For the past few years, blogs have been the hot “new” thing in business communications. It has evolved into a cutting edge marketing tool that’s immediate, cheap, and easy. Considering 50 million Americans visit blogs, no business can afford to overlook this burgeoning new medium. Especially since blog readers are a juicy demographic—wealthy, young and ambitious. Here’s our list of the top 10 ways you can use blogging to boost your image, exposure, reputation, revenue, and more.

1. Build name recognition. A blog is a great branding tool. You can clear up possible misconceptions and guide the public perception of your offering.

2. Build buzz. Blog to express your passion about what your business does. Passion is infectious and it spreads—fast.

3. Google loves blogs! The Google algorithm weights blogs disproportionately higher. Even a small, less popular blog will often get higher placement than larger websites.

4. Show you’re on the move. Participating in an upcoming industry event? Blog about it and people will seek you out.

5. Get personal. Communicating on a personal level gives you more credibility and shows customers what you are about.
6. Create a new profit center. Include appropriate calls-to-action in the form of links that drive traffic from your blog to wherever you want to make a pitch.

7. Strengthen customer relationships. Blogs are interactive. Keep customers informed, but allow them to respond and post their comments.

8. Generate leads. Blogging is a fast and easy way to increase exposure. Higher search engine rankings means more organic traffic for you, which means more leads.

9. Enhance your reputation. Establish prestige and trust by displaying your expertise and showing potential clients that you know what you’re talking about.

10. Get sticky. Sites with blogs are more likely to be revisited by prospects looking for fresh, interesting content. With every return visit, the likelihood of a sale goes up.

Current Scene with SBA Franchise Loans

Have you tried to get an SBA loan for a franchise lately? With the upheaval in the financial world, we wondered if anything’s changed with SBA loans. To find out, we went to Popular Small Business Capital, one of the top five largest SBA lenders in the country. The firm specializes in SBA loans nationwide with a particular emphasis on franchise financing. Doug Bagnasco, Business Development Officer at Popular, offered his views on what’s happening today with the SBA.

Q: What’s going on with the SBA in 2008?
A: A few things. First, many lenders sell the guaranteed portions of their loan on the secondary market and right now, the premiums for that market have gone down. Second, the capital market in general has gotten a lot tighter and the cost of funds for many lenders has gone up. Third, delinquencies are on the rise. On the SBA front, there’s been a general tightening up and narrowing of margins. Some lenders are still going strong, some have tightened up, and a few have just exited SBA lending in the last six months. So franchisees and franchisors are having more difficulty finding viable financing options.

Q: Are SBA lenders approving loans differently since the subprime fiasco?
A: Because the markets have shrunk, some lenders have begun moving towards larger minimum loan size. A few years ago, there were $100,000 to $200,000 loans on the market, but lenders now have thresholds of $150,000 or even as high as $250,000, so smaller projects may get left out. From a lender’s perspective, just as much cost in energy goes into financing a $500,000 loan as a $100,000 loan. The other challenge is the smaller borrower sometimes doesn’t have the resources to tap into, meaning the assistance they need from an accountant or an attorney when it comes to understanding the legal documentation. There’s more handholding needed. The combination of the two makes it a more costly transaction for many lenders.

Q: What can franchisors do to organize a financial source for new franchisees?
A: Build a relationship with a lender that can serve your geographic area and establish good two-way communication. Understand what the lender is looking for and be actively aware of how well the loans that the lender has are performing. Look at how you’re screening franchisees and do your due diligence to create a higher comfort level for the lender. For smaller transactions, consider the assistance of a loan consultant to help the borrower put together the packages to remove the labor-intensive component for the lender. Also, if there are challenges with a franchisee, be actively involved in assisting the lender to figure out a way to resolve those issues. Often, if a loan goes into default, the write-offs are significantly reduced if the franchisor can help find a replacement franchisee.

Q: What advice do you have for a franchise buyer who’s looking for an SBA loan?
A: Considering where the economy is at right now, it’s important to really have full financial disclosure. Also take a good look at the level of support you’ll be able to get as a franchisee. That’s the strength of buying a franchise, working with a company that has a model that works, has a support system, and a training program that helps make you successful.

A leading franchisor confesses that less than 20% of its franchisees are awesome performers.

By:Bill Wagner

In fact, when asked, the franchisor said “If I had to do it over I would only select about 40% of my existing franchisees.” There are no do overs when it comes to franchisee selection.

As a presenter at the recent IFA Convention in Orlando I talked about franchisee selection, leadership development and the burgeoning impact of Human Resources on the franchisee community. The mirror test used for franchisee selection in the past will no longer hold up to the litmus test of today’s demands.

Franchisee selection and development are topics that are near and dear to my heart. According to the results from a recent survey of leading franchisors, there is a proven relationship between the engagement of a franchisee (their love and enjoyment for what they do), their personality and their generation of royalties. In fact, high performing franchisees generate more than ten times more in royalties than their disengaged brethren. By some estimates that represents more than a $1,000,000 difference in royalties over a ten year term of an agreement. You may download this study by going to www.accordsyst.com/papers/FranchiseCaseStudyFinal.pdf

The above link shows a number of large scale studies we’ve conducted over the past ten years. These serve as a proof statement that behavioral/ personality testing and Engagement Surveys work.

If you would like to experience first hand the power of personality testing send an email to Victoria@accordsyst.com with “Franchisehelp” in the subject line. All we need is your name, phone number and email address. We will send you two surveys. The first will allow you to take an online assessment measuring the behavioral qualities for an awesome franchisee. The second will provide you with a glimpse of your own personality.

Bill Wagner is CEO of Accord Managment Systems. Contact Bill at 803-230-2100 or bill@accordsyst.com

Domino's Details Restructuring

Domino’s Pizza this month outlined several restructuring steps including the sale of about 60 company-owned stores in California and Georgia. The company, which recently reported a 48-percent plunge in fourth-quarter net profit, announced it was selling the stores in separate transactions to franchisees and employees for about $20 million. Those sales are expected to be finalized before the end of the second quarter. Domino’s plans to use the proceeds for general corporate needs.

The 8,624-unit pizza delivery chain has laid off about 55 people from its corporate and field staffs to reduce operating costs. Domino’s expects the job cuts to result in pre-tax annualized operating cost savings of $4.5 million, excluding severance costs. (Nation’s Restaurant News, 3/4/08)

BK Focuses Abroad for Expansion

About 80 percent of Burger King’s expansion during the next five years will come from opening units internationally where it will also step up its beverage sales effort, officials of Burger King Holdings Inc. told financial analysts last month. They also reportedly detailed plans for a flurry of domestic new products including two variations on the Whopper, a line of smoothies and drinks that combine specialty coffees with shake mixes, three new iced coffees and a kids’ meal featuring macaroni and cheese.

Executives also revealed that the chain will open more stores in the United States during fiscal 2008 than it closes, marking the first increase in BK’s domestic unit count in six years. BK plans to add about 300 restaurants during the fiscal year ending in June. Its unit tally will increase by 3 percent to 4 percent annually in subsequent years. The Miami-based chain currently consists of 11,395 units in 69 countries, including 7,500 in the United States and Canada. (Nation’s Restaurant News, 2/27/08)

Staybridge and Candlewood Suites Grow U.S. Pipeline

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites had a significant role in continuing Intercontinental Hotels Group’s growth momentum in the Americas region during 2007 as the company expanded its pipeline to more than 141,000 rooms (1,330 hotels). During the year, the Americas region signed 75,279 rooms – with the two extended stay brands contributing more than 24 percent to the region’s total. In 2007, Staybridge Suites signed 71 license agreements with over 7,800 rooms in the Americas region – growing the brand’s pipeline in the region by 32 percent from 2006.

Staybridge Suites has 133 hotels open in the Americas region with another 147 hotels in the region’s pipeline. Candlewood Suites has 158 hotels open in the region and another 207 hotels in the pipeline. Staybridge Suites signed license agreements in Canada and Mexico as well as agreements for two hotels in the United Arab Emirates and four hotels in the United Kingdom – bringing its pipeline total in the U.K. to eight hotels. The brand is scheduled to open its first hotel outside the Americas region in the U.K. in 2008.
(Modernagent.com, 2/28/08)

Dunkin' Teams with Yahoo for Online News Programs

Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a deal to become the exclusive advertiser on sports and news programs created by Internet company Yahoo! Inc. “Yahoo Sports Minute,” a daily summary of sports stories, is already available to users. “Good Morning Yahoo!” will debut April 9 and feature news clips from major networks. In addition, Dunkin’ Lounge, a social networking site, is expected to launch in May. The site will integrate the Yahoo Groups community and Yahoo! Answers Network to allow visitors to exchange ideas and get information about Dunkin’ products and promotions.

By sponsoring the programs, Dunkin’ Donuts is leveraging Yahoo’s “extensive audience reach” to extend its brand appeal. Dunkin’ Donuts, a division of Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Brands Inc., has nearly 8,000 units worldwide. (Nations Restaurant News, 3/10/08)

Cena Franchising Inc. opened its first meal preparation store in Spokane, Washington in 2004 and quietly became a fast-growing franchisor with a current total of 23 outlets in 17 U.S. states and one Canadian province. Cena plans to expand in the coming years despite industry projections for slow growth in their niche. Seven Cena outlets are expected to open across the U.S. within the next month or so and the franchise rights have been sold for four other new stores, bringing the total number of franchises the company had sold to 33. Cena Franchising expects to open about 17 franchise outlets this year which gives it a total of 40 outlets.

Cena offers a place where customers can prepare meals on site to bring home and cook or freeze for a later date. The outlets provide ingredients, recipes, mixing utensils and containers needed to make gourmet entrees such as marinated beef tenderloin tip brochettes or raspberry chipotle chicken. Meal preparation has been one of the fastest-growing segments in the food-service industry in recent years although that growth is expected to slow. (Spokane Journal, 2/21/08)

Cold Stone Creamery Stores to Open in Scandinavia

Kahala Cold Stone will expand its Cold Stone Creamery franchise into Scandinavia through a deal inked this month. The deal, with a group called Cold Stone ApS, calls for the opening of about 40 stores in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden over the next five years. The first of the new stores is to open later this year at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kahala Corp. and Cold Stone, both Scottsdale-based firms, merged last May as the result of Kahala’s buyout of the ice cream restaurant and subsequent ouster of CEO Doug Ducey. The firm now is led by Kahala founder Kevin Blackwell. Other brands under Kahala’s umbrella include Blimpie, Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill and The Great Steak and Potato Co. (The Business Journal of Phoenix, 3/6/08)