We’ve stated this before many times, and it something we firmly believe. Social Media is not about media. It is about communication. How are you as a business or organization going to communicate to your audience? Notice we didn’t say market?
This is what social media is all about. QR codes are great. Facebook will eventually rule the planet, but we will always need to communicate, and communicate well with those we want to pay attention.
This is a reason my title is Director of Social Web Communications. We want to emphasize that we help and teach our clients to communicate in the digital landscape. And as a communications firm we are discovering that many industries are still tripping over the social media road bump. They still don’t understand what social media is and how social works.
The reality is that many organizations have to learn, or re-learn how to be social. This can’t be taught by simply setting up Twitter account or a blog for the client, and then walking away. Education is key.
Franchise owners are, by definition, local business people. They pride themselves on having a local presence, on being locally owned and operated. But when it comes to appearing to be local, well, that’s a different story.
Even though we know that local marketing, local listings and social media play a huge role in bringing in franchisee business, corporate marketing departments are often slow to adopt social media programs. There seem to be so many barriers for them, like who will run it, who will “approve” the content, do we have enough staff to take this on, what guidelines need to be put in place in terms of content, what about legal issues, and so on. And so on.
There has long been an argument about who owns the brand and who is responsible for social and digital communications. Is it the franchisor or the franchisee? Should franchisors have full autonomy over messaging? Or should individual franchises be in charge of their communication as it relates to the communities they serve? This is a heated ongoing discussion, and it appears there isn’t a clear cut answer. One thing is for sure, though. When corporate marketing stops caring about what their franchisees have to say about their local markets, franchisees stop caring about compliance.
One way to keep both happy is to communicate a central brand message through multiple digital media, while allowing individual franchisees the latitude to build their own social networks. Through templates for local websites, facebook pages, blogs, twitter and other vehicles, zees can engage their customers on a local level, and truly appear local instead of corporate.
Of course, both corporate and system want these outlets to appear professional – that’s why it’s good to invest in some upfront training. Seminars or webinars on how best to use social media, what works best in the digitial marketplace and how to keep a handle on it. If done well, these training sessions provide a great way to increase visibility and connect with customers.
We are always listening and learning at re:group. Here is an update on where some of us will be this Fall and information on how you might participate.
September 28, 2010 Social Media Club of Detroit presents Scott Stratten’s #UnBook Tour
6 – 8PM at the Detroit Public Library. Scott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing.com. He is an expert in Viral, Social and Authentic marketing, which he refers to as un-marketing. Over 60,000 people follow him on Twitter. David Murray, our Director of Social Web founded this club. If you are interested please let us know, we would be glad to have you join us as our guest. For more details click here.Read more »
Last week, on the suggestion of good friend and business associate, Rob Falls of Falls Communications, I drove to Cleveland to meet with a couple interested in expanding their franchise business. So I did some homework on the company, put together a basic introductory deck on our capabilities and point of view on branding, hopped in the car and headed for Cleveland not knowing really what to expect.
On arrival at the first store of this small but growing franchise, the founder and his wife shared their story and their treated me to a sampling of their product (which was great). We then did a brief reconnaissance of several other franchise locations and settled in to talk about their situation.
They are at a critical point in their development where they have a solid, differentiated concept, they have successful stores open and people interested in buying their franchises. Now they are considering what is truly required for exponential growth. Does it require additional people? Capital? If they seek outside investment does it mean loss of control?
It was pretty clear they could use some help. But not help developing marketing materials or even marketing strategy. They needed help determining what their options were and what they personally wanted to do. My advice to them was to join the International Franchise Association or at least attend the IFA conference in February. I offered to introduce them to successful people in their category and my friends at Focus Brands, Dwyer Group, Service Brands and Service Master who have built successful multi-franchise systems. They understood immediately that it would be a good thing to talk to others who have been where they are and have done what they are trying to do, and were grateful for the advice.
Driving home I felt really good about the trip. I was profoundly grateful that 30+ years of serving franchise companies and 25 years of IFA membership have created this incredible network of franchise professionals I can reach out to and help others connect with. No, the day will probably not directly result in any immediate revenue for re:group, but I hopefully made two new friends in the industry and look forward to helping them determining how best to grow their business. As my friend Scott puts it, it was a deposit in the Karma bank that ultimately will be repaid in kind.
During our 20 or so years of working with Domino’s Pizza we frequently brought up the fact that their product consistently was rated lower than their competitor’s pizza by customers. Interestingly, in blind taste tests it did quite well. Over the years they tinkered with various aspects of the product, the cheese blend, the dough, the ovens that it was baked in. Regardless, it was difficult to change the perception that the pizza itself was not as good as that of their competitors. And at that time, it was difficult to convince the Domino’s Pizza leadership that they needed to seriously address the problem.
The new Domino’s Pizza campaign finally addresses the issue head on. It’s open and transparent strategy resonates well with today’s internet savvy consumers. Tim McIntyre, VP Communication, spoke at the Detroit PRSA Convention yesterday and shared insights into the current campaign along with their successful management of their recent social media crisis. While he could not comment specifically on sales, he did suggest that their recent stock price climb reflected the overall success they were enjoying.
It is interesting to note that a market segment that would appear to be totally saturated and commoditized can still add new competitors who can find ways to differentiate themselves. Marco’s Pizza based in Toledo is experiencing considerable franchise growth. Several of our former Domino’s Pizza clients are helping drive that effort and they are positioning the brand as a superior pizza product. We were recently approached by another young, but rapidly growing franchise whose product is totally organic and very upscale. Like our Ben & Jerry’s client, they have the opportunity to become a “passion brand,” building their position and attracting customers on the basis of their core values as well as the quality of their product.
Our current favorite pizza is right next door, Pizza Pino. They have a distinct advantage in that it takes us about two minutes to pick it up. It doesn’t take years of experience in the category to know that the best pizza is piping hot from the oven. (The premise behind 30 minute delivery.) Pizza Pino actually has a really good pizza product, with probably the best crust I have had in a long time. So for now, until we have another pizza client that commands our loyalty, they are our first choice. I guess that proves that there is indeed room for another great pizza purveyor in the marketplace.
Here are some worthwhile events to consider. We’ll be there – either speaking or attending.
May 12th: “Telling Your Story” at Ann Arbor Spark. For details and to register go here. Rhonda Huie, re:group’s creative director is a panelist.
May 12th: ‘Salute to Women’s Leadership” Noon Luncheon at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building. Susan Martin, president of Eastern Michigan university is the featured guest speaker. The event honors, Lisa Hesse, Ann Mattson and Ellie Serras. For more information contact carey.jernigan@regroup.us.
May 21st: Atlanta Franchise Alliance. Networking with about 75-100 like-minded franchise types, at the PaperMill Grill, Atlanta, Georgia, from 5-7PM. re:group is your host. No. charge. For more information contact carey.jernigan@regroup.us.
June 2nd: Southeast Michigan Women’s Franchise Network, topic:“Innovation”. Sponsored by re:group and featuring panels Linda Girard, Pure Visibilty; Kevin Ward, uRefer; and Linda Daichendt, Strategic Growth Concepts.
I guess it should come as no surprise that a number of very competent and credentialed franchise executives are considering where they are, where they want to be, and how to get there. Several friends in the industry recently contacted me to let me know that they were contemplating new careers. These are CEO’s and COO’s who due to the economy and circumstances beyond their control, find themselves looking for new jobs.
By reaching out they are doing exactly what they should be doing, using their network. Some are better networked than others. They already are on LinkedIn, Plaxo and Facebook. Others make contact the old fashioned way, they email their resume and call to follow-up. Where I can, I help them make another connection. For those not using online technology, I gently suggest they’d better get with the times.
Some are using this transition period to really think about what they want to do next. A couple very corporate types are contemplating starting their own businesses. I caution them that they need to think about the level of risk they are comfortable assuming. But, having started and sold several companies as well as having worked inside two of the largest agency holding companies in the world, I must confess that I prefer writing my own checks.
For those who are really examining where they want to be, I suggest figuring out their personal brand. We define a brand as who you are, what you do and why you are better or different. Identifying your personal brand is pretty much answering the same questions.
I had the opportunity last year to spend a few days on a houseboat in Kentucky with my YPO and WPO Forum. We used a workbook “Living On Purpose, How to plan your life and live your plan.” (It can be found online at http://www.StrategiaOnline.com.) The discovery and define process is very similar to defining a corporate brand.
The idea of total reinvention can be really appealing. I always have projects in the wings that could turn into potential careers, whether running an executive retreat or rehabbing old buildings. What I realize now is that all those interests come from the same essence – “transformation” – it happens to be the re:group essence but it is pretty much how I would define myself as well.
Finally, I wish all my friends the best of luck as they transition.
I have always considered myself very lucky and thankful to be where I am. But I also believe you make your luck by your attitude and openness to opportunities that are provided you. What is the saying…heaven helps those who help themselves?
Franchise owners are, by definition, local business people. They pride themselves on having a local presence, on being locally owned and operated. But when it comes to appearing to be local, well, that’s a different story.