Franchising is one of those rare sectors that continues to buck the national economic trends. Not only do franchised businesses have a much lower failure rate than the norm, with the latest ONS Business Demography report showing that less than 1% of franchised businesses close due to commercial failure, supported self-employment through franchising offers a viable for entrepreneurs to minimise risk when they start their business.
Business security is another key attraction to those exploring the franchising option, alongside career flexibility and the pride of running your own business. But there is one other vitally important and seriously attractive proposition that franchising offers – business growth.
With over 60% of franchise units having an annual turnover of more than £250,000 according to the 20118 bfa and Natwest Franchise Landscape Report, those businesses running for five or more years that were questioned for the study, reported their company as being highly profitable. This gives franchise owners serious cause for optimism when it comes to turnover.
Stephen and Ciorsdan Price who own and run Recognition Express West Scotland are a shining example of how turnover growth can be achieved.
Having bought the business in 2003 from Ciorsdan’s mother, Shonach McFarlane who had run Recognition Express West Scotland since 1981 front her front room, the couple have since seen year on year growth in excess of 30%. And despite the phenomenal growth of their business and the ever-shifting challenges of modern business, the techniques used by the couple after nearly 20 years in business are the same as they were at the start and they are surprisingly simple…
Ciorsdan and Stephen’s top tips to triple turnover:
- Speed is of the essence: Today’s businesses are time-poor, and many customers prefer to communicate exclusively online. Ciorsdan recommends always ensuring that you respond to email enquiries immediately as this is a great way of helping your business stand out. She commented: “We are often told that customers have been really surprised when we reply to emails so quickly, and because people don’t have the hours in the day to shop around, responding quickly to an email very often secures that customer and gives an excellent first impression.”
- Know your customers: Stephen and Ciorsdan recognise the difference between key customer types and how best to service them. Ciorsdan explains: “We know our customers and their order history and keeping an eye on this information enables you to spot trends that can help boost turnover. Our big public sector clients such as the NHS and prison service will often have new staff intakes at key times of the year so we will ensure that we send them details of our name badge or lanyard and workwear promotions when the time is right. Summer is a prime time for our private sector clients to be entertaining so this is our opportunity to promote our new corporate gift ranges. Knowledge is power!”
- Show your customers: One of the key techniques that Stephen employs is sending mock-ups to customers of how different personalised items would look with their branding. Stephen suggests: “Sending a customer a visual example of how a product would look with their own logo and company branding is a great way to secure new and repeat business. This has proved a very powerful technique for us and one which has certainly boosted turnover. For example, as winter closes in, we have sent umbrella visuals to some of our key customers and the orders are rolling in. It’s about adding value to your customers’ businesses by showing them what could work well.”
- Use head office support: Recognition Express offers a franchisee support package that is second to none and the Price’s advice is to make use of their expertise. Stephen said: “Support from head office has been invaluable to us and while we don’t need to pick up the phone to them nearly as much as we used to in the early days, we know they are always there if we need them.
- Hard work and dedication: While this may sound like the simplest of the Price’s top tips, in their view it is the one that can make the biggest difference to the success of your business. They advise: “Consistently delivering first class service with fast response levels and reliable quality has been the key to growing the turnover of Recognition Express West Scotland. It sounds easy but it requires hard work and motivation. We take pride in ensuring we stay on the ball – we’ve never rested on our laurels and waiting for the order to come to us, we get out there and chase down the business.”