Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2014 | Page 39
How does this help your franchise
development effort? By bringing the
Schlotzsky’s brand to life in a small, intimate setting, we can help prospective
franchise partners envision themselves
being part of our success story. This
supports the efforts of our business
development teams in answering key
questions about the brand that lead to
closing a sales agreement.
What ways/tools do you rely on
to do this? Members of the execu-
tive team have dinner with prospective
franchise partners the night before a
1- to 2-day presentation. This allows
us to know one another on a personal
level, while also determining whether
or not Schlotzsky’s is the right fit for
both parties. We only want to bring
in franchise partners who will enrich
our unique culture, uphold our brand
standards, and help us reach our mutual
growth objectives.
Do today’s prospects expect more
from the franchise marketing department? What, and how do you
provide it? Yes, and they most certainly
should, given that most, if not all, of
our franchise partners have invested
their life’s savings into our brand. As a
result, it is incumbent upon us to help
them maximize the return on their investment, treating every single dollar
we spend as if it were our own money.
We would not have jobs if it were not
for the contributions of our franchise
partners to our ad fund. We provide all
our franchise partners with a comprehensive and integrated support team
consisting of both a corporate support
center and field marketing representatives, and we have a calendar of national
and local marketing programs designed
to stimulate profitable sales growth.
How is technology changing the
way franchise marketing is done
in terms of one-on-one contact?
dollars to grow profitable sales for our
franchise partners.
Do you see vendors as business
partners? Why/why not? Yes, of
We use a digital communications suite
to ensure our franchise partners are
kept updated in real time with news
and information, as well as with tools
and training techniques to execute key
programs and initiatives to help maximize their business growth potential.
course. In fact, we rely heavily on our
supplier partners to