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ITB Partners clients are successful business owners-operators. Their aspirations are admirable. We work for you to give you the saving resources today.
Our objective is to help today with Cost-Saving programs. Get ready now to reduce your expenses without compromise!
Current actual savings results:
Paychex offers a 45% discount on payroll administration, HR, and PEO savings. Current REAL savings with a 20-unit franchisee client on their retirement plan administration, etc.
Champions “Life & Health” SAVINGS offer (for Business owners): Save $537 PER EMPLOYEE per year and increase the team member’s take-home pay and benefits.
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I’m not going to bore you with scientific and psychological mumbo jumbo, but I think you should understand the importance of creating SMART goals using the process I will outline in this chapter. Understanding why something is important makes you more likely to follow the process diligently. Remember, people don’t buy what you do or how you do it. They buy why you do it. The same principle follows here.
First, as logical human beings, we all understand that having something to aim for increases the chances of hitting it. Jordan Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, says, “One of the things you can be virtually certain of in life is that you don’t hit something you don’t aim at.”[1] Seems pretty logical to me. Robin Hood would never have split that arrow if he didn’t aim at it.
When you aim at a target and hit it, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which gives you a feeling of pleasure. Dopamine is your body’s reward system. Dopamine makes you feel good, and the fact that it is released immediately upon achieving a goal creates a solid behavioral association. That makes you want to set and accomplish another goal to get that good feeling again. It is also why setting short-term goals, as you will see later, is much more effective than only setting long-term goals. The longer the wait between dopamine releases, the less effective it is as a reward. Dopamine is the habit-forming chemical in your brain. IT rewards you for completing tasks regularly at short intervals, motivating you to accomplish more.
Another vital tool for goal achievement is visualization, which has physiological and psychological elements. By visualizing yourself succeeding, you fool your brain into thinking you’ve achieved your goal already, and it releases some dopamine. Yes, it is tricky.
The psychological aspect works a bit differently. Have you ever bought a new car and suddenly noticed the same make and model everywhere as you drive down the road? Have you ever said to yourself after purchasing a Ford Taurus, for example, Wow, I never realized there were so many Taurus’ on the road?
Your reticular activating system or RAS is now focused on your new Taurus, and you notice every Taurus on the road. Your RAS is a series of neurons in your brain that filter out unnecessary stuff, which allows you to focus only on what’s important. When you buy a new car, you’re excited and think a lot about it as you drive down the road. Your RAS filters out, unconsciously, of course, the cars around you and zeros in on the ones like yours.
Coaches teach athletes to visualize desired outcomes because it trains their RAS to filter out failure and focus on success. Professional basketball players visualize their shot going in the basket. Visualization increases the odds of making the point because it filters out all the noise and distractions created by the fans and other players designed to make them miss. Golfers also visualize their shots going down the middle of the fairway or in the hole because it filters out everything else like water, sand, and the rough.
When I teach people how to set and achieve goals, one of the things I do is have them create goals boards. As part of the preparation process, I have my boxes of old magazines and tell the attendees to bring as many magazines as they can find. It doesn’t matter what it is. Any magazine will do. In this way, we always end up with an excellent assortment. Everyone in the class gets a poster board, pair of scissors, and a glue stick. As you’ll see later, this is a crucial step near the end of the goal-setting process. Participants find pictures representing their goals in the magazines, cut them out, and paste them onto the poster board. Each one, in turn, presents their board to the group to make a verbal commitment and increase their accountability. The board then receives a prominent place in the office or home where it will often be seen, reinforcing that filter in the RAS.
Writing down my goals and having visual reminders that I see often have helped me achieve goals
I have worked with clients who previously never set goals and have used visualization and the process I teach to achieve things they had never thought possible.
Whether or not there are statistics to support these facts is irrelevant. I have seen the process work over and over with individuals and teams. If you and your team want to begin reaching new heights of achievement and have fun in the process, this is how you do it.
[1] J. Peterson. 2018. “How to Set Goals the Smart Way .”www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WX9UEYZsR8&t=3s
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Join me and the “What’s Your Plan B?” Executive Development networking group for this informative, interactive online discussion.
Am I Cut Out for Self-Employment?
Thursday, June 24th
8:00 am ET (45 min + Q&A)
FREE event (join at 7:45 am for networking) RSVP – click here
While the autonomy and flexibility of self-employment are appealing, how can you know if it’s for you? Can you achieve your desired success as your own boss? What are the risks and rewards? What are your available options? If you are considering self-employment, or find yourself at a career crossroads, this session will answer:
Common traits of successful, happy self-employed professionals.
Pros and Cons of Acquisition, Consulting, Franchising, and Start-ups.
Affordable funding options.
Free resources for new business owners.
The COVID-19 impact for considering starting a small business (benefits and challenges) will be discussed.
Want to chat with me now? Please use my scheduling link to choose a time to take my call: https://calendly.com/leslie_kuban
To your success,
Leslie
If you’re ready to grow your own business in a long-term, sustainable industry, it’s a particularly good time to learn about this Healthcare Franchise Investment Opportunity. Join me for a short online overview:
Remember – strong franchise brands are looking for business people who can lead a team and execute a business plan. Direct industry experience is not necessary (and often not desired).
Leslie Kuban
Franchise Consultant | Franchise Owner | Best Selling Author | SpeakerLeslie Kuban is a nationally recognized franchise industry expert, CFE (Certified Franchise Executive), and owner of FranNet in Atlanta; a locally owned and operated franchise consulting firm. Leslie and her team offer more than 60 years of combined industry expertise and her personal experience as a franchise owner provides a unique perspective to help her clients assess their real opportunities, risks, and timing to make sound decisions. Leslie and her team have helped over 400 individuals and families achieve their dreams of business ownership.
Businesses and consumers cannot be without their technology systems and devices working properly. If you are interested in having your own business in a high-demand industry then join me…
Wednesday, March 10th, at 12:00 pm EST, I’m hosting a 20-minute, online presentation about a compelling IT Services franchise opportunity – click here to save your spot.
Why is this IT Services franchise opportunity special?
The parent franchise company is one of the strongest organizations in franchising today. The marketing and lead generation department alone houses 30 professionals dedicated to driving brand recognition and customer growth.
No IT Background is necessary – franchise owners execute the marketing plan, focus on scale, and oversee the P&L – they do not work in the field.
Executive model – franchise owner oversees a small, professional staff.
You might be thinking… ”I don’t have an IT background, so how could I possibly own an IT services business?” This is often surprising…less than 25% of successful franchise owners have a background in the industry of their new business. Franchising is designed for new business owners to thrive in a new industry with less risk.
This “silver tsunami” will continue for the next 40 years.
95% of Seniors want to age in their own home.
More than half of Seniors over 85 need help with daily living.
COVID-19 has driven even more demand for safe, reputable in-home senior care services as families fear for their loved ones’ safety inside senior living facilities. While the $300Billion in-home care industry keeps growing, it is also very competitive. If you are going to enter this industry, you must align with a differentiated business model.
When
Sign-up here to join me on Wednesday, February 17th at Noon ET. I’m hosting a 20-minute spotlight about an in-home care franchise brand with a clear competitive advantage.
Need more reasons to tune-in?
Truly an “essential service.”
Truly a “recession-resistant service.”
Very scalable with a modest investment.
Strong earnings potential.
Technological advancements enable longer in-home living for more Seniors.
Feel proud to own a business helping others in your community.
Even if you can’t make the live event, sign-up anyway and you’ll be emailed the replay.
More events coming up:
Building Wealth through Franchise Ownership
(During & Beyond COVID-19)
Hosted by SCORE ($20 workshop fee)
Thursday, February 18th
12:00 PM Eastern (60 minutes + Q&A)
Learn more and sign-up
Technology Services Franchise – one of a kind….
Online spotlight, hosted by Leslie Kuban, FranNet (no cost)
Wednesday, March 10th
12:00 pm ET (20 minutes + Q&A)
SAVE THE DATE – registration opens soon
Please forward this invitation to your client, colleagues, or friends seeking career and/or business investment opportunities.
BONUS: The first 30 people to register and attend receive a free copy of “The Franchise MBA”
David Roemer
Dave Roemer has more than 30 years of experience as a franchisor and a franchisee. He gets both sides of the relationship as he has been on both sides.
After several years as a restaurant operator and trainer, Dave began working with franchisees as a business consultant for Dunkin’, Arby’s, and TGI Friday’s. He then purchased a Business Coaching franchise and began working with small business owners in the Columbus, OH market. After a couple of years, he decided to go back to the restaurant business and was a Director of Franchise Operations for Long John Silver’s and the Einstein’s/Bruegger’s/Manhattan Bagel brands.
Today, Dave is an independent Franchise Consultant who helps people interested in purchasing a franchise determine which brands are the right fit and then helps them through the due diligence and discovery process. His services are free to the client as his fees are paid for by the various franchise brands with which he works.
I thought it was time to look into the crystal ball. After scouring news articles for 60 days, several themes arose from the ashes of the pandemic to reveal the top-10 changes for restaurants after the crisis ends.
Chains will rule – 7 of 10 restaurants are owned by individual operators according to the National Restaurant Association, most of whom are independent. Unfortunately, those independents have been the majority of closures and if 10-15% of all restaurants permanently close during the pandemic, then only healthy chains will be left.
2) Growth will rebound – Chains will increase unit growth to fill the void left by closed restaurant locations. New independents will arise out of the ashes. The new wave of restauranteurs will have learned from the recent crisis and will focus on sustainability of operations by leaning hard into delivery, take-home, contactless payment, and other enabling technology.
3) Ghost kitchens – new and existing concepts will cooperate together to develop ghost kitchens where multiple cuisines live in harmony to satisfy the appetite of urban dweller and the virtual food court will become a thing.
4) Cleanliness is next to Godliness – Serve-Safe and other entities who train restaurant employees to prepare and handle food will proliferate and the constant disinfecting of communal surfaces such as counters, door handles, tables, chairs, and condiments will become the expected norm. The reopening guide by the NRA will be followed by all and probably expanded by many. https://go.restaurant.org/covid19-reopening-guide
5) Off-premise will continue to grow – Now that consumers are getting used to ordering food digitally and internal and external delivery is expected, the trend may slow after the pandemic ends but the trend for facilitating delivery, take-out, meal kits and the like will proliferate.
6) Digital Rules – Every restaurant, whether they be independent, or part of a chain will provide as many e-commerce channels for guests to order food as possible. Wing Stop, Domino’s, and Chipotle are doing well during the pandemic because they were positioned to survive in a crisis. All restaurateurs who don’t learn that they need to embrace digital orders and provide ways for customers to get the food where they want it and when they want it will fail. Perhaps this should be #1 on the list for the top-10 changes we will see in the restaurant industry.
7) Shrinking dining rooms – Because of the shift to off-premise dining, new restaurants in all categories will reduce the square feet of their dining areas. Existing locations will remove tables and chairs to always be prepared for social distancing.
8) Marketing mix shift – Whereas TV was a big part of the advertising mix for national chains and larger regional chains, the shift to off-premise will force restaurant brands to lean much more heavily into digital advertising channels. The shift will occur because restaurants will more easily track conversions from online visibility to online orders as a key metric. The brands that do continue to use to TV will determine how to make Outcome-Based TV buying work.
9) Marketing Messaging – All restaurants will need to understand their consumer and know the new customer journey better than ever before. Every brand will also need to nail their brand proposition because if they don’t, all ads after the pandemic ends will be about digital ordering and delivery. Digital channels may be a convenient benefit, but if every restaurant offers the standard digital channels, those digital channels will not be unique to anyone.
10) Counter Culture – There will also be creative and innovative individuals and organizations that will buck the status quo. Whether they embrace video dining, reinvent food halls, or return to a cash-only payment model, we will see successful attempts to do everything they can to not be trapped by the previous 9 changes.
In conclusion, the top-10 changes for restaurants may be different from this list but you can bet many of the themes will occur because they are happening now.
Doug Reifschneider
https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/
Thank you for visiting our blog.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
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Bottomline First: Owners don’t really have anyone to talk to about their problems. Reach out to those in your care.
Outside of a preacher in a small church, I don’t know of a more lonely calling than a small business owner.
I will often ask them, “Do you know what your friends think of you?”
They look at me with stunned incredulity since I had only met them a couple of hours earlier and know none of their friends.
I proceed to tell them, “Your friends think they have it made, they think you come and go as you please, hire people to do what you don’t want to do and write it all off on your taxes!! They think you have the Life of Riley!”
Then they say, “You know, you are absolutely right!”
And I assure them if they try to convince their friends just how hard it is owning a business, they think you are pulling their leg!
And THIS is during the GOOD times! The loneliness is only getting worse in the economic environment of the day!
Many times business owners will become overly friendly with their employees to cope with their isolation knowing they get the day-to-day stresses with which the owner is dealing. But that becomes a management problem within the business and makes it almost unthinkable to furlough them when times get tough.
Business owners are seen as “having it all together” not only by their friends and the public at large but also by their families. I can’t tell you how many times I have interviewed a business owner during an analytical survey of their company who was showing a loss on their P&L only to discover he (or she) had not told their spouse. And let’s be honest, men, we are more guilty of this than our sisters-in-business. That stinkin’ EGO of ours gets us in trouble and then cuts off the support we so desperately need!
So to you advisors of these stalwart but hurting heroes of our economy, reach out to them! They need to know there are people and places that can be safe for them to unmask their pain.
Bankers, attorneys, wealth advisors, CPAs, insurance agents, consultants, accounting firms, HR firms – any trusted advisor in their life can just BE THERE for them and let them know it is OK for them to share anything that is bothering them.
If you are in a role they might not feel comfortable due to the business relationship (like their banker), try suggesting they might want to talk to a friend of yours.
As Charles Dickens wrote in the Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of time…” We have been brutally snatched out of “the best of times” and forced into what is arguably “the worst of times.”
As a man of faith, I would that all men and women would seek guidance from the Creator of us all to lean into Him and His wisdom for our individual and corporate deliverance.
Let’s all be there for each other as we walk through the valley of shadows.
Ralph Watson
Ralph Watson has a varied and extensive career spanning 45 years of increasingly responsible positions in both sales and operations in a very diverse mix of industry specialties, including food processing, textile and apparel, financial services, and professional management consulting.
Ralph served as a Senior Executive Analyst with a number of international consulting companies focused on the family-owned, privately held market where he distinguished himself as one of the top analysts in a highly competitive field. In early 2014, he personally coached 10 businesses in Europe.
Loyalty, not such a long time ago, was a fairly easy thing to cultivate. You give a punch card or green stamps (or even wooden “round-tuits,” some of you may recall) to your customers, and they reward you with frequent visits or purchases so they can earn the points or badges to pocket free stuff.
Even today, as businesses like restaurants, retail stores, airlines, and hotels work to digitize and mobilize loyalty programs, customers still find it exciting and compelling to rack up the rewards.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank—loyalty, it seems, can be a fairly fickle concept—and even with the ease of participating in today’s e-programs, they don’t seem to be creating the brand affinity and “stickiness” that companies crave.
In fact, a third of customers will vote with their feet after a single instance of poor customer service, according to one survey. Keep ‘em happy, however – with outstanding personal service, great products, and minimal gimmickry—and you have an 80 percent chance of cementing that loyalty.
The message here: Being loyal to your customers, in today’s uber-competitive landscape, is as critical—if not more so—as customers being loyal to you.
If it seems like the script has been flipped, you’re right. In the days of Loyalty 1.0, those green stamps paved a one-way street of loyalty, from consumer to company. But now, in the world of Loyalty 1.5, with the ability to gain insights through apps, clicks, interactions, and views, it’s easier than ever to open a reverse lane of loyalty traffic from the company, right back to the customer.
So, let’s step back for a moment and think about what we really want to do. How do we tool our loyalty programs to demonstrate our love of, and affinity for, our consuming public? And, in particular, how do we replicate this online, without the benefit of the human interaction that comes with bricks-and-mortar businesses?
How to be loyal to your guests
Here’s an example using a counter service fast-casual restaurant concept.
Imagine if you will, striding into a local fast-casual restaurant near your office. You’ve been in about once per week for the last two months because it is close, and you like the food. You decide you’re in the mood for their grub again for lunch, so you cross the street, walk in the door, and take your place in line.
As you wait, you look at the menu and think about the meeting you just departed. Now, you approach your cashier, Susan (you know because of her name tag) and she looks up and says, “Hi, Mr. Smith! Great to see you. Would you like the usual today?” You are shocked she knows your name and are impressed she knows your usual order. You reply, “Yes, please,” and add a drink. Susan goes on to say, “Mr. Smith, you’ve been in a lot recently and we love serving you. Lunch is on us today!”
In this scenario, it’s easy to see why you would be floored. Susan not only knew your name, but she comped your meal too. The rest of the experience is equally as stellar (clean restrooms, a spotless restaurant, a follow-up visit from the manager) and you return to the office and tell six of your co-workers. The restaurant was loyal to you — which created an emotional bond, and the intensification of your love for that restaurant brand.
Loyalty 1.0 and 1.5 promised the ability to scale loyalty, and in most cases it did. But to add personalized messaging – like that offered by the restaurant chain — and to attempt to be loyal to your guests on this type of grand scale, takes time and a mastery of technology. Is your company up to the challenge?
If you’ve been around for awhile, perhaps you felt a little déjà vu when you heard loyalty platforms would save your team time?
Many years ago in a galaxy far, far away, a similar promise was made…
The Machine of The Year – 1982
At the dawn of personal computing, and before PCs and laptops became ubiquitous, we were promised that these gizmos were going to make our lives easier and give us more time to enjoy life.
The impact of the Apple II and the IBM PC was fully demonstrated when Time magazine named the home computer the “Person” of the Year for 1982. It was the first time in the history of the venerable publication that an inanimate object was bestowed with this award.
An excerpt from an accompanying article, “A New World of Dreams,” painted a rosy picture of a promised future:
“…Point is, it will save you time. Time time time. And we need all the time we can save. Can’t kill time without injuring eternity. Thoreau said that. Great American, Thoreau.
You say: Why should I want to save time? I hear you, friend. I hear you. You wonder where it gets you, saving all that time when you think about old Henry Ford’s gizmo that was supposed to save a peck of time. Only instead of conquering the open road, we wound up living on it. You’ve got a point. You a college boy? But this is the country of the A-bomb and the zipper. We always save time, good and bad. Tempus fugit. Time is money. Most of all, time is dreams. And computers give you time for dreams.”
Loyalty 2.0
So, how do we upgrade to Loyalty 2.0? How do we blend all that we have learned to produce a loyalty relationship with our clients that is as strong as the one we wish them to have with us? A good starting point is to replicate the 1-to-1 experience – with as much richness as we can – in the digital universe.
For a Loyalty 2.0 program to succeed, it needs to have a few of the following features:
Social media integration
Detailed analytics
Targeted email marketing
Targeted text message marketing
Smartphone integration and an app
Software that’s integrated with POS
Segmentation tools
Campaign tools
Customer recognition
Loyalty automation
The last four points are the most important. Most Loyalty 1.5 platforms lacked automated campaign and segmentation tools. Or, took too much time and effort from your teams to create the kind of personal connections we are advocating for now.
To get your company on track quickly, you might consider a provider like Punchh, LevelUp, Paytronix, and others that live in the Loyalty 2.0 space.
All of these are vendors that are purely focused on the B2C experience. They are dedicated to providing clients with a mobile-first strategy. It makes it easy to analyze customer behavior, generate insights, and develop sophisticated marketing automation. And it makes customized campaigns and promotions possible. Most offer deep integrations with leading eCommerce/online ordering, POS, and payment providers. All that provides marketers with a single view of the customer for omnichannel engagement across physical retail and digital channels.
Are you ready to take a leap forward into the world of two-way loyalty? By adopting a Loyalty 2.0 mindset, you will find it easier to be loyal to your customers. However, you’ll still need to commit corporate resources to execute with success if your customers are to feel the love.
Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider is a dynamic results-oriented, data-driven professional, Douglas drives nationwide growth through the creation and delivery of unique, creative brand strategies enhancing customer affinity and market position. With 25+ years of executive marketing experience, he strengthens brand equity with resonating positioning strategies. He uses successful marketing programs and innovative marketing campaigns that boost revenues. An innovative leader with strong team-building and collaboration skills, his strategic initiatives generate substantial shareholder and franchisee value and open new revenue opportunities.
Thank you for visiting our blog.
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
I’m not going to bore you with scientific and psychological mumbo jumbo, but I think you should understand the importance of creating SMART goals using the process I will outline in this chapter. Understanding why something is important makes you more likely to follow the process diligently. Remember, people don’t buy what you do or how you do it. They buy why you do it. The same principle follows here.
Outside of a preacher in a small church, I don’t know of a more lonely calling than a small business owner.
