IFA Forums / Tech Forum / Tech Forum

Controlling franchisee's forums

Margaret McEntire Owner Founder Candy Bouquet International Inc. — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:53:34 GMT

Hello, Forum community! I am Margaret McEntire, owner and the founder of Candy Bouquet International, Inc. We have almost 900 stores and utilize our VIP site/forum for everything from training, news, support and how to run your shop...and more. I have recently had to pull two franchisees off of our forum for posts that either slander our system or each other. One has since started sending mass email to all. I do know that I have discussed this with other franchisors and wondered what issues you have and how do you handle this? Thank you in advance for all comments!

Franchisee Information Management

BPeineke — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:45:38 GMT

I was curious how other franchises managed to keep track of all the information of the franchises and how they get it to be linked. For instance is it possible to somehow link everything to their contact that one is able to see all the information pertaining to an individual by pulling up their contact card?

A records management tool in other words that can be linked to standard Windows functionality such as Outlook.

Any thoughts?

Individual Franchisee Web Sites and Other Listings

Mr. James B. Deerin Jr. — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:00:25 GMT

We provide our franchisees with an individual web site, currently not serachable, with an individual URL and tied in to our locator system (we have protecteed territories). In the P&P Manual and franchise agreement, we prohibit franchise owners from maintaining their own web sites or otherwise listing on the web. However, we are finding that many of our franchisees are creating FaceBook, LinkedIn, and other web based networking and marketing accounts.

Does anyone have experience with these kinds of situations - to regulate or not to regulate, etc?

Has anyone adjusted policies to allow creation of Facebook and similar sites?

Thanks for whatever experiences/advice you can share.

Cell phone advertising

andrep — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:03:44 GMT

I'd like to find out if any franchisors are doing or planning on doing any cell phone ads within the next 90 days?
Specifically anyone that is using short code SMS opt in advertsing and the response rates you are getting?

Best regards,
Andre

Social Media and Franchising

Mr. Jason Yusko — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:27:58 GMT

Here is a link to the Women’s Franchise Network meeting last Thursday evening in LA. The topic as Social Media. Good stuff. http://www.slideshare.net/joncarlston/social-media-fbn

What software do you use?

Brenda Duncan — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:02:56 GMT

I am interested to find out who the software providers are in this market.

I see the one post about Retail Pro. What other ones are used? Do you buy directly or through your franchise corporate office?

Thanks!

Customer Service and Email

miker49735 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:27:34 GMT

Hello,

I'm curious to learn of the volume of email you receive from your customers. Do you find most prefer to pickup the phone and call or do they email instead? Do you keep track of the number of emails you receive versus phone calls? Do customers tend to ask the same questions again and again?

Thank you and I look forward to your comments.

servers

bherenda — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:23:01 GMT

I'm curious what folks are doing regarding servers and IT infrastructure?

Thank you.

Internet policies

LMaurer — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:14:22 GMT

What do franchisors do in terms of allowing franchisee internet access? Do they have policies and procedures in place for franchisees? Are there any technical controls in allowing or monitoring internet access, or just policy or governance?

Turnkey accounting

jak6389 — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:13:07 GMT

Is anyone providing there franchisees with turnkey accounting/operations software? I wouldlike to provide a hosted system for them which would enable them to do there book and provide inventory visibility among franchisees. Is anyone doing this, are there any downsides?

You experience with software companies

jkealey — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:53:09 GMT

I’m new to the forum and I have an open-ended question for everyone. What has your experience been with franchise software solutions?

There are firms that focus solely on the back-office aspects, others that specialize in lead tracking, even others that only do POS systems or websites. Do you feel it managing it all can become overwhelming if you don't have a tech background? (especially given how fast everything is changing)

I feel there are good solutions around for large franchisors, but the little guys are left with disconnected software that doesn’t accomplish much while being very expensive. I’m talking about software in all areas… from in-store to online and software used by any stakeholder, franchisor/franchisee/employees, etc. In general, what did you like/dislike about software you’ve used in the past in the context of a franchise?

Feel free to vent about any frustrations you have experienced! I’m asking because I’m interesting in creating great software that solves the right problems!

e-commerce revenues: franchisor vs. franchisee

Fred L. — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:13:29 GMT

I'm new to the Tech Forum and in need of any articles, reports, studies focused on how franchisors and franchisees are resolving concerns arising from e-commerce. More specifically, resolving issues related to online product orders placed by customers over the web and that are managed by corporate, but that take business away from the franchisees' respective areas/territories.

Appreciate any resources cited or comments on the subject.

Regards,

Fred

Need Help!

COtter — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:14:39 GMT

Hello everyone,

We are a retail franchise that is in a growth mode. Recently, we decided that it was best to change our POS system. As such, we invested nearly $100,000 in hardware and software, and paid $20,000 to an IT employee that we had hired recently to help with the conversion.

Well, he up and quit on us with no notice and on the verge of beginning our big conversion, including visiting our stores and converting hardware, etc., as well as training. Needless to say, we are in a real pinch as we are a small company in a small town with little access to qualified personnel, not to mention the time and money lost.

DOES ANYONE ELSE USE "RETAIL-PRO?" KNOW OF ANYONE THAT KNOWS THE SYSTEM AND CAN BE BROUGHT IN TO HELP WITH THE CONVERSION AND TRAINING?

Please advise as this message is urgent!

Thank you!

Chris
COtter@gofishretail.com

How can a person obtain info on a franchise development company to see if they are legit?

jazzydowntown — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:58:14 GMT

I am a potential franchisor. I had a franchise development company out of New York contact me. They feel we have a great concept and want to franchise us. They ask for a small fee and then bring frachisees to you though their marketing program. They keep a portion of the franchise fee as payment on every new franchisee which sounds ok. However, with the scams of today, I want to investigate. Where can I call or look to find out about this company? Any suggestions. How do I find out about their track record? Thanks so much!

HOW TO MAXIMIZE IT TO MARKET FRANCHISE

zarm — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:05:39 GMT

We just setup a franchise program (Bakery) and wants to market the program. Besides develop our homepage to introduce the program, what else can we do (with IT) to market the system...Please share with me. TQ

Franchisor & Multi-Brand Franchisee Web-Based Project Management Systems

Expesite — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:02:30 GMT

What system do you use to manage multi-unit/multi-location retail, restaurant and franchisee development programs (new builds, remodels and equipment rollouts? Is there a "defacto" system enables an owner or franchisor to connect with its franchisees, contractors, vendors and suppliers in a much more efficient and streamlined way? As software authors, we're trying to solicit feedback on the basic functionality necessary to the franchise/franchisee community and a determine a price point for entry into the market. Right now, we are currently thinking of offering the following core features:

Collaboration related to Store Level Critical Dates (Renewals, Leases, Equipment Warranties) and Document Management (Construction Docs, Legal Docs, Vendor Docs, Equipment Specifications,
Warranty Information, Training Information & Policy Manuals)

Maintenance Tracking – Issues, Reporting, Supporting documents (history) and communication with Corporate, Internal associates, Vendors, Partners/Stakeholders (Legal Documentation)

Portfolio Management with visibility across multiple locations (custom reports, criteria tracking) and the ability to isolate problem stores through analysis, including archival of data.

Project Management Tools to Create, Track, Manage Projects across multiple locations (New Builds, Remodels & Capital Projects like Kitchen upgrades, Equipment Installs)

Provide integration with Real Estate GIS information on future/existing locations as well as retrieval of documents such as Aerials, Demo, Topos, Blueprints/Revisions etc. by location - as well as the management of dispositions of property.

Any other functionality you think might be necessary to help out a franchisor / franchisee?

New International Franchise E-Mag

Franchiseek.com — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 07:41:10 GMT

Hi,

Franchiseek Limited has just launched its news international franchise e-mag. Originally a UK based franchise magazine, Franchise Focus has been relaunched to cater for the demand for an international franchise magazine. The downloadable pdf enables us to reach out to all our website viewers as well as our optin database.

I am looking for editorial contributions from both franchise consultants and franchisors. The magazine is published bi-monthly and the next issue is the Nov/Dec.

You can download the latest issue from: http://www.franchiseek.com/Franchise_Magazine.htm

If you would like to provide an article, please contact me in the first instance.

request management software

karenl — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:35:12 GMT

Hi All,
We have just released a demo of our Internet-accessible request management application and I am interested in your feedback. The application benefits franchises that deliver scheduled on site services. Reply to this post and let me know if you would like the URL for the demo.

k

Test Post from the Admin

Mr. Jason Yusko — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:36:50 GMT

Test post from the admin.