a mr. appliance® publication
1st Edition 2017
Winning at What’s Most Important
Edition 1 2017
CONTENTS
4
The Mr. Appliance® Fridge
5 7 9
Winning at What's Most Important
4 9
It's a Great Time to be Part of Dwyer Group® Stepping into the Future with SmartWare Predictive Profiles: Recruiting for Your Business An Encore Experience That You Should Share Responding to Positive and Negative Reviews Social Media Reviews: The Proactive Approach
WINNING AT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT
11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19
STEPPING INTO THE FUTURE WITH SMARTWARE
Five Marketing Best Practices
ProTradeNet® Update: Making Dollars and Sense
Leading with Values
Life's Defining Moments
CONTRIBUTIONS:
DWYER GROUP, INC. Mike Bidwell, President, CEO Dina-Dwyer Owens, Co-Chair Mary Thompson, Chief Operating Officer Robert Tunmire, Executive Vice President MR. APPLIANCE, LLC Doug Rogers, President Glenn Lewis , Vice President Teena Jimenez, Executive Assistant Rebecca Baker, Franchise Consultant Michael Noe, Franchise Consultant Dusty Williamson, Brand Manager Megan Boyd , Communications Manager Rachel Chaney, Local Marketing Specialist
PROTRADENET, LLC Kathleen Seaman, Communications Specialist
PRODUCTION Michael McCullough , Creative Manager Asher Freeman Murphy, Graphic Designer Megan Boyd , Communications Manager
12
AN ENCORE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU SHOULD SHARE
Pinterest.com/MrApplianceCorp YouTube.com/MrApplianceCorp Facebook.com/MrApplianceCorp
Twitter.com/MrApplianceCorp MrAppliance.com/blog/ MrAppliance.com/blog/feed/rss/
Send Toolbox ideas to Megan.Boyd@DwyerGroup.com
WE EQUIP SUCCESS
At Sunbelt Rentals, we’re more than just backhoes and skid-steers. Our product line includes a wide variety of small tools and equipment frequently used for large jobs or weekend projects. Stop by any of our locations nationwide to rent the equipment you need. 800-508-4760
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WINNING AT WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT Recruiting Successfully, Utilizing New Tools and Claiming Happiness Everyday By: Doug Rogers, Mr. Appliance® President
C an you believe we are already halfway through 2017? They say time flies when you’re having fun, and that’s one of the things I wish for each and every Mr. Appliance franchisee. We want you successfully living out the dream of owning your own business, thriving and growing your team and having fun in the process. There’s a few key concepts I want to challenge you to incorporate into your daily operations that I know will strengthen you and your franchise. As we enter the peak season of summer, focus on winning at what’s most important: recruiting successfully, utilizing new tools and claiming happiness every day. Recruiting Successfully Recruiting is key for our business model. We should be doing everything we can to recruit and retain technicians year-round. A shop without techs is a shop without inventory. As the economy continues to improve, it will mean an all-out fight for the best technicians. So, how do we compete? First of all, it’s important to look deeper than an individual’s current technical skills. Instead, consider how long they have been out in the workforce, even if it is not in the appliance industry. What experience do they have interacting with customers and with people in general and what is their work ethic? True, it may cost you more to grab someone who is not being hired
for their very first job. But recruiting them with an attractive salary will be worth it. In the beginning, get together a dollar amount for a salary, and pay him or her an hourly wage. Teach them how to do dryer vent cleaning, have them do two-man jobs and possibly simple part installs. By doing this, it teaches the new employee how to be a technician while they are observing. If you’re a big enough operation, you’re constantly struggling with how to do two-man jobs. If you have a less experienced man or woman, he or she can be paired with a more experienced employee on the job. Dryer vent cleaning is simple to train on, and is a way to have income coming in to offset the employee’s paycheck while you train them. Using New Tools RAREToolbox and Predictive Profiles There are several new tools that can help you through the recruiting and training process, all of which have been rolled out for Mr. Appliance within the last three years. First, I encourage you to read the article on the RAREToolbox and Predictive Profiles in this magazine issue, written by our Mr. Appliance Sure Start Coordinator and Franchise Consultant, Jeanne Smith. These important programs will help you recruit with the candidates your business needs.
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Message From The President continued
Claiming Happiness Every Day You can be the most successful recruiter, with the highest retention rate and the best tools implementer. But, if you are not tending to your happiness, you’re missing one of the biggest components of all.
Samurai Tech, Higher Logic and Appliance Tech Once you hire a new employee, you can send him to Samurai Tech for thorough, video training. Go to mrappliance.tech for more information about this resource. Also, you can introduce them to Higher Logic. This is a database of what other Mr. Appliance technicians have done for almost any appliance problem. To access, visit your FranConnect portal at this link: https://illinois2.franconnect.net/mrappliance/control/ main and click “Higher Logic” under the Single Sign On Links section.
"If you are not tending to your happiness, you’re missing one of the biggest components of all."
There’s a tremendous video by Shawn Anchor that discusses understanding the advantages of being happy. CLICK HERE to watch that piece. I won’t give it all away, but here are some of the key takeaways: • How to Help People Understand the Advantageous of Being Happy • You need to be smart, but you need to have the right emotional quotient, the right EQ not just the right IQ. • You can’t go outside your values. • To create a lasting positive attitude – think of three things you’re grateful for every day. • Journal each day about two things that went well yesterday. • Exercise and meditate daily. • Perform a random act of kindness every day. Happiness is a choice we make every day. No matter the circumstances, we can choose our outlook. How we respond to situations is our power in them. I hope you’ll take this to heart, and commit to making each remaining day of 2017 the very best it can be… for yourself, your family, your team and your customers.
You could also connect your employee with videos at Appliance Video. It’s a resource paid for by Mr. Appliance corporate operations, which is offered as a free tool to our franchisees. Go to: appliancevideo.com for more info on this. SmartWare A brand-new software tool called SmartWare is being rolled out for all Mr. Appliance franchisees this year. It’s going to mean a new learning curve, but the added benefits for your business will be well worth the adjustments. There are several new and helpful features included, such as Point of Sale on iPads. This allows your technicians to see the history of jobs while they are helping customers. The software also allows them to have insight into service schedule capabilities. Users will have direct insight into the cost of parts so they can quote more quickly and more accurately. We have chosen a web browser interface for the office version of the software, versus the remote desktop (RDP) making access to the software more universally accepted on computers and smart devices.
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OUR VISION
OUR MISSION
To be a world class company admired for the excellence that customers, franchisees and associates experience with Dwyer Group .
To teach our principles and systems of personal and business success so that all people we touch live happier and more successful lives.
It’s a Great Time to be a Part of Dwyer Group ®
By: Mike Bidwell
W e are at the dawn of a new day at Dwyer Group®. With great anticipation, we have launched our new overarching brand, Neighborly™ (known as Neighbourly™ in Canada), that we conceived prior to Reunion last year. This is a bold step forward to realizing our long-standing vision that we all benefit from being members of a common family of franchised brands. We have experimented over the years to find ways to expose customers from one brand to other Dwyer Group brands. However, each proved to be too burdensome, too inefficient and too expense. In retrospect, we had to wait for technology and how people use technology to catch up – including the Dwyer Group ecosystem – to be able to execute on this vision in an effective and sustainable way. As the marketplace has evolved, the full breadth of Dwyer Group’s service brands’ offerings has become more meaningful to homeowners. The dream was initially to leverage our individual customer silos that each of you have in your perspective local markets and expose those customers to other Dwyer Group brands. Since they are buying services from you, they are likely using many of our other service offerings as well to meet their needs. Unfortunately, our data says that less than 2% of the time they are using more than one of our brands. I suppose this makes sense when you consider market share in each market, and the fact that we do nothing to make it better. What nowmakes this possible is: • Our Dwyer Group Culture • Single Point of Sale (POS) system used in each brand, with API connectivity • Centralized data warehouse at Dwyer Group to consume all POS data • Universal customer surveying system (reviews and rankings)
• Dwyer Group Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and strategy • Our consumer content library • Robust brand consumer websites • Find a Neighbor (FaN) mapping system • Talent (internal and external) to orchestrate • Capacity – 2400 North American franchisees in eleven service verticals
• Evolving consumer shopping preferences • Financial capacity to make the investment • Vision and leadership to make it happen
It is a great time to be a part of Dwyer Group , now our Neighborly network. Our research and pilot test indicate the market is ready for Neighborly , and we are now ready to execute and deliver. Its purpose is to lower your customer acquisition cost, increase your customer count, shorten your customers’ purchase cycles, and reduce customer defection or attrition. All of this helps enhance your profitability. There is another reason as well. While this reason did not exist when we envisioned this dream, as market dynamics have evolved, it does today. If we don’t do this, someone else will – and they are attempting to do so now. Now, our motives are also protectionist. The good news is nobody has what we have. Nobody is better suited to execute and deliver the customer experience than us, so let’s get on with it… Neighborly,
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Message From The Vice President
A Note from Glenn Lewis I wanted to let everyone know how excited I am to assume my new role as Vice President of Operations for Mr. Appliance . I was so proud when I was asked to join the Mr. Appliance team last year. Now it is a tremendous opportunity to be able to continue to serve our franchise community in a new capacity. I know many of you know my background and you probably saw the initial announcement in the middle of March. I started with the Dwyer Group® in 2013, at Mr. Electric®, then moved to Dwyer Service Solutions® in 2015, and joined the Mr. Appliance team in 2016. During the past year with Mr. Appliance , my primary role was working new franchisees as the Sure Start Coordinator. This position allowed me to really learn “the system” form the ground up. These are exciting times for Mr. Appliance . This year’s introduction of the new software, record sales performance of some our top franchisees, and significant numbers of new franchisees joining the brand, all indicate an incredible future for Mr. Appliance . Again, I am thrilled, along with the rest of the Mr. Appliance corporate team, to be a part of supporting the ongoing success.
Glenn Lewis, Mr. Appliance® Vice President
Reminder: The current registration fee for Reunion 2017 in sunny Orlando is $325.00 through July 31, 2017. The registration fee will increase to $350.00 per person on August 1. Don’t forget to book your room for this event. Please be sure and register through the 2017 Reunion Website button located on the front page of FranConnect under Single Sign On Links. REUNION UPDATE
The Reunion dates are: Sunday, September 24–Wednesday, September 27. We can’t wait to see you there!
Teena Jimenez, Mr. Appliance® Executive Assistant
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Stepping into the Future with SmartWare
By: Rebecca Baker, Mr. Appliance® Franchise Consultant and SmartWare Roll Out Project Lead
A t Mr. Appliance®, our corporate Mission Statement is to continually develop, refine, implement and monitor systems that deliver a competitive advantage to our franchisees. Once such system, ZWare, has served us well for many years. But in the interest of constant development, for the last year we have been working to convert our software from an RDP server to a web-based platform. We have taken the best parts of ZWare and improved upon them to give you the wave of the future – SmartWare! Moving to a web-based platform has several advantages including more frequent updates, newer technology and easier integration with other vendors. SmartWare is currently integrated with Marcone’s part list, which is just Phase 1 of our development plan. Because Marcone’s parts list is integrated with the software, we have current pricing on all parts provided by Marcone. The technician simply selects the part from the list to add to a work order. The part has current pricing with your customized margin applied with no additional steps. The fact that the software is housed on the web and incorporated into one database makes updating the software a much simpler, quicker process. Updates will go out on a monthly basis—yes, we will continue to update and improve the software! We already have additional enhancements planned.
Highlights of the new software include: • Unlimited office users • Easier emailing functionality • The ability to have multiple windows open at one time • A mapping program on the Dispatch screen to allow a view of technician locations at a glance • One easy place to manage the work order flow • Work orders updated instantly upon sync from the iPad • PO’s created automatically • Customer history on the iPad • Parts Margin Tool incorporated into the iPad & SmartWare • Tech Inventory shows in the parts list on the iPad • And much more…
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Stepping into the Future with SmartWare
SmartWare will be available very soon. We already have 16 offices using it and this is what they are saying: SmartWare! If we did it, so can you! We love the batching process! The PO automation is a huge time saver and the ability to add notes from the dispatch screen is great.” – Dana Smith One of the best features of the new SmartWare is the search capability. Unlike ZWare, SmartWare allows the search by any part of the customer information. You can search by name, phone, address, zip, work order number, tech name, location, the options are endless. It is extremely easy to find the customer and/or work order you are looking for. In addition, SmartWare provides so much more information about Purchase Orders. You will know before you run the route if all of your parts are in, or if there are work orders scheduled with Open purchase orders. PO status is also shown as part of the Dispatch screen, so you can easily spot potential problem situations where a tech is going out on a call, but the PO is not complete. SmartWare uses color for more things as well. Statuses that are good are in Green, and bad are in Red…what a concept!” – Paul Berry Would you like to simplify all of those tasks and make your life easier? Well, let me tell you about SmartWare. Your techs will love you, your office people will bow to you, your life will be so easy you'll wonder what you are going to do with all your spare time. Okay, maybe not that last part. I found the transition to Smart Ware to be a fairly easy process. The initial transition was like moving in with the in-laws. You can't find the silverware or towels because they are in different places. After a couple of weeks using SmartWare, I now love living with the in-laws. I am used to where they put silverware and I don't even notice them hanging around. ” – George Gill After only being on ZWare for a couple of months, I am glad my FC offered me the opportunity to make the move to SmartWare. The new system is much more intuitive and user-friendly. The conversion of data was amazingly smooth and the process very efficient. I love the new screens, functional changes and scheduled improvements. This new system is going to be instrumental in helping Mr. Appliance ‘BRING IT’ forward.” – Mary Hoover The interface is much easier to work with and information is much more accessible. MPG within the software is an awesome improvement! The employee/tech schedule template is much easier to work with and changing the tech’s long-term schedule is a breeze. Having the current pricing and the part numbers in the system for a tech makes their life much easier. It also makes the PO process easier, once you get the hang of it. Availability of a map on the dispatch schedule is a time saver for whomever is routing and following techs.” – John Marmorato
We are putting together a plan for transition which includes time to get into a practice account and learn the ropes before going live. We will lay out exactly what the process involves, what to expect and when requirements need to be met. There has been a lot of effort put into ensuring that this transition goes as smoothly as possible. These are exciting times! You will love the new software and all of the improvements that come along with it. We look forward to giving you access to the wave of the Future – SmartWare!
Be on the lookout for more communications coming soon from the corporate office with details on the roll-out!
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PREDICTIVE PROFILES Recruiting for Your Business
By: Jeanne Smith, Mr. Appliance® Franchise Consultant
Predictive Profiles is pretty cool. I am not wasting my time any longer. If candidates don’t bother to complete the short application on www.applyatmrappliance.com for me, they are not worth my time. If you have not tried it, you are missing out. Read the whole report Predictive Profiles gives you on a candidate. It gives me a great starting point for interviews.” – Scott Worden, Mr. Appliance® of Annapolis and Salisbury. Spring is here and summer coming. We tend to see uptakes in calls for appliance repair service. I know most of you are always recruiting. It’s part of our business model. We have a great tool available to you that assists you: Predictive Profiles. Have you enrolled in it? Now is the time. You need to be ready to recruit even more wisely to have the right techs/ CSRs in place to service your customers as the busy season approaches. You are investing money to make the phone ring. It makes sense to invest to get the qualified candidates you are looking for, and to save your time as well. As Chuck Brady, Mr. Appliance of Pasco County, put it, I get immediate basic screening up front and all information on the application clearly written out. I pay special attention to the key indicators of potential job performance. It’s a complete readable application for me to be able to take the next step with the applicant.” Here is how it works: All franchise locations and jobs are listed on the career portal website at www.applyatmrappliance.com, so candidates can apply 24/7 to any location. There is nothing that a franchise owner has to do to be included on the website because it is already done. When an applicant applies, the franchise owner receives an email notification. If they are not yet subscribed to view their database of applicants, they can just click on the link in the email and sign up. You can also find the sign up page on the support site at mrappliance.predictiveprofiles.com under the “sign up” tab.
Once an owner signs up using a credit card, you will have full access to the database unless you choose to unsubscribe because you are not hiring. In that case, we still continue to collect applications on your behalf, but you will not be charged. When you sign up, it is a monthly recurring charge of $25.00 or a flat yearly fee of $290.00. You can always tell us you want to discontinue to stop being charged, but then you won’t have access to their database.
I highly recommend that the web address of applyatmrappliance.com be added NOW to every place you post for techs, office staff. It makes sense to have one place to review all your information on potential interested candidates who really want to be part of your team. Get signed up at Predictive Profiles NOW so that when those email alerts come to you, you will be fully ready to read the whole report and determine who to contact for your interview process.
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AN ENCORE EXPERIENCE That You Should Share By: Michael Noe, Mr. Appliance® Franchise Consultant
A ccording to the Guinness Book of World Records, the record for the most curtain calls, or encores, is 165 set by world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti on February 24, 1988 in Berlin. The audience applauded for over an hour after the performance and Pavarotti, moved by their appreciation, had a piano brought onstage and he performed an impromptu recital. At Mr. Appliance , our Mission Statement is: To create encore experiences that customers can’t wait to share with others. Encore is a French word which means “again” and since there are generally five appliances in every home, of course we want customers to say “again and again” when it comes to fixing all those appliances. And, of course, we want those same people to tell their friends so we can go to their homes too and get them to say “again”. In our systems, we use the word “encore” in another way— we offer Encore Training to any franchisee who has been in our system at least a year. This means that an owner, or any person that the owner deems management-level, can come back, once per year, and go through Basic Training again. We’ve had owners who come back themselves once a year to learn anything new we might be teaching. After all, you know how we pride ourselves on staying up-to-date with the latest technology, and that seems to be changing faster and faster these days. Sometimes, however, an owner simply wants to recharge their batteries. Rick and Linda Anderson, owners of Mr. Appliance of Northern Colorado recently came through Encore Training and Linda told us, “Every time we invest in training like this it returns to us via the bottom line.” Other owners send their Office Managers or their Service Managers through Encore Training in order to help them see the big picture. A few years ago, we had Rey Castaneda, now
co-owner of Mr. Appliance of San Antonio and Mr. Appliance of Corpus Christi, come through Encore. “I really didn’t have any specific expectations, having never been through a training quite like that before,” he said. “But even though I’d been a part of Mr. Appliance for several years as a technician and then as an owner, there was still a lot for me to learn.” This past year we at Dwyer Group® and Mr. Appliance have been trying to focus on getting you tools to get the right people on board in your business—things like the RARE Toolbox and Neighborly. We hope these will increase your exposure, not just with customers but with potential employees too. If you haven’t considered hiring somebody who is entrepreneurial in nature (think: People Like You) you might want to give it some thought. Bring them in, teach them what you know and, when the timing is right, think about sending them to Waco for Encore Training as part of their development. It might help them grow. Although it might not seem like it sometimes, life is, by and large, a meritocracy. People love things that are truly great and are willing to pay more with either their time or their money to experience it. If your customers are willing to ask you for an encore 165 times, you’ve reached a level of greatness unparalleled in the record books. Isn’t investing in your business training worth that? Aren’t you? ”Every time we invest in training like this it returns to us via the bottom line.”
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Your Mr. Appliance® marketing and communication team has prepared content in this issue with a strong focus on how to monitor, maintain and improve your online reputation. The next three articles cover social media comments, customer reviews, our new Net Promoter System (NSP) and even some old-fashioned, in-personmarketing best practices. Enjoy!
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Responding to POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE REVIEWS By: Dusty Williamson, Mr. Appliance® Brand Manager
W hen you enter a customer’s home to provide service, they are either satisfied or dissatisfied. In the digital world of today, customers often take their experience straight to the web. Listen360 acts as a place where both the satisfied and dissatisfied customer can voice their opinion. While most often a franchisee will respond to a negative review, the positive reviews are forgotten. Let’s take a look at why it’s important to respond to both the positive and negative reviews. Why respond to a good review? If a good customer leaves a glowing five-star review, it can’t get any better than that, right? Actually, it can. Here’s why you should always respond to a positive review: • It’s the Neighborly thing to do. If customer gave you a compliment in real life, you would say thank you. It’s only polite. And with an online review, the compliment is public. So be extra nice! • Everyone is looking. 92% of consumers now read online reviews. The public, including your potential future customers, may read this review. Replying to the review is a chance to speak to these people too. • It affects search rankings. By replying properly, you can improve the SEO ranking of the review, and help the review show up in search results for a business. You might not know how to respond to a positive review. Here are 3 easy steps to help in the process: Step 1: Thank the customer for the positive review and be specific. Ensure the reviewer knows a real person is behind your reply by thanking them for something specific they said. “Thanks for leaving a review, and mentioning our technician Steve. Glad he was able to get your dishwasher running again!" Step 2: Use the business name and keywords in your review response to the good review. Using the business name, category and location in your response will help the positive review appear in search results. “The team here at Mr. Appliance is thrilled to hear such good feedback, and we’re proud to be one of the friendliest [appliance repair services] in [city name]."
Step 3: Invite customer to do something in your response. Ask the customer to return, use another service or spread the word. “If you have a friend or family member that could use our service, please pass us along.” Why respond to a negative review? Unfortunately, you can’t just ignore a bad review until it goes away. In fact, ignoring it can make things worse! Remember, • You're not just replying to just the one reviewer. You're speaking to everyone who reads this review, including potential future customers. • Replying is your opportunity to make things right. If a customer brought a complaint to you in person, you would try to make it right. The same goes for online reviews—despite the impersonal nature of online reviews, it’s not over just yet. You can turn this thing around! • Replying shows other readers you are not shady or neglectful to feedback, and have taken steps to ensure this problem won't happen to the next customer. Here are 4 easy steps to follow when responding to a negative review: Step 1: Apologize and sympathize in your response to the negative review. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns. Even if they are unfounded, show sympathy that they had a bad experience. “I’m sorry to hear about your bad experience.” Step 3: Move the conversation offline. Provide contact info with someone at the business so they can discuss the problem in person. “My name is [name] and I am the [Owner / Manager]. If you’d like to discuss this further, please contact me at [phone number / email].” Step 4: Keep your response simple, short and sweet. Don't go into too much detail or ask any questions. This will prevent saying something that might cause the upset customer to add more negative feedback by replying to the review. Three sentences for your whole reply is a good rule of thumb.
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SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEWS The Proactive Approach—Why do they matter? How can we improve them? By: Megan Boyd, Mr. Appliance® Communications Manager
I n today’s world, your online presence is never turned off. It’s visible to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So are the reviews customers write about us. But, do they really matter? What impact to they have on revenue? The answer – they absolutely matter. Take a look at the star rating graphic from reputation.com. As you can see, 87% of customers said that a favorable review confirmed their purchase decision. Four out of five consumers said negative information they read online changed their mind against making a purchase. And how is revenue impacted? According to research by reputation.com, having one higher star rating meant a 5-9% increase in revenue for businesses polled. Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about what to do when you receive reviews. Just like your business, you are the owner of your pages, and it is up to you to decide how to respond. Listen360, an outstanding tool for online reputation monitoring, was rolled out by our Brand Manager Dusty Williamson. If you are not using it, reach out to your Franchise Consultant for some tips. Also, your Local Marketing Specialist, Rachel Chaney, is an excellent resource if you find yourself with a social media conundrum at the local level. You can email her at rachel.chaney@dwyergroup.com. For negative reviews, to post a reply in a timely manner that demonstrates to future customers that you have a desire to fix their concerns. Nobody is perfect. But if your reply shows that you want to understand the customer’s needs in every situation, readers will give you more trust, and be more likely to do business with you. But you may ask, “How can we be more proactive? I don’t want to just sit around and wait to respond to negative complaints.” That’s a great point. And on that note, be sure you reply to positive posts as well. Thank customers for taking time to post their compliments because, as our previous graphic shows, their kind words mean dollars in your pocket. Dusty has shared an article in this issue of Toolbox magazine with some great tips on how and why we should always respond to both negative and positive customer comments and reviews. I strongly encourage you to read it.
reputation.com
The Challenge I am also proposing a good offensive tactic that I’d like to challenge every franchisee to consider. CLICK HERE to download a letter template you can customize for your business. This is a document you can use as an email or as a snail-mail letter to send to your favorite customers. You know who they are—those customers who tell your technicians that you guys hung the moon, the ones who have used you repeatedly, etc. Please consider sending them this letter. In it, you can add your local Facebook page link and request a 5-Star review. Also, we’ve included a line asking for positive reviews on the corporate page. Each review matters. A customer’s words are priceless, and each 5-Star rating you get will help to bring your overall average up. In today’s world, you must plan a good offense and a good defense to protect your online reputation. So be proactive and respond to all customer comments and send the above letter to your favorite customers. Don’t sit around and wait for the ball to drop in front of you. Pick it up, and run with it!
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FIVE MARKETING BEST PRACTICES
By: Rachel Chaney, Mr. Appliance® Local Marketing Specialist
3 Keep in mind that customer service, is marketing too! Believe it or not, your customer service actually markets for your business too! A customer that has a positive customer service will share their experience with others, but a customer that has negative customer service experience will share their experience with even more people. Try to focus on putting the customer first in whatever role that you are in. After all “making our best effort to understand and appreciate the customer’s needs in every situation.” will truly make a lasting impact for your business. 4 Get your “feet on the street”! Getting engaged with your local community’s Chamber of Commerce, community events, and local charitable organizations is a great way to put your name out there in your own community. By being active in the events of your community, it allows your business to promote itself easily and cost effectively. Be sure to bring printed materials or promotional items to events that you attend to maximize the impact on potential customers. Making sure to include more simple types of marketing strategies, such as direct mail, door hangers, promotional items, etc. can often go neglected by businesses. However, this is an easy yet effective means to market to potential and current customers. A good idea would be to make sure that you use the “Box 9” tactic following a repair call to spread awareness of your business to your clients’ neighbors. This means leaving behind marketing pieces at the three neighbors across the street, and the three houses left and right of your customer. It will also be to your advantage to make use of previous customer contacts, as well as the targeted area zip codes in your business’ purchased territory in order to help you make an informed approach to your direct mailing prospects. *For more marketing strategies and marketing help, contact your Mr. Appliance Marketing Specialist: Rachel Chaney: rachel.chaney@dwyergroup.com 5 Direct marketing does matter.
G ood marketing has such a huge impact on the success of franchising. Marketing should be applied consistently to promote a franchise in every aspect of development. After all, how can anyone ever know about a business or what it does unless they are told? To elevate your franchise marketing efforts, we’ve narrowed down five marketing best practices that will help you execute your marketing strategy, capture the right customers, and elevate your business. 1 Encourage customers to review your business on Listen360, Facebook, Yelp, and Google Reviews. Online reviews have created a new form of marketing and communication that bridges the gap between simple word-of-mouth and a viral form of feedback that can move virtual mountains for a business. The importance of online reviews for businesses is truly mind boggling; from increase of brand awareness to an overall increase of profit in the long run. When your customer posts a positive review it allows all of their personal connections to make an assessment of your business also. It also makes them more likely to refer your business to their friends and family members. Just think about how much your business could grow, simply from this positive feedback and friend referrals… this is easy revenue! 2 Regularly post on your Facebook or other Social Media Accounts. With 100 million Facebook users in the US alone, and the average Facebook user spending about an hour everyday on the site, it’s easy to see why social media is a big deal! While your marketing team at Dwyer Group® will create and publish posts for your Facebook page five times a week, it is still extremely important to also post on your own local level 2-3 times a week. By doing this you will be able to draw more attention to people that are near your business. Content such as pictures, videos, and links generate the most attention and allow you to show the public what your business is all about and the friendly faces that are a part of your business.
PROTRADENE T ® UPDATE MAKING DOLLARS & SENSE By: Kathleen Seaman
You might ask, what does all this mean for me? Based on 2016’s program participation — if you just keep doing what you’re doing — cumulatively PTN members will get back an additional $250,000 in rebates! But the potential for more is significant and exciting! For example, when you look at the top 10 vendors that pay Mr. Appliance® members the most rebates, on average only 47% of franchisees are using those vendors! Don’t leave money on the table. The PTN team is working hard to bring you more, but we need your help. The more franchisees that participate with PTN vendors, the more buying power we can leverage, which means better pricing, better rebates, and more value. Contact a franchisee relations coordinator today! They can run a Rebate Double Check to make sure all of your purchases are being tracked, and they can also discuss opportunities to increase your savings and rebates. Finally, we’re also working on expanding your preferred vendor network. ProTradeNet strives to offer a vendor category for every business need you might have, and we’ve already brought on several new vendor partners this year — Worldpay, Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, and TBC Corp (which is the parent company for Merchant’s, NTB, Tire Kingdom, and Big O Tires) to name a few — and there will definitely be more to come. For the most up to date list of PTN vendors, visit ProTradeNet.com. On the website, see our “New Vendors” post under the PTN Announcements section, which highlights the most recent additions to the vendor program. ”Don't leave money on the table." Another goal of Dollars & Sense is to add more opportunities for Rebate Stacking. We have rebate programs with several great distributors, but we’re also looking to create additional partnerships with key manufacturers. So when you buy a product from one of our manufacturing partners through one of our distribution partners, that is an opportunity for Rebate Stacking — receiving a rebate from both the distributor and manufacturer!
The ProTradeNet® Dollars & Sense initiative is all about providing more opportunities for our members to increase their bottom line. The first way we’re striving to do that is by increasing rebates with vendors you’re already using in the program. So far this year, we’ve already negotiated higher rebates with several vendors (and there will be more to come!). For example, Ignite Payments doubled its rebate, and Sunbelt Rentals increased its rebate by more than 700%.
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TOOLBOX® | EDITION 1 2017 17
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Vice President - Sales | susan.kothe@AssuredPartners.com
18 TOOLBOX® | EDITION 1 2017
LEADING WITH VALUES By: Dina Dwyer-Owens
I n September 2015, Dwyer Group® Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kennedy Thompson and I had the pleasure of meeting US Representative, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, at the International Franchise Association’s Action Network meeting to talk about the most pressing issues facing franchisors across the country. We were excited to meet the highest ranking woman in the Republican Party and - wouldn’t you know it - our discussion turned to living and leading with values. How Dwyer Group® Leveraged Values to Build a Billion-Dollar Company It’s been a little over two decades since Dwyer Group implemented its operationalized Code of Values and a series of principles that support our organization. Live R.I.C.H (Respect, Integrity, Customer focus and Having fun in the process) guide our business decisions. We strive daily to keep these values front-and-center ensuring that everyone in the company, from the leadership team to our franchisees on the front lines, know and embrace them. After a record year of historic growth in 2016, our organization now includes 16 consumer brands, more than 2,800 franchises and over $1.4 billion in annual system-wide sales that stretch across 11 countries around the globe. People routinely ask, “How can we create that kind of successful growth for our own organization?” The common thread behind our growing, collaborative and collective success is the Dwyer Group Code of Values. It’s a topic that speaks to my heart and one of the reasons I wrote my last book Values, Inc. I wanted to provide insight for organizations interested in what we are known for at Dwyer Group - helping businesses stay the course as they grow. In addition, I wanted a road map to help small business owners, including franchisees and their teams, navigate their business
through the use of their own Code of Values. Helping others define a Code of Values that can live and breathe in their organizations is a passion of mine and it has been a privilege to share the journey of Dwyer Group with other franchisors, businesses, the public. And yes, even government. A Code of Values Can Energize Any Workplace - Even Our Government At that first meeting with Rodgers, our Code of Values message really resonated with her, so she invited me to return to Washington, DC, later that year to give a “Values in Business” seminar to her entire congressional staff. The end result of the workshop was that her office wrote out their own Code of Values…something they have begun following over the last year. Taking a page from our Live R.I.C.H message, her office now has a message to S.E.R.V.E. Cathy wrote a guest column for TIME Magazine , in which she shared a little about her team’s Code of Values: “On Capitol Hill, which is often the epicenter of partisanship and egos, my team and I established a system of values, a motto called, 'Have Fun While We SERVE' — Seek Excellence, Everybody Matters, Responsibly Own It, Vigilant Integrity, and Embrace Change — and at staff meetings, we talk about how we are living these values, and where we fall short.” In the last year, since having their own values, Rodgers' office has found several ways to put them into practice. In doing so, it has helped the team reflect on how their actions impact those around them and how they can strive to be better public servants, teammates and citizens. Other leaders on the Hill have asked for copies of her Code of Values to begin implementing in their own offices. Additionally, because of the reputation and culture created by their values, her office has attracted resumes of people seeking to work in their environment. Values Truly Know No Boundaries All of this is music to my ears. Living and leading with values knows no boundaries. It can serve a small business, it can serve a large organization, and it can even serve our country’s highest offices. For any organization, a strong code of values, put into action, provides a roadmap to the future. The bottom line (and a profitable one, too) is that a company that lives and leads with values will always outperform, outshine, outdo and outlive competitors who put ethics on the back burner.
TOOLBOX® | EDITION 1 2017 19
LIFE’S DEFINING MOMENTS By: Mary Kennedy Thompson
H ow we offer services to our customers can be one of those daily actions that over time becomes the defining moment that makes us great. At the start of my career, each time I met a successful person, I would ask what they did to get there. I always expected to hear them say it was some significant occasion that created the change and growth toward excellence. It took my asking about 10 really successful people before I saw the real pattern. It was not a big decision nor a clear moment where a special event occurred that created the defining moment for achievement. I learned, instead, it is consistently practiced daily habits that help us grow into successful businessmen and women - and in doing so, we grow successful businesses. For our service brands, the defining moments happen each day on the phone and in our customer’s home. It includes all parts of our frontline service, a quick and friendly greeting when our customer first calls, and even doing the small things on each service call. It’s the basics – that’s why they’re called the basics - that grow a company. Ask yourself, “Are we using the basics in building everyday actions to create success?” Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning is a habit. Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your character.” I believe great companies are built by great people who think “How can I improve my interactions with my customers?”
That thought becomes the belief that outstanding customer experiences will drive the business. And cheerleader customers become the character of the organization that help us recruit the right people. Exceptional customer interactions define the relationship, which builds the company. Below is a good place to start. • Cheerfully and efficiently answer the phone using a script to stay on point and build a great service call Offer convenience to our customer (such as a clear appointment time). • Conduct ride-alongs and randomly check up on our service providers when they are on service calls. You are the quality control manager for your business. • Coach invoices to help your service providers to see opportunity and follow up on customer needs. • Closely read the customer surveys to see how you’re really performing. Let’s win!
20 TOOLBOX® | EDITION 1 2017
Patience In The Workplace
Neighborly & People Like You
So, what have I done about my impatience to try to become a little more patient? • Pray and ask God for patience. • Learn to stop and think things over for 24 hours before making a decision. While this is not always possible, I have learned to stop and think things through more often. • When working with people, don’t respond to what people say and how they act. My first response is normally not the best. I always remind myself that 90 percent of every human being is great. Judge them not by the 10 percent that we all have. • I always remind myself to slow down. Often, slower is faster in the long run. • It’s not always about my timeline. It doesn’t have to be done when Robert wants it done. While I don’t think I’ll ever be known for patience, just maybe by working on being more patient, I can say that I have learned a little patience.
Working Together to Bring You More Business through Cross-Marketing
By: Robert Tunmire
A nyone that knows me would probably agree that patience is not a virtue of mine. I am probably known more for my lack of patience. My lack of patience has probably caused me more challenges than I would ever care to admit. So, what have I learned about patience in my 58 years I've learned...
What brands are missing in your area?
• Impatience most often than not leads to bad decisions. • Impatience harms relationships. • Impatience causes you to look at things from the wrong worldview oftentimes.
Neighborly & People Like You Neighborly & People Like You
Working Together to Bring You More Business through Cross-Marketing
What brands are missing in your area? Recommend People Like Y u to Fill in Your Territory Neighborly & Pe ple Like You
Working Together to Bring You More Business through Cross-Marketing
What brands are missing in your area?
Successful referrals reap rewards such as: $2,000 * ** For the first successful referral $3,500 Recommend People Like You to Fill in Your Territory Succ ssful referrals reap rewards such as: $2,000 * ** For the first successful referral $3,500 Recommend People Like You to Fill in Your Territory Successful referrals reap rewards such as: $2,000 * ** For the first successful referral $3,500 Working Together to Bring You More Business through Cross-Marketing What brands are missing in your area? VISIT DWYERGROUP.COM/PLY OR CALL 866-735-0951 TO SUBMIT A REFERRAL VISIT DWYERGROUP.COM/PLY OR CALL 866-735-0951 TO SUBMIT A REFERRAL Recommend People Like You to Fill in Your Territory Registration for two to Reunion Complimentary hotel stay at Reunion (up to 4 nights) Coach airfare to Reunion for one (or $0.45 per mile if driving) Entered into a drawing for a 7-day cruise Entered into a quarterly drawing for a weekend trip for 2 For additional successful referrals in the same award year **If more than one of your referrals becomes a franchisee in the same award year, you will receive an extra $1,500 for each additional sale in lieu of Reunion registration fees, hotel and travel reimbursement for a total of $3,500. *Prizes are awarded only when a referral purchases a franchise. Award year runs 04/01-3/31. Excludes self-referrals, spouse-referrals, and resales. Registration for two to Reunion Complimentary hotel stay at Reunion (up to 4 nights) For additional successful referrals in the same award year **If more than one of your referrals becomes a franchisee in the same award year, you will receive an extra $1,500 for each additional sale in lieu of Reunion registration fees, hotel and travel reimbursement for a total of $3,500. *Prizes are awarded only when a referral purchases a franchise. Award year runs 04/01-3/31. Excludes self-referrals, spouse-referrals, and resales. What Brands are Missing in Your Area? Reccomend People Like You to Fill in Your Territory For additional successful referrals in the same award year **If more than one of your referrals becomes a franchisee in the same award year, you will receive an extra $1,500 for each additional sale in lieu of Reunion registration fees, hotel and travel reimbursement for a total of $3,500. Entered into a drawing for a 7-day cruise Entered into a quarterly drawing for a weekend trip for 2 *Prizes are awarded only when a referral purchases a franchise. Award year runs 04/01-3/31. Excludes self-referrals, spouse-referrals, and resales. Coach airfare to Reunion for one (or $0.45 per mile if driving)
Registration for two to Reunion
Complimentary hotel stay at Reunion (up to 4 nights)
Entered into a drawing for a 7-day cruise
Entered into a quarterly drawing for a weekend trip for 2
Coach airfare to Reunion for one (or $0.45 per mile if driving)
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