18 January 2023

Social media is no longer a mystery to everyday users. While everyone tends to think of its personal use and B2C applications, we’re now realizing the power of social media for B2B companies! A company’s presence on social media in the digital age is no longer up for debate; however, being on every platform isn’t essential for every business. For franchisors, it’s a highly effective tool for recruiting franchise candidates. Check out our tips for finding franchise candidates on LinkedIn. B2B and B2C: Each Platform Has Its Own Target Audience Hold on a minute! If you’re here, you probably know the difference between B2B and B2C, but did you know that the target audience and tone differ on each platform? Instagram and TikTok are the ideal platforms for B2C, but for B2B, we primarily recommend using LinkedIn, the professional social network par excellence. LinkedIn is a social network in its own right. If you’re in B2B, your customers are on LinkedIn; in B2C, it’s your suppliers or distributors who are there! This platform is full of opportunities, especially because not everyone is active on a daily basis, so it’s easier to get noticed. In franchising, you need to know how to properly address your target audience. LinkedIn is the network designed for businesses: with over 800 million professionals and 57 million business accounts, it’s now the professional social network to use. According to LinkedIn Business, for B2B marketers, 80% of leads generated through social media come from this platform—which underscores the importance of incorporating LinkedIn into your social media strategy. LinkedIn: A Gold Mine of Tailored Tools First and foremost: a free B2B database. If you want to reach professionals—whether they’re future franchisees or simply franchisors—there’s simply no better place than LinkedIn. Users of this platform want to connect with like-minded professionals, apply for jobs and recruit candidates, and follow the latest news from companies and influential people around the world. Once you understand how LinkedIn members and brands use the platform, you’ll gain valuable insights into how you can integrate LinkedIn into your social media strategy. From the outside, you might think LinkedIn is just a network of job seekers, but that’s not true! Everyone is there for various reasons—personal branding, following news about a brand or company, searching for opportunities, and even looking for clients! Everyone markets themselves in their own way. The advantage of LinkedIn is that you can truly customize your profile to reflect who you are. The B2B database is therefore immense; there are countless prospects on the lookout for the next opportunity. LinkedIn: A Search Engine. LinkedIn is certainly a professional social network, but it’s also a search engine—a place where people seek to make connections and expand their network. It works through a network of connections. A is connected to B, who is connected to C; C sees that B has reacted to an offer or a post from A, so C wants to connect with A. Thus, the reach of posts can be infinite, and it’s a shame to miss out on that. The first thing to know is that it’s not a sales platform. People go on LinkedIn to stay informed, network, and exchange ideas—not to make purchases. On LinkedIn, you build your reputation, brand image, and positioning. It’s the best place to establish yourself as an expert in your field. The search engine is ideal for growing your community; you’re looking to connect with interesting people with whom you might have things in common, to propose opportunities, to share experiences, and to learn from one another. All of this happens through the search engine. To make this work, your LinkedIn profile must be properly filled out with the right information. You need to appeal to the algorithm and to the people who land on your page so they’ll stay. To do this, you need a catchy headline, a banner that matches your brand’s visual style, an “About” section that summarizes your value proposition and mission, and a direct link to your website. On LinkedIn, the goal is to address your customers indirectly—by showing how your offering meets their needs—through storytelling, in particular. LinkedIn also lets you post images and videos to illustrate your points. Once someone finds you, they’ll want to get in touch—so make sure your franchise contact landing page is easily accessible! Useful Tools LinkedIn is full of handy tips you can use as often as you like. Here are a few: On every profile, you’ll see a “Similar Profiles” column on the side—a feature that can be particularly useful when searching for specific profiles, such as when recruiting in a particular region! It’s a tool that makes cold outreach easier. You can drive engagement on your posts using polls, and on a standard post, if you use CTAs, you’ll encourage a response, which will help your post reach a wider audience. You can reach out to your network when you’re looking for a location, a rare find, a specific supplier, an investor, or even an opinion on a topic—your network is usually happy to share their thoughts or offer help in the comments. The profile title is important; for example, on the profile of the person handling recruitment for you, it should be clear what they’re offering and what your opportunity entails. Users are more likely to click on it than if the person simply lists their role as a recruiter within the company. Manage my candidates with Cerca How to prospect on LinkedIn? Best practices If you’re looking for specific profiles to recruit, you can write posts or create videos[…]

Time-consuming and repetitive tasks are a common problem that franchisors face throughout their journey. These can include accounting, monitoring internal projects, administrative tasks, and so on. To optimize operations, it makes sense to outsource some of these tasks, which—though not particularly stimulating—remain essential. Here, we outline steps you can take as a franchisor to optimize your time and focus on your core business. Opt for network management software Performing repetitive tasks—even the simplest ones—increases the risk of error. To minimize this risk, technology has enabled a new approach. This involves automating various processes. It allows you to better structure these processes and reduce the time required to complete them through algorithms that automatically perform the associated tasks. Management software like Cerca includes the features needed to support your company’s entire core business. With over 250 features, it allows you to: Manage and organize your network. Running a franchise means organizing and developing a network of businesses of varying sizes that rely on your expertise. Having this software enables you to manage and track events across the network. You can easily organize sales challenges and surveys to engage your teams. Since franchisees need some training to get started, Cerca allows you to create interactive training modules. All tests and results are viewable online. Networking means managing projects and working collaboratively. That’s why it gives you access to public or private workgroups with discussion threads. You’ll be able to track internal projects using a task manager and a reminder system. Your network coordinators will quickly realize the value of good management software: communication flows smoothly, and any issues that need to be reported can be easily communicated. Recruiting Future Franchisees A space where you can post your visuals, news, and videos—and gradually grant access to content used for franchisee training—is available. Candidates are quickly reassured by the professionalism and rigor of the application process. This platform offers powerful tools designed to ensure the future franchisee’s success and the growth of their business. You can set up the applicant journey all at once by adapting it to an existing template. Cerca allows you to automate many tasks by configuring them just once. You can make changes as needed. Recruiting your future franchisees then becomes a much smoother and more efficient process. Effectively managing your schedule and the network’s events This management can only be optimal if you know how to distribute the various tasks among your team. This can be done on a daily basis, but you risk wasting time. You’ll therefore need to establish a long-term distribution plan. Several factors come into play here: Assessing how your teams’ work is organized You must be certain of your teams’ motivation, well-being, and performance. To do this, communicate with them to gain more insight into each person’s specific strengths. Everyone has a good understanding of the tasks that suit them best. You can then use this as a basis for assigning work. After conducting this assessment—which was, in a sense, the employee’s responsibility—you can bring in a third party. The goal here is to be as objective as possible. This could be a department head or a work organization specialist. Try Cerca Taking Individual Differences into Account You’re looking to make the most of your time. But don’t forget that you’re also aiming for a certain level of performance and consistency in that performance. You must therefore take into account the differences among each member of your teams to prevent certain tasks from being botched. Communication plays a key role here, but above all, you’ll need to look beyond their technical skills and expertise. The human aspect must be taken into account. Save time when assigning tasks. To do this, use a task assignment chart. It should outline each team member’s roles and responsibilities, as well as the resources they’ll need to achieve their goals. The criteria for task allocation are: Work hours, each person’s qualifications, and each person’s aspirations. Franchisors, learn to take a step back. You hold in your hands the projects or dreams of many people who are counting on you. And in this high-pressure environment, taking the time to step back and reflect isn’t always easy. As a result, you can quickly lose sight of the unique needs of each of your franchisees. At some point, you’ll need to slow down and reevaluate everything. Hold meetings with the franchise’s key partners to gauge the health of your business and assess its workplace atmosphere. You may realize which decisions have slowed the franchise’s overall growth and make changes to them. This could involve revising training programs or rethinking how you leverage your network. On the financial side—because, yes, it matters—you’ll need to examine: Revenue and profit growth Profitability Financial stability Self-financing capacity Working capital Furthermore, taking a step back may lead you to focus on the following final point: Knowing how to delegate to qualified staff Many franchises welcome franchisees who do not necessarily operate in the same industry as the franchisor. Or even within teams, there may be different trades whose[…]

Day: January 18, 2023

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