Who should ‘own’ your brand in the social media space? By Craig Rodney Managing your brand in the online and social media space is a daunting enough task, but when you add in the complexities of the franchisee and franchisor relationship, you soon find that there does not appear to be a ‘right’ answer to the question “Who should ‘own’ your brand in the social media space?” In very basic terms, should a brand have a single presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, or should each franchisee be allowed to create their own profiles to represent the brand? Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple because a brand, in the online social space, is the furthest thing from a corporate logo. Your brand is the collective of everything people say about you – their feelings towards you, their collective experiences and, importantly, their engagements with your online personality. Whether you like it or not, conversations about you and your products are happening all the t

In the previous article published under this heading, it was suggested that having a comprehensive operations manual is an essential prerequisite for franchising. In this issue we examine what it takes to produce an operations manual that delivers on its potential. By Kurt Illetschko Essential preparations Having decided to produce an operations manual, starting to write it is the logical next step, right? Wrong! Before writing commences, several issues should be addressed. Take shortcuts and the manual won’t be worth the paper it’s written on. The following questions must first be asked and answered. ●           What do we want to achieve? This may seem obvious but I advise you to arrange a brainstorming session and record the findings. It will clarify expectations and avoid the need for rework in the end. ●           What should the manual look like? You need to decide on the contents of the manual as well as its style and format of delivery. Read more about th

A lack of competent management of copyright in businesses seems to be a persistent problem.  By Eugene Honey Too often, due to a lack of understanding and knowledge, the management of copyright as a valuable asset is neglected. This places the franchisor at risk by severely hindering their options when it becomes necessary to enforce its rights against errant franchisees engaging in unauthorized use of key components of the business system. The valuable assets in a typical franchise system which enjoy copyright protection and which are licensed to the franchisees, include the: ·                Operations manual; ·                Intranets; ·                Corporate materials, reports and documentation; ·                Promotional materials, advertisements and signage; ·                Packaging; ·                Menus and recipe books; ·                Software and programs; ·                Presentations; ·                Photographs (including pho

Security companies: SA's other army The threat of an industry in turmoil. Contributed by iFacts Removing your people risk South Africa's crime levels, both actual and perceived, have caused the nation's private security industry to balloon into one of the world's largest. Despite its much smaller population, “this country has more people working in the security sector than the UK and most countries in Europe”, says Jenny Reid, president of the South African Security Association (SASA). According to the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) over 1,78-million men and women are employed by some 8,500 private security companies in South Africa, turning over an estimated R50-billion a year. “And that doesn't include the many unregistered personnel employed by uncertified companies, or self-employed individuals who make a living formally or otherwise in the sector guarding cars and other property, so the real number might well be much higher,” says Ms

Staying in the zone The power of momentum in business. By Carl Bates On our trip up Kilimanjaro our Tanzanian guides kept on repeating their most important advice: pole-pole. Translated from Swahili this means ‘slowly-slowly’ and as you ascend this majestic mountain you soon realise that this advice may just save your life. We saw many climbers who had rushed up the mountain, only to be carried down on stretchers in a race to reach the hospital in time. I have witnessed the same scenario in business – go too fast and you run the risk of fatal injury, proceed too slowly and you may never reach your goal. In The Law of Rhythm, one of the laws in my book The Laws of Extreme Business Success , I speak about the critical role of momentum and ‘right timing’. Achieving the right balance of timing and rhythm can be very challenging, but when you do, you create a wave of momentum on which you and your team can ride. Having momentum in your business enables you to do so much more. If

So you have started on your Operations Manual, but who is going to use it? By Lindy Barbour Recruiting and selecting the right franchise partners is critical to the success of any franchise operation. Perhaps the greatest mistake a brand custodian can make in the implementation of their expansion strategy, is selecting inappropriate owner-operators. While we discussed the Operations Manual in detail in the previous issue, it must be noted that the format of the Operations Manual is heavily dependent on the profile of your operators. If you are leaning more towards a product trade name franchise you will require a more sophisticated operator as your Operations Manual will be less detailed. If your franchise system is better categorized as a business format franchise you must weigh up the depth of the materials provided with the skills and experience of the people you choose. By now you should be clear on the type of business to be franchised and similarly you should

With the New Year behind us many people and businesses alike will have taken stock of their performance for the year past and planned their improvements for the year ahead. By Gerhard van Wyk The franchise industry in South Africa is dynamic and the speed at which business is conducted is perhaps one of the most important components of achieving success in this industry. If understanding the importance of setting objectives and planning how to improve your performance in the coming year is important, understanding the negative impact of procrastination is equally so. What is procrastination? In psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lesser import, or putting off important tasks by doing something from which one derives enjoyment instead . Overcoming procrastination The key to controlling and beating this destructive habit is to first of all recognize that you are procrastinating. It is often said that admitting to the problem