Humanize Your Franchise or Company

It’s no secret that some of the most successful brands today achieve success by being able to connect with customers both online and offline.  Today, almost more than ever, companies are very conscious about how their brand comes across to others.  In a world dominated by social media, a bad comment can spread around the world in the blink of an eye, so what can you do?  

Your company or franchise needs to connect with current and prospective customers on a deeper level.  Just having a Facebook and Twitter won’t get you anywhere.  Tons of companies big and small have a Facebook and Twitter, so now the goal needs to be creating an experience when people visit your social media sites that no one is soon to forget.  Companies that excel with social media today are the companies that aren’t afraid to break outside of the mold to do something different and above all, they connect with customers and have learned how to humanize themselves as a brand.  Here are a few tips on how to humanize your franchise or company:

(1) Pictures you put up: Don’t be afraid to put up pictures of your company events or other great pictures of your office and crew.  It shows the people who work hard behind the brand.  It’s the behind the scenes kind of stuff that people love to see. Social media for franchises or businesses needs to be personal.  Social media profiles should show people who you are.

(2) Don’t fake authenticity:  Don’t try to fake authenticity because I think we’re all a little too smart to fall for companies that are fake today.  Strive for authenticity and honesty about yourself and your company.  People will recognize that and reward with you a great sense of loyalty.

(3) Show that you value customer service: Business or franchise social media is a great tool for customer service.  Use your social media to show your customers that you care about their needs.  Show them that you aren’t just some big company or franchise that is just too big to talk to them.  Often, customers want to be reached out to, so show them that you care. 

(4) Content of what you post: What you post is probably more important that how often you post.  Some companies feel the need to post every few minutes, but really this can get annoying and can actually push customers away rather than bring them in closer.  Pay attention to what you post and make sure that what you post is quality.  That’s the only way you will bring people closer to your company or franchise. 

(5) Be available: Remember, the reason you are making yourself and your franchise or company present on social media is to engage in dialogue with customers, so if you fail to keep up with social media you are breaking a promise to customers.  If you are present on social media, but never available when a customer needs you, you might as well not be on social media at all.  Be available to you customers as much as you can. 

Looking for more tips and tricks of the Franchise Public Relations trade?  Contact us.

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Promote Your Company or Franchise Effectively

Working in the realm of Franchise Public Relations has shown us how effective a good promotional strategy can be.  As franchise PR consultants, we know how important the power of promotion can be to making your company or franchise successful.  Your business or franchise’s success is not just dependent on a solid business model.  It is also reliant on how effective your promotional efforts are.  Here are a couple of our tips on creating a successful promotional strategy for your company or franchise:

(1) Perform a thorough market analysis: The first step of creating a promotional strategy is a thorough, in-depth look at the market you want your franchise or company to expand into.  You need to fully understand the market to help figure out what promotional methods will be most effective when targeting this area.  A market analysis will show you where to put your marketing dollars.  It will also help you determine what is worth your budget and what is not.  This step should help you determine what window of opportunity there is for your company or franchise.

(2) Strategy: After the market analysis comes the development of your promotional strategy.  The market analysis should have given you a better understanding of your target market, so take that knowledge and turn into an effective strategy.  Here is where you pursue that window of opportunity that was discovered during the market analysis. 

(3) Marketing mix identification: The marketing mix step determines what promotional vehicles will be used and for how long it will be used for.  This steps determines how the promotional plan will be carried out.  This step can really make or break a brand.  The goal is to be easily accessible to the target market that was discovered during step one or the market analysis phase.

(4) Implementation: The final step, also known as implementation, takes the first three steps and puts them into action.  Here your company or franchise’s plan really begins.  In this step you must keep a check on promotional activities and make changes where you see fit. 

A good promotional strategy can help you become a standout in your target market.  Follow the above steps to create a solid strategy for your company or franchise. Feel free to contact us with your own promotional strategy tips or questions. 

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Avoid a Communication Breakdown With Your Customers

As a franchise public relations firm, we know how vital communication is.  Without it, we would all be lost.  We may all be born communicators, but that doesn’t mean that we’re all good at it.  Communication between a business or franchise and its customers is absolutely key.  Communication can make or a break a business relationship and we have seen it happen.  Here are a few ways to improve your communication with your customers:

(1) Drop all the technical talk!- Have you ever been talking to someone who is speaking with such technical language about their field that you feel totally lost and confused? Yes, this happens often and it’s a communication barrier.  Remember that your customers may not know all the technical lingo, so speak to them in terms they will understand.  Remember, the goal is to remove communication barriers between you and your clients and open up clear pathways. 

(2) Keep it casual (at first)- Before getting down to business start by having a casual conversation with clients.  Find a good icebreaker and use it.  The best way to create solid ground with a client is to begin positive, casual communication to establish rapport with your client, this way the client can see you as a person and begin developing a stronger bond with you.  

(3) Keep in contact often- As a business owner or a franchise owner you need to try to keep in contact with customers as often as possible.  Today business and franchise owners have to keep up with customers who, at any point, can take to social media and share with the world how unhappy they are with your company or service.

(4) Write non-technical blogs or articles- One way to reach new and current customers is through blogging.  Let people know you are the authority in your industry by posting relevant blogs or articles.  Try to keep blogs and articles on non-technical level so that it is easily readable by people in your industry and even outsiders. 

(5) Teach- If you can find an opportunity to teach others what you know about your industry, by all means do it.  Teaching helps further your knowledge, helps you create connections and improve your speaking and overall presentation skills, which can help you improve your communication skills with clients. 

Being involved in Franchise PR has taught us alot about the power of good communication between a business and franchise owner and their clients.  Feel free to comment below.  

Protect Your Business or Franchise from Social Media Havoc

Creating a social media policy in the franchise or business world is becoming standard amongst companies big and small.  In today's social media crazed world, you really need to protect your business or franchise from social media havoc that could be created without set guidelines or a social media policy in place.  As a franchise PR firm heavily engaged in the world of social media, we always encourage our business and franchise PR clients to create a social media policy that is rock-solid to protect their company.  Here are some tips on creating social media guidelines for your franchise or company:

(1) Offer training- Anyone that works for your franchise or business should take social media training courses to learn how to properly use social media.  Training courses could be costly, but protecting your company from a social media catastrophe is well worth the money in our opinion. 

(2) Address theoretical situations- Give your employees theoretical situations that could arise throughout the course of using company social media sites and encourage them to make good decisions by showing them how to handle it. 

(3) Define behaviors- Let your employees know exactly what kind of behaviors are both acceptable and unacceptable while using company social media.  Spell it out for them so there is no confusion. 

(4) Include everyone in policy guidelines- No one in your franchise or company should be exempt from following social media guidelines, whether it’s part-timers, contractors, or upper management.  Everyone needs to follow the guidelines and policies set in place by your franchise or business. 

(5) Analyze policies often and make updates as necessary- Since the world of social media changes often, your policies need to be updated and changed often to reflect that.  Make sure that you analyze your policies often to make sure they still fit with current social media trends and make updates as necessary.

For more social media tips, feel free to leave us a comment our contact us.  

Making the Most out of Your PR Coverage

In today’s social media dominated world, it can be monumentally easier to extend the press coverage your business or franchise receives.  Traditionally, media outlets would cover a story and once it was read, heard or seen, it was easily forgotten.  The news coverage of the next day would drown out the stories from the day before.  Since getting popular media attention can be so difficult, it seems like a waste, but media coverage today is different.  Social media enables us to make the most out of PR coverage.  Social media extends the life of stories and also enables more people to read, hear or see it.  With our business and franchise clients, we always utilize social media to the fullest to maximize coverage.  Here are some of our tips on making your PR coverage last:

(1)   Share: If your business or franchise receives good press, then share it.  Share as much good press as possible on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Digg.  Let friends and followers know all about the positive buzz surrounding your business or franchise, after all, that’s what good franchise public relations is about.

(2)  Email signature: Include a link to the media coverage in your email signature after it has occurred.  Including a link is a good way to make sure people in your close circle get to see the coverage.

(3)   Blog: If you have a blog, put the coverage on your blog.  A blog isn't just a great place to post your thoughts or ideas,  it is also a great place to post positive press coverage. 

(4)   Website post: If you have a section on your website that warrants press coverage clips, you can put your business or franchise’s coverage there, which is what we do for our clients on our website. 

(5)   Get consistent coverage: Your goal for your business or franchise should always be to receive as much positive coverage as possible.  Consistent coverage is necessary to build up positive buzz around your business or franchise.  We consistently provide PR coverage for our business and franchise public relations clients as we know how crucial this is to their success.  Make it your goal to seek consistent coverage. 

If you’re looking for more tips on making the most out of your PR coverage, ask us.  We have plenty more tips where these came from and we'd love to share more.   

Managing a Crisis Online

It’s your franchise’s worst nightmare-- An online-based crisis.  Remember, everything you say or do during this time as a business or  franchise is critical.  We are a franchise PR firm equipped with plenty of strategies to help you and your business or franchise deal with a crisis.  Here are a few of our top tips on dealing with an online crisis situation:

            (1) Thoughtful response:  Someone is posting extremely negative comments about you and your business or franchise online.  It may initially urge an emotional response from you, but try your hardest to put emotions aside.  During this time you need to shift your focus off emotions and focus on customer service.  Show this angry customer and anyone else reading the post that you are not what this customer is making you out to be.  Show your commitment to making your customer happy.  Who knows, you may be able to turn this customer’s negative criticism around. 

            (2) Focus on the bigger picture: We constantly find ourselves telling our franchise public relations clients this tip.  As a franchisee, you don’t want to turn customers against you.  Word of mouth is a powerful tool that can make or break a reputation.  Before responding to online criticism, focus on the bigger picture or what you want your response to help you and your business or franchise accomplish. 

            (3) Create an appropriate, thoughtful response: Before responding to any type of online criticism, formulate your approach first.  Jumping right into a heated discussion with little thought is never a good idea.  Acknowledge the customer’s concerns and let them know you are committed to providing excellent service.  Making an attempt to discuss the situation offline may help to keep the online crisis situation from escalating. 

            (4) Focus on building a good reputation for your company online: Even when your business isn’t undergoing a crisis, your focus should always be on building a good reputation for your franchise or business.  Create a blog, seek positive online reviews from loyal customers, and offer discounts.  Creating a good buzz for your business or franchise can greatly help during crisis situations.

If you're looking for more franchise public relations tips, contact us.  We're happy to provide advice.