In order to expand their franchise business operations, strengthen franchise development deliverables and widen their franchise base to the continental United States, Sumo Sushi has announced the partnership with Upside Group Franchise Consulting.

According to Shane Kailihiwa, Co-Owner and Board Member of Sumo Sushi,

 “When we made the decision to launch our franchise concept into the US market, we contacted 3 reputable franchise consultants.  Of them all, the Upside Group stood out as the most knowledgeable in the industry.  Their no-nonsense approach to developing solid platforms for which franchises can build a sustainable business is refreshing. We look forward to working with the Upside Group each step of the way.”

The Sumo Sushi and Bento concept restaurants were founded by a family of four entrepreneurs in 2000. Since then, Sumo Sushi and Bento has gained a reputation as a successful family business through its commitment to providing high quality menus, a warm and relaxing atmosphere and excellent service.  Sumo not only serves classic Japanese dishes like customer favorite Teriyaki Chicken Bento with Sumo’s own homemade teriyaki sauce (made right in the restaurant) and the specialty favorite of Unagi Bento (freshwater eel); Sumo is also on the cutting edge of innovative new recipes as our head chef’s continue to create fun, flavorful East meets West favorites.

Upside Group Franchise Consulting is a full service, boutique franchise consulting firm with offices across the country. They have a handpicked, professional staff with decades of franchise experience from all disciplines of the franchise industry.  Upside Group Franchise Consulting offers their clients a full suite of franchise services including innovative franchise marketing programs, outsourced franchise sales, franchise sales training, franchise lead screening, franchise manuals, franchise marketing collateral, and award winning web design.  Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Upside Group Franchise Consulting regularly speaks at International Franchise Association events, serve as contributing writers for several franchise industry publications and have instructed at Nova University, the nation’s leading institution for higher education in the franchise industry.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.upsidefranchiseconsulting.com

The New Year is a great time for entrepreneurs to engage in shopping for a new franchise opportunity.  If you’re not too burned out from all the holiday shopping, gather up your remaining energy and look into the various franchise companies that might make 2012 a great year.  While making a career transition can be daunting, it can also be exhilarating and rewarding.

With all the franchise businesses available in many different industries, a franchise prospect may wonder how they can begin narrowing their choices; start by making a list.  Many franchise prospects jump on the internet and start searching for franchise companies and are quickly overwhelmed by all the choices.  By making a list you can begin to target industries and franchise companies within those industries that might be a good fit for you. 

Some key items to consider are:

·         As they say, “Find something you love and you will never work again.”  So, make sure to list activities that interest you.  There is likely a franchise that includes that type of activity.

·         Do you want a brick and mortar franchise location or an outbound service?

·         What type of hours do you want to work?  Are you okay with nights and weekends or are you looking for a more standard 9 to 5?

·         How many employees do you want to manage?

·         Are you looking for a business which you can run part time?  From home?

·         What is your total investment level?

·         Are you looking for a niche business or something more mainstream?

·         What are your financial goals for the business?

·         Are you going to have a partner or are any family members going to be involved in the business?

After you have answered these questions consider arranging your answers by importance, such as what you would prefer and what you could live without.  Once you have your final list assembled you can now start looking for franchise companies much more efficiently.  So grab your list and head onto websites like franchisegator.com to help educate and inquire about your top choices.  By cross referencing your answers with the various search tools available on franchise portals such as industry, investment level, hot new franchises and location, you can quickly find franchise companies that should closely match your interests.

Make your list and check it twice and you just might find a great new career through franchise entrepreneurship in 2012!

Congratulations to USG client, Complete Nutrition for landing at Number 2 on Entrepreneur.com’s list of Top 10 New Franchises for 2012!  Complete Nutrition joins a list of the newest stars in the franchising world this year.

Complete Nutrition is an upscale nutritional supplement retail store. Their goal is to help each customer look better, feel better and perform better every day.

Started in 2004, Complete Nutrition is now one of the fastest-growing franchises in the nation with over 80 franchises in over 30 states. Complete Nutrition stores eliminate the clutter and high pressure sales environment of typical nutritional supplement stores and instead focus on giving customers the best experience and results for their money. To that end, Complete Nutrition stores employ certified personal trainers, former strength coaches and other experienced fitness professionals in order to best assist customers in developing personalized nutrition programs.

Complete Nutrition joined forces with Upside Group Franchise Consulting to review their franchise operations systems and franchise development deliverables in order to further widen their franchise base.

To view the full list of 2012 Top New Franchises, click here.

Franchise Advertising through Facebook Check-In Deals

The emergence of social media has opened many marketing doors, specifically for franchise advertising.  A franchise business utilizing Facebook Places for the company’s various locations has the ability to produce check-in options at each of the stores.  After the various check-in locations have been created, the franchise company can then begin to use Check-In Deals.  Check-In Deals can be created for specific stores or companywide and give customers a reason to notify their Facebook following of their preference to a business. The deals bring awareness, encourage in-store traffic and build future customer loyalty.  Below is more information on how to use Check-In Deals for franchise advertising.

Value of a Deal for Franchise Advertising

According to Facebook there are over 200 million active users on the mobile site.  The deals appear only when customers are using Facebook mobile near the locations offering them. Meaning a deal can help to reach new and current customers.  After a deal is used the Facebook users check-in is broadcasted to all of their followers.  The average Facebook user has 130 registered friends or followers on the site, which gives a business a large population to reach through one check-in. Also, Check-In Deals can be offered for the entire franchise company or for specific franchise locations.  This can help to drive traffic to slower stores or bring in more customers to all locations. 

Types of Check-In Deals

• Individual Deals

This is a one-time deal and can attract potential and existing customers.  Examples of individual deals include a percentage off a purchase, a gift with purchase or seasonal incentives.  It is meant to draw considerable amounts of customers into your stores. 

• Loyalty Deals

Loyalty deals are similar to loyalty cards at many restaurants, only on a customer’s phone.  In creating a loyalty deal, customers must check-in a specific number of times to claim the deal.  Facebook requires more than two but less than 20 check-ins for this type of franchise advertising. This type of deal is attractive to your already loyal customers. 

• Friend Deals

By design, Facebook promotes social interaction, meaning it should be no surprise that there is also a deal dependent on the amount of people involved.  Friend deals allow businesses to offer deals for groups of up to eight people, when the patrons check in together. 

• Charity Deals

Charity deals are just that, allowing check-ins to account for company donations to a specific charity.  Many times an act of charity will receive more check-ins than a personal discount.  Franchise businesses are able to decide the amount per check-in and the charity. 

Creating Your Deal

1. The first step is to choose the type of deal. Depending on your expectations, franchise marketing strategy, customers and business type, you will choose from the four deals explained above. Each deal has the opportunity to promote your business through a different agenda.   
2. Next you will define your deal by writing the deal summary in 50 characters or less and the explanation of how to claim the deal in 100 characters or less.  The deal summary explains what the deal is for, example being a percentage off a purchase. The explanation of how to claim a deal explains who to present the deal to in order to receive it.  
3. The third step entails setting the dates, details and restrictions.  Facebook recommends setting up a deal at least 48 hours prior to the start and to run it for at least a week to allow customers an opportunity to visit your business. Restrictions to a deal can include how many times a deal can be claimed, both in general and per user. 
4. Once the deal is approved by Facebook, it is pushed to the different Place pages of a company allowing customers to check-in at specific locations. 
5. Finally, you should promote your deal through your company Facebook page and in-store information. 

The use of Facebook Check-In Deals can be a simple and beneficial advertising tactic for franchise businesses.  As a franchise you are able to reach specific markets and customers, both possible and current, and draw them in through savings and charity.

In addition to sponsoring the 2012 IFA Annual Convention, Upside Group will serve as Roundtable Facilitators for the following Roundtable Sessions.

 Roundtable:  Selling Your First Ten Franchises – How to attract top prospects when your a small company

Co-Faciltiators:  Mario Altiery, USG President & Christian Faulconer, CEO Franchise Foundry

 Roundtable:   Meeting the Needs of the Multi-Unit Owner

Co-Facilitators:  Larry Schwartz, Senior Consultant USG, & Marla Rosner, Senior Consultant MSA

For more information, please visit the USG Events Webpage.

Attending this event?  Download IFA’s 2012 Convention Mobile App!

Manage Franchise Locations with Facebook Places

In this technological driven world, social media is imperative to market your franchise business.  Patrons today are looking to interact more than ever.  Facebook and other social media sites allow for them to view your business more frequently and learn more about your products and business.  The emergence and popularity of social media has created a “Need to Know” sensation in society.  Putting your franchise on these sites helps to fulfill that need.  By using the Follow options on these sites, your customers are able to receive updates and share with their friends when they are at your locations.  

Benefits of Facebook Places

Specifically, Facebook Places offers a unique set of advantages for franchise owners.  Franchised businesses are able to manage their “Place” on Facebook.  This means after you claim your “Place” you are able to manage your address, contact information, business hours, profile picture and link it to your original Facebook page.  You are able to claim your Place on Facebook by physically visiting the location, choosing the check in option on your mobile phone and creating the Place.  After this you can visit the Place on Facebook and click the link at the bottom left that says “is this your business?”.  You will be prompted with a verification process and when it is completed you will be able to manage the information. 

As patrons visit your locations they will be able to “Check In” and share with their friends.  This is an incredibly strong marketing tactic.  Recommendations from a known source are the most believable for prospective customers. 

Managing Multiple Pages and Places

As your franchise business grows it may become difficult to manage multiple Facebook pages and Places.   Create one main page for the entire franchise business.  This page should contain general company information and nonspecific topics.  For each location of your franchise create a Place.  This will allow for you to control the information flowing from your locations on Facebook.  Next you will need to link the different locations to your main company page.  This is done through adding the different address of each location to the main page.  The addresses on the location Places will need to be the same as the one on the main page. 

Through doing this you will be able to use many different advertising features offered by Facebook to market your company and each location.

With the recent release of Google+, social media is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways for consumers to stay connected. The web is becoming more important now than ever for franchise owners in particular due to its ability to gain visibility and boost customer engagement. Moving forward, one of the biggest trends in franchising will center on embracing the benefits of social media as the general public continues to become digitized. Franchise owners will be able to take advantage of social media in a variety of ways, ranging from different platforms to various online practices, but the fact remains that the Internet will continue to play a large part in determining the success and recognition of a business.

Untapped Opportunity

Countless businesses have profiles on websites like Facebook and Twitter, ranging from big-name franchises like Coca-Cola to smaller organizations within local cities. The businesses with a successful online presence tend to incorporate a variety of consumer-engaging practices designed to get customers into local locations, strengthen brand names, and even offer discounts, deals, and events to their followers. For franchises, creating an online presence will continue to be a growing trend in their basic franchise development services because it is one of the best ways to reach a larger audience; after all, word of mouth can take a while to reach the numbers of customers a small business might need.

Social Media Tips

Facebook alone has over 500 million users (and growing), and the micro-blogging platform Twitter hosts 150 million accounts; despite these numbers, only 9% of companies are using Facebook as a business tool. Industry experts maintain that using tools like Facebook Places and Google Places can be an easy way to begin to delve into the world of social media; by setting up a franchise business profile on these sites, users can easily “check in” when visiting certain businesses registered with Facebook, and having a Google Places profile can help prospective customers locate information about businesses with ease. Similarly, Twitter can be a great tool if used consistently; author Andre Kay of Franchise.com recommends the “80/20 Rule,” in which “80% of your tweets should be about facts, menu, community information, customer stories, tips” and 20% “tweets about your daily deals, specials, contest, and giveaways.”

This is just an example of how franchise owners can make the most of the opportunities offered by social media; the possibilities are endless, particularly with such a large audience at hand. Overall, the web will continue to be a way for small and large businesses alike to gain visibility because it enables franchises to connect to customers who might not have known of their existence beforehand, particularly since people are far more likely to see content from online media than traditional print advertising. Without question, the Internet is and continues to be one of the best tools the franchise industry can ask for.

 QR Codes – A Franchise Industry Trend

For franchises, making the most of current trends in social media is a great way to reach a broader audience. With this in mind, the buzz around Taco Bell’s recent QR Code promotion with MTV is a testament of the latest movement in social media towards the smartphone market, and many franchise industry experts are giving special notice to the merits of QR Codes. While this type of marketing has generally been used by big-name corporations and larger businesses, their merits are being recognized by smaller businesses and franchises thanks to the greater movement of the general public towards the digital market; additionally, these tools are an excellent option for smaller business because they are relatively inexpensive to generate.

Uses of QR Codes

Since QR Codes can be printed on most anything, they are great option for smaller businesses looking for ways to bridge the gap between their physical location and an online presence for their customers. A franchise website, Facebook page, Google Places account, or even a Yelp listing can be linked to a QR Code; by simply scanning whatever the code is printed on with their smartphone, customers are able to quickly access the linked webpage, increasing visibility for large and small businesses alike.

The website a code brings the user to can be updated with new information, allowing franchise owners to use QR Codes for promotions without having to deal with expiration dates like regular printed coupons. A Mexican restaurant chain in Michigan used QR Codes to promote a new outlet opening, including the codes in ads on posters and newspapers around the University of Michigan campus. He received about four thousand scans, which stands as a true testament of the viral power of these simple black and white squares. Cost is kept low because the codes can be generated at a low cost and the only additional cost comes from paying for whatever poster, pamphlet, or other printed material the code is being placed upon.

QR Codes can also provide valuable information for consumers; as reported by BlueMauMau.org, a recent study bg MGH Modern Marketing states that 65% of respondents who were interested in QR Codes would scan a code to get more information, 53% said they would scan to sign up to a mailing list, and 60% said they would scan the code to make a purchase. These numbers clearly show that people are not just interested in being linked to “Liking” a Facebook page; QR Codes are an excellent resource because they can give customers answers to their questions by linking to a store locator, nutritional information, an e-commerce site, information about a product, and more.

With the general public becoming more and more digitized, many franchise internet marketing experts maintain that QR Codes are destined to become one of the newest staples of marketing for franchisees and business owners alike.

In order to expand their business operations, create franchise development deliverables and widen their franchise base, Oh My You’re Gorgeous has announced the partnership with Upside Group Franchise Consulting.

 Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) December 06, 2011 Press Release

In order to expand their business operations, create franchise development deliverables and widen their franchise base, Oh My You’re Gorgeous has announced the partnership with Upside Group Franchise Consulting.

According to Stephanie Babines, President and Owner of Oh My You’re Gorgeous,

“I made the decision to partner with Upside Group because of their quality customer service and strong dedication to supporting the expansion of Oh My You’re Gorgeous.”

Oh My You’re Gorgeous is a Pittsburgh based-business created in order for women to feel beautiful inside and out. Owner and Operator, Stephanie Babines, is an advanced certified pole and hoop dancing instructor with graduate degrees in marketing and project planning. In 2004, Stephanie decided to combine her management and fitness skills to open Oh My You’re Gorgeous, which provides only the highest quality instruction to their students. Every instructor is a certified professional, and Oh My You’re Gorgeous is the only certified, advanced pole and hoop fitness instructors in the state of Pennsylvania. Stephanie’s goal is to grow Oh My You’re Gorgeous exponentially and be able to provide every woman with the ability to feel gorgeous.

On December 6, 2011, USG President, Mario Altiery served as a co-presenter for Stark & Stark’s 2011 Best Practices Seminar, Titled Moneyball for Franchising. 

As detailed in the bestselling novel and major motion picture, “Moneyball,” the Oakland A’s discovered a way to compete in major league baseball through modernizing its analytical and statistical approach toward evaluating baseball talent and prospect selection.  Through this new system, the Oakland A’s were able to assemble a competitive team at a fraction of the salaries being paid by richer clubs.

The full-day seminar successfully explored how franchise systems can adopt some of the lessons from Moneyball to profile and recruit better quality franchise prospects.

Co-Presenters:

Mario Altiery, CFE, President – Upside Group

Ronald Feldman, CFE, CEO – Franchise America Finance

Ricardo Roman, Vice President – Caliper Corporation

Adam J. Siegelheim, Esq., Shareholder – Stark & Stark