Usually around this time of year, ice cream franchiser Cold Stone Creamery calls its franchisees to Las Vegas for a meeting.
But this year, amid sour economic times, the company’s executives are touring the country, visiting franchisees on their own turf. The rock band-style tour bus will hit 16 cities by January.
The Cold Stone executives, who were in Kansas City last month, are holding pep rallies, answering franchisees’ questions and unveiling a strategy for braving the recession.
“People want to know that the team leading the brand cares and is passionate about its success,†said Dan Beem, Cold Stone’s president. “The second thing they want to know is that we have a plan.â€
The country’s more than 900,000 franchised businesses are no different than other enterprises. The economy is hurting on many levels.
With sales in almost every sector dipping and a credit market in shambles, the burden is falling to franchisers to shore up existing franchisees and create incentives to sell new outlets.
If franchisers aren’t traveling the country as Cold Stone’s executive team is, they are pumping up marketing campaigns, devising creative solutions to the credit crunch, or giving new franchisees money-back guarantees. More.