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
Mr. Electric, a client of Coconut Creatives, has recently plugged two extra people into their franchise support team. Dave Galvin and James Mooney have both joined the head office support team boosting the help on offer to Mr. Electric franchisees.
Dave has a varied career background and uses his range of skills and knowledge to offer Mr. Electric franchisees the finest support to build profitable businesses across the network. James is responsible for helping franchisees maintain constant communication with their customers and with helping to build and maintain brand presence both in the UK and in each franchise territory.
“At the moment everything’s all very new and exciting. I’ve been working in the franchise industry for a long time so it’s an industry I know well but this is a completely new service sector for me. I spend most of my time working with franchisees to help them grow their businesses through financial monitoring and understanding the finances of their businesses. I help them to grow through lead generation and new business generation,” explains Dave.
“My time is split 50/50 between supporting the franchisees and working on franchise recruitment. I help franchisees with generating new business and maintaining constant communications with their customers in order to help bring in repeat business. I also help the franchisees with building their social media platforms and finding opportunities to make sure they’ve got a good presence in their local areas,” adds James.
“It’s great to work with the franchisees so closely. I’ve met all of them now and they’re all very keen to develop their businesses with my help. They accept that you’re there to help and not to interfere. They’ve all been very receptive to the idea which makes my job much easier,” explains Dave.
“We create a profit and loss for each and every franchisee. They monitor where they think they are and where they actually are. Philip Milburn, Head of Mr. Electric UK, and I go and visit them once every quarter to have a formal review and look at where they have to be and where they’re aiming to be. It’s early days at the moment but this financial planning and management is what sets our franchisees apart from many independent electrical businesses. You’ve got to have something to aim for so that you know where you’re going,” adds Dave.
Mr. Electric is part of the global franchising giant, The Dwyer Group and, as such, benefits from being seen as the go-to supplier of electrical services; appealing to the domestic and commercial customers as well as household names such as The AA, B&Q and British Gas. Franchisees supply contractors for all aspects of electrical servicing and maintenance work but have also become renowned for their innovative energy-saving products that cut household bills and help businesses to meet energy-saving targets.
“I think Mr. Electric offers a great opportunity for franchisees to be recognised as part of a huge service brand in the UK. There’s a huge opportunity to build up brand presence and franchisees can leverage the brand reputation and generate business for the long-term,” adds James.
Both James and Dave have very different roles within the Mr. Electric support team but it’s clear to see that they are both dedicated to developing the Mr. Electric franchise and supporting the franchisees to achieve their ambitions.
The electrical services market predicts growth of just over £2 billion to £20.6 billion in the four years up to 2018. Mr. Electric franchisees are positioned perfectly to take advantage of this growth using the huge benefits of their energy-saving products to win new business and secure long-term contracts.
Shares in lettings agency Martin & Co (MCO) jumped 16 per cent on their debut on AIM on 18th December, underlining the market’s appetite for stocks with exposure to the housing sector.
“With 187 offices, mainly in the South East and the Midlands, Martin & Co runs one of Britain’s largest lettings networks from its Bournemouth base. It’s diminutive stock market size – currently just £25.5 million – reflects the capital-light franchise model. It owns just two of its branches in-house, and has no intention of owning more,” says chief executive Ian Wilson.
Martin & Co is one of the only UK property agency franchises that offer lettings and estate agency with UK-wide recognition. With a network of just under 200 franchise owners, they are the largest property franchise business in the UK. Martin & Co has been recognised for its award-winning service by its clients winning Gold for Best Large Letting Chain at the ESTAS (Estate & Letting Agent Awards) in 2009 & 2012, as well as Silver in 2010 & 2011 and most recently in 2013.
The flotation served two functions. First, it allowed the founders, Richard and Kathy Martin, to sell about a third of their stake to investors. Second, the company has raised £4m in new funds, which will be used to consolidate the highly fragmented lettings market. Over the year to September, the company took on 1.9 per cent of all new instructions, according to data provider Vizzi Home. Only two companies – the full-service housing service groups Countrywide and LSL – had a higher market share.
With the worst winter for decades predicted for 2013, you might think that ice cream sales are likely to fall throughout the winter months. However, the new range of Hot Treats at Baskin-Robbins, now available all year round, mean that you can continue to enjoy ice cream without feeling too chilly. The Hot Treats range consists of a variety of hot desserts accompanied by your favourite ice cream flavours.
In preparation for this winter, Baskin-Robbins have added two brand new treats to the range. Buttermilk brownies and sticky toffee pudding will be joining the existing range which already includes:
Brownie
Waffle
Chocolate fondant
Rockslide brownie.
For 65 years Baskin-Robbins has been creating irresistible treats to make you smile and feel good. The Baskin-Robbins franchise opportunity offers rewarding potential. Since their foundation in 1945 they have introduced over 1,000 unique, fun and much-loved ice cream recipes, frozen drinks and ice-cream cakes. To make sure that their customers keep coming back and can discover new flavours to suit their personality on a regular basis they employ a dedicated team of chefs who explore new flavour trends and create new recipes as well as innovative new products for the ice cream market.
“The Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlour concept is fun and unique, I love the fact that there are 31 different flavours of ice cream, including fat free, sugar free and yogurt varieties available, so there is something for everyone – even those on a diet!” explains Franchisee Prem Gotru.
Baskin-Robbins are constantly updating their products to keep them interesting and more appealing than their competitors’ products. In a market with such strong competition as the ice cream market, incremental product innovation is key to establish and maintain a substantial competitive advantage. Additionally, incremental innovation, if executed properly, offers distinct advantages to franchise businesses as changes can be operationalised quickly by franchisees.
Baskin-Robbins employ a dedicated teams of chefs who explore new flavour trends and create new recipes as well as innovative new products for the ice cream market such as fondue and crepes. These new recipes and products are then tested using focus groups in the US whilst also being evaluated by franchisees in the UK.
As a result of their excellent process of incremental product innovation, Baskin-Robbins is at the forefront of offering a variety of products that meet various consumer needs across all seasons.
This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!
Coconut Creatives’ client ActionCOACH is proud to announce that not one but three of their Action Coaches reported record monthly sales of
over £50k each in the month of December 2012. Shweta Jhajharia, Peter Boolkah and Neale Lewis have worked hard and are excited to have achieved such a great result in the run up to 2013.
ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching franchise, with more than 1,000 offices in 40 countries and thrives by helping business owners achieve their goals. Most businesses excel at their trade or profession, but that unfortunately doesn’t mean that they’re great at the ‘business of business’. In reality less than 10% of businesses survive the first 10 years of operation.
Shweta joined ActionCOACH as a franchise partner in December 2008. Today, only four years later, she is not only London’s Number 1 Business Coach, but has also risen to be one of the top business women in the UK. Shweta secured her first client within her first month of business and has since coached over 200 businesses owners.
“Shweta has been a fantastic asset to my business. I’m so pleased I took the plunge and hired her because it actually turned out to be the best thing I have ever done! We have grown by 83% in under 2 years, with improved margins and systems and we now have bigger plans for the future,” states one of Shweta’s clients.
“My purpose is to create more choices and freedom for businesses by helping them develop a commercial, profitable enterprise that can work without them. Personally, I think that you owe it to yourself and to everyone who depends on your business to get the highest and best results,” adds Shweta.
Neale is an Action Coach in Derbyshire and Peter has been an Action Coach in East Anglia for over seven years. Peter chose ActionCOACH, because he was looking for a new challenge. He is now an award-winning Action Business Coach and is recognised as Europe’s Number 1 Business Coach, a result achieved through his fantastic client retention.
“For me the real value of being an ActionCOACH franchise partner is in the tools I was given. I received great support from my colleagues from day one and I work within a fantastic team of coaches who support each other. However, most importantly, I work really hard which has allowed me more than anything to generate high sales,” explains Peter.
This press release was featured on a variety of franchise related websites and also generated social media coverage. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!
Jennifer Davidson, Head of Coconut Events investigates the rise in demand for corporate hospitality as the market recovers.
With the economy stepping out of recession, competition to gain new clients is fierce. The economic downturn has not only seen business go bust but also a change on where budgets are being spent. Businesses are savvier, smarter and know what they want.
Rather than being seen as a ‘jolly’ Corporate Hospitality has gained a new, more prominent position in the marketing mix. Companies are seen to be using Corporate Hospitality as a business retainer, and a chance to build relationships with customers and suppliers for long term gain.
When choosing events to attend remember brand reflection. Top 3 Corporate Hospitality Events of the season not to be missed:
1. Sandpolo
2. British Gran Prix
3. Boodles
Overall, the UK corporate hospitality market is projected to increase by 11% in real terms between 2010 and 2015, reflecting greater understanding of corporate hospitality as an effective communications strategy.
“It is becoming increasingly important. What we are in danger of losing in the modern world of mobile phones and Blackberries is people doing business with people. Taking time out of everyone’s increasingly hectic schedules to spend time with customers, suppliers and bankers is becoming more necessary.”
