Wild Birds Unlimited is Serious About Providing Top-Notch Franchisee Support

When it comes to providing excellent franchisee support, nobody does it quite like Wild Birds Unlimited.

The way Wild Birds Unlimited Chief Development Officer Paul Pickett puts it, franchisee support begins from the first day of the discovery process.

“The support that we provide begins in the very beginning, helping franchisees make an educated decision about whether they’re right for the brand and whether we’re right for them,” he said. “The attention to detail that we provide and the transparency we provide set the stage for when they become franchisees.”

Wild Birds Unlimited has a large and enthusiastic team in place to help new franchisees get up and running.

A Manager of Hobby and Nature Education helps franchisees with community involvement, while a Manager of Advertising and Public Relations works with franchisees through the initial opening and grand opening campaigns.

In addition, a Digital Advertising Specialist  works with new franchisees so they are well-versed in managing social media and a Communications Specialist teaches them how to use the email marketing platform. A Store Planning and Design Specialist works with franchisees on store layout and aesthetics.

If a new franchisee is purchasing an existing Wild Birds Unlimited store, the company has what they call the Re-Energize Campaign. This campaign focuses on refreshing that store’s marketing plans. Once everything is in place, the franchisee can migrate to implementation of the monthly marketing planner that is used by the entire franchise system.

After a franchisee has worked with Wild Birds Unlimited for one year, they migrate into one of the company’s three coaching models, according to Pickett.

One model is called Enterprise Coaching, which is the more intense model and comes with “a significant level of accountability” from both the franchisee and franchisor side, Pickett said. Both sides need to complete a full business assessment, commit to data sharing and learn about opportunities that need to be worked on and how to further enhance current activities to further drive top and bottom line performance.

“There’s lots of data sharing, so they are comparing some of their KPIs with other franchisees,” Pickett said. “And a lot of mentoring goes on via those group sessions. There are also very intense all-day workshops at our leadership conference.”

The other coaching model is called Business Development.

“This coaching model doesn’t have as much accountability as Enterprise coaching but it is still very strong and it may also include more training and support for franchisees who might not be at the Enterprise Coaching level,” Pickett said. “These franchisees may not have a  comprehensive understanding of some of the specific metric reporting that we use and really rolling those reports into their decision-making process.”

The third model is called Answer Center, which is aimed at more mature franchisees who are at a stage where they simply do not need or want a high level of coaching. That said, if they have any questions or experience any issues, they can reach out to the company’s Answer Center and get their queries answered.

Ongoing support has to go beyond compliance management, Pickett said.

“You don’t want coaches to go out and make sure franchisees are just meeting brand standards,” Pickett said. “We want people to go out there and engage and motivate our franchisees, and we’re looking on the development side for prospective franchisees who want that not just in the beginning but forever.”

It is crucial to Wild Birds Unlimited to provide a strong franchisee support system, as this can trickle down to customers.

“That’s how you meet your mission and how you reach your customer base,” Pickett said. “Your franchisees need that support and we want the retail customers to be served by franchisees who have the tools and support needed to really exceed the expectations of a phenomenal shopping experience.”

It all comes down to the company’s mission and motto.

“We bring people and nature together and we do it with excellence,” Pickett said. “It’s very important to us that we give a premier level of support. That’s one of the foundations of our brand and we’re going to keep that up.” 

Pickett wants prospective franchisees to know that franchisee satisfaction and growth are top priorities at Wild Birds Unlimited. Franchisees should also take pride in their business and are responsible for implementing best practices.

“Long term support and collaboration are foundations here at Wild Birds Unlimited, and we want people who are engaged with their customers, individual teams, communities and with us,” Pickett said. “We want people who constantly want to grow.”

The startup costs for a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise range from $146,516 to $249,956, which includes the franchise fee. The franchise fee is $30,000 per location. For more information on owning a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise, visit https://franchise.wbu.com/.