Coronavirus and Franchising Webinar: Wing Zone CEO and Founder Matt Friedman

The Coronavirus pandemic continues to cause major disruption across various industries, and the restaurant industry has been hit particularly hard. 

This week, 1851 Franchise publisher Nick Powills and co-host Charles Internicola, founder and partner of the Internicola Law* Firm, are covering the Coronavirus and its impact on the franchising industry through a webinar series titled “Coronavirus and Franchising: Mindset + Strategy to Recover and Grow.” Today, Powills and Internicola spoke with Wing Zone founder and CEO Matt Friedman, who shared what his 27-year-old brand is currently experiencing in the webinar “Franchise Growth 2020: Restaurant Leaders on COVID-19.”

Here are some key insights from their discussion. 

Keep This in Context 

Some perspective might be in order. Brands need to reflect on past storms. Most people will say the Coronavirus crisis is bigger than anything they’ve ever seen, but when all is said and done, this will be another chapter in history. In business, one must expect challenges. The 2008 financial crisis is an example. 

Communication is Key

In a crisis like this, people want to hear from leaders regularly and get daily updates on what is happening. Brands should step up their communication game, whether that’s through intranet, text messaging, webinars or conference calls. Franchisees will appreciate it. 

Over-communication will not go unappreciated. No one will ask you to stop calling or sending information. Do more research, read that next article and know what’s going on. 

Take Care of Your Customers

Build goodwill with customers. Ideally, positive experiences throughout this crisis will make them loyal to your brand and keep them coming back even after the crisis is over. 

Leverage Your Opportunities

The Coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing financial fallout are terrible, but they come with great opportunities from a business perspective. For one, franchisors should step up their franchise development marketing. Communicate that your brand is resilient to the situation. 

Consider your footprint. Restaurants such as Wing Zone that smaller square footage can find a substantial advantage. A smaller footprint means not having higher rent or occupancy costs, and the spaces can be run more efficiently. 

Don’t forget about franchise development messaging. Keep franchisee confidence and trust at high levels. The next phase of franchise development is that prospective franchisees will want to know how the brand handled this challenging time. Franchisors want their franchisees to say that the franchisor supported them the right way and provided tools to help them succeed. Brand leadership should be available 24/7 for franchisees. 

Be Realistic and Stay Informed 

Know that a reduction in restaurants is inevitable. Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney recently said in a MarketWatch interview that as many as 30 percent of restaurants could close as a result of the Coronavirus. Ideally, the number of closures will not be that high, but there will be some reduction.

Putting people to work is important. Restaurants might see a variety of job candidates, as people from a wide array of industries have already lost their jobs. What’s more, these candidates will be candid about wanting to find temporary work until they can reclaim their old careers. Restaurants should be open to helping these people get back to work. 

Leaders must focus on their core teams. If you own a business you will need to make tough decisions on letting hourly people go. You better have some deep pockets to get through this, because you cannot simply start over again when the crisis is over. Franchisees will need help from their franchisors. Leaders must support their franchisees. One example is by talking to landlords. Stay on top of the news and be aware of the latest updates. Now is the time to lead more than ever and invest in your brand’s future. 

Prepare for contactless delivery issues. This is a huge trending topic right now, and restaurants are not consistently taking the right precautions, especially when it comes to gloves. Glove usage is one of the most important things right now and yet they are not being worn consistently by restaurant workers. In the future, wearing gloves might become the norm at every level of the restaurant. 

A talent shortage can create talent opportunities. In the recent past, restaurants have suffered from a talent shortage, but once the Coronavirus crisis has passed, we are likely to see talent pools will open up.