Ask a Millennial: Franchising During a Quarantine

Before COVID-19, having a strong digital presence and the ability to easily provide prospective buyers with information virtually was ideal, but brands were easily able to continue moving forward without it. Now, it has become crucial that franchise brands step up their digital game if they still want to have a fighting chance of capturing the attention of prospective buyers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Tom Parks is the CEO of Premier Franchise Solutions, a consulting firm that helps put franchise prospects in front of a variety of opportunities. While he points out that he’s in the oldest bracket of millennials at 38, he has been advising clients on how to be on the digital forefront for years. Now, since the national pandemic has spread, Parks has been implementing even stronger campaigns and awareness plays for his brands.

According to Parks, now is the time to pay attention, communicate and work with the quality leads who are raising their hands and showing that they want to be franchisees.  

“We’re seeing what everyone is seeing—lead flow is down slightly, but the quality of leads is through the roof,” said Parks. “COVID-19 has forced us to tweak our systems and pivot. Discovery Day won't be happening now so we are asking ourselves how to move the discovery process online. We are looking for ways to use technology in our favor and build personal relationships through video conferencing and video tours.”’

To that end, Parks has already begun implementing some of these practices, putting on a virtual Discovery Day with one of his clients, Shawarma Press. It appears to have been a success, with the candidate seriously considering moving forward.

“One of the things that resonates with people so much on Discovery Day is that they get to taste, touch and feel the vibe of a corporate culture or legacy location,” said Parks. “Candidates get a chance to meet face to face, shake hands and break bread with the founders of the organization or top level management leading the system. The virtual experience is very different because prospects can't taste or touch, but they still need to feel it. In franchise development, everything starts on an emotional level before it dips down to intellectual level. At Discovery Day, franchisors want to bring candidates back up to an emotional level and really focus on building the relationship.”

With the removal of that “in-person” feeling, Parks knew he needed to recreate the emotion of Discovery Day the best he could digitally. Team members at Shawarma Press discussed their hobbies, shared their passions and talked about what they did in their free time pre-COVID-19. 

“The reason we chose to move forward with a virtual Discovery Day was because the prospect felt serious, was promising and had the right credentials,” said Sawsan Abublan, CEO at Shawarma Press. “It's definitely not the same as an in-person Discovery Day, but it gave the prospect a good understanding of the brand. Even when virtual, a walkthrough ensures that the prospect is able to see the in’s and out’s of the opportunity and bring the concept to life. Pictures often don't do the restaurant justice.”

Abublan considers the virtual Discovery Day a good, temporary option during the current situation, but one that can never truly replicate the experience of being inside a restaurant and tasting the food. 

Still, virtual Discovery Days have the potential to offer franchisors valuable information regarding the franchise sales process. Prior to COVID-19, Parks already offered virtual walkthroughs of the franchise brochure for clients and was able to document in real time where a franchise prospect left off in video content or reading material, as well as how much time they spent on each segment of different online learning applications. 

According to Parks, premium video content is another factor that has begun to play an even larger role in the franchise sales process since COVID-19.

“I’m encouraging clients to record high-quality video tours of locations or corporate headquarters in order to send them to editors who can produce professional looking content for Discovery Day,” Parks said. “If my client is a QSR concept, I recommend filming in the kitchen in order to show how food is prepared and the care that goes into it. This kind of content has the potential to really resonate with people.” 

Another existing technology solution that Parks is pleased to already have in motion is a process automated through CRM. For example, Parks notes that it is important to have automated text responses, email campaigns and phone calls. That way, regardless of where a prospect is in the country, the team can easily stay on top of leads during this national crisis.

Parks ends by challenging the misconception that millennials are lazy, entitled and usually at the end of a variety of complaints from other generations. “Millennials are the first generation that grew up with the internet in the household,” he said. “They had google at their fingertips and wanted to get info as soon as possible. They’re the generation that lived through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression in 2008. Now, many are franchisors themselves and facing the second biggest struggle in their professional career all over again. They can pivot quickly and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, which will allow them to keep this engine moving forward.”