Three simple customer experiences strategies that will benefit every franchisee and strengthen your entire organization.

By Marc Gordon and Allison Taylor, marcgordon.ca

Some would argue that the only thing better than a sub, is saving money on a sub. So, when Jeremy Haber visited his local franchised sub shop with a coupon in hand, he was in a pretty good mood until he was notified by the staff that this specific location did not accept coupons.

How could this be? The coupon was for the franchise brand, not a specific location. “I got the coupons in the mail and assumed I could take them to any location,” says Jeremy. “When I got there, they said it was up to each location to decide if they wanted to accept the coupons.”

Not willing to leave empty handed, Jeremy still ordered his sub, paying full price. But it could be said that the money the franchise saved by not honouring the coupon could end up costing them more in the long run.

“I now know this location doesn’t accept coupons,” says Jeremy. “So there’s not as much of an incentive to go there anymore. Will I go back? Maybe. Either way, I’m more open to trying other places around me.”

Marc Gordon, a customer experience consultant, and speaker, has seen this situation before. And he believes one reason is that franchises too often see themselves as members of a team instead of members of a tribe.

“Team members share a common brand and desire to succeed,” says Marc. “But like with any professional team, each player still looks out for themselves. Their value is impacted more by their individual performance than that of their team. But in a tribe, the survival and success of each member depends on the success and survival of every other member. Weak tribe members make everyone else weaker.”

When it comes to creating value for the customer while building a strong brand for the franchise, each individual franchisee must understand how their actions affect the entire organization. Whether it’s how products and services are delivered or whether to accept coupons, the actions of one impact the reputation of the many.

This is because the customer does not see a franchise as an independent business but as one of the multiple locations of a single brand. Much like any non-franchised chain, they expect certain standards to be common across the entire organization.

While some franchises will claim that the buying public understands the concept that franchises are independently owned, and therefore free to do things differently, the fact is that customers not only should not care, it’s really none of their business.

“Customers should not be expected to understand or care about the inner workings of any company they do business with,” says Marc. “The very core of franchising is standardization. Not just in products and services, but in every facet of the business. This helps with both internal processes such as costing and training, but also externally with branding and marketing.”

Marc explains that when a customer sees a disconnect between a specific location and their perception of the franchise, it results in a decrease in trust toward the entire brand. After all, if one location doesn’t accept coupons, perhaps other locations don’t either.

Beyond coupons, various traits ranging from how friendly the staff are to the cleanliness of the bathrooms can all impact the entire franchise. And it’s not limited to negative traits. A well-known bakery-café franchise includes a free bagel with the order of a salad. But this is not common amongst the other locations. Should a free bagel be included for every location, or is this one location choosing to do something beyond that?

The fact is that it doesn’t matter. A franchise that offers a negative experience ruins the positive efforts of the other locations. At the same time, a franchise that offers a positive experience beyond the customer’s expectations, makes the other locations look bad.

Is there a solution? Marc believes that standardization is often overlooked when it comes to policies that are viewed as being “minor”.

“While products, branding, interior design, and training are usually clearly defined by the franchisor, many items can slip through the cracks,” says Marc. “Either because the franchisor doesn’t see them as being important, or because they don’t have the resources to oversee every detail.”

But for the customer, these little details can have the biggest impact on the experience. From a free bagel, to accepting coupons, these small details impact what Marc refers to as the golden traits for a perfect customer experience.

“The golden traits are very simple,” says Marc. “Every interaction a customer has with a business should be easy, convenient, and stress free. Using these traits in designing customer service processes will always lead to a positive experience. And one that can be carried over from one location to another.”

Easy, the first trait, means that a minimal amount of effort should be needed by the customer to accomplish a task, such as making a purchase or reaching customer support. Anyone who’s been stuck on an endless, automated phone menu system knows the importance of things being easy.

Convenience is the ability for any customer to interact with a business in a way that works for them. Using an app, in store automated ordering, web-based e-commerce, or dealing with a human being are all viable options that appeal to different people. The trick is to make them all available and let each customer use what they are most comfortable with.

Stress free is what can make or break the customer relationship. Essentially, stress is caused by either not knowing what the outcome will be or being unsure about how to reach that outcome. For example, walking into a location with a coupon in hand, wondering if it will be accepted or not is a source of stress. As we are naturally inclined to avoid stress, we will likely just avoid the location – or the entire chain – altogether.

Marc knows winning over customers can seem overwhelming. But he also believes it doesn’t have to be. “Many businesses feel they have to over-deliver or wow a customer,” he says. “But that’s not true. It’s really about trust. And trust comes from doing the same thing, the same way, every time, across the entire organization. And appreciating that it’s the little things like courtesy and professionalism that can have the biggest impact.”

When a franchise understands and embraces this concept, they will quickly realize how much that fifty-cent coupon is truly worth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marc Gordon is an internationally recognized Customer Experience expert, speaker, consultant, and media personality. He has been referred to as Canada’s marketing superstar by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Learn more at marcgordon.ca.