objectives. Visit www.coconutcreatives.co.uk to review some recent case studies and to find out what other clients think about the Coconut team.

Hugh and Fiona James outside their Murcia Villas office in Spain