Friday, March 13, 2009
Creating Brand Believers Builds Brands
Who are "brand believers"? They're owners and employees who know what the company stands for, appreciate the value of the product or service offered, and have a genuine desire to create satisfied customers. They help drive retail customers in the door, keep them coming back, and for the franchise system, help recruit new franchisees so that the brand grows exponentially faster. Sounds obvious, but many franchisors really struggle when trying to get owners or their staff to help recruit new franchisees. Most franchisors ask employees to display recruitment materials throughout the stores, we do that. Most franchisors offer a referral bonus, we do that, too. But, "believers" are the difference makers. Recently Heather, a Great Clips stylist on the east coast, talked positively about the Great Clips franchise with one of her customers. The customer picked up some recruitment literature that the owner made available in the salon, inquired online, and eventually joined the Great Clips family of franchisees. Heather received a generous $2,000 referral bonus, which she admitted was going to help her quite a bit, but she also pointed out that she would have done it anyway--she really enjoys working at a Great Clips salon. Heather is a happy employee; she's a brand believer. Franchisors have to earn that from their employees. They can't buy it. But it's certainly worth rewarding.
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3 comments:
You're right. "Brand believers" create great companies. Question is what did specifc actions did you take to create brand believers within Great Clips?
I am a director at a large fortune 500 company and understand and appreciate the term "brand believer". Even before I ever considered Great Clips as a franchise opportunity, I was getting my hair cut there pretty frequently. Very rarely did I go to a Fantastic Sams or Cost Cutters. I love Great Clips and have always had positive experiences within the salons. Now I'm considering getting into the business and find myself surprised it's taken me this long to inquire. I'm a brand believer and I'm looking forward to becoming a franchisee and business owner.
Good question. Visit more than one Great Clips salon and you’ll quickly get a feel for some of the in-salon elements that are very consistent and set us apart from our competition. I’m precluded from sharing details with people outside of our franchise system, but suffice to say our brand strategies and tactics have been executed sufficiently by our franchisees to propel us to the top of the walk-in, no-appointment franchise hair salon category.
I can share this with you. A few years ago, we defined a very clear internal strategy for Our Brand. We made it so simple that it fits on a one-page document that is used at all levels in the organization. Then, we began integrating the key elements of Our Brand into every part of the organization rather than thinking of Our Brand as solely a function of marketing (e.g., training, communications, operations, real estate, facilities & purchasing, finance, industry relations). Also, to ensure that Our Brand remains consistent and top-of-mind, we developed a cross-functional group that meets regularly to foster collaboration and innovation in supporting the brand. Our Brand is not the "flavor-of-the month," rather it is central to everything we say and do (including measures). Hope this helps, and thanks for the question!
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