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Top Tips For Growing Your Franchise

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Franchise|Top Tips For Growing Your FranchiseWhether you’re an aspiring, emerging, or well-established franchisor, these simple tips on how to build and grow your concept still apply and always will. For development experts who know it all, it’s always a good idea to review the basics.

Franchising your company is a good way to earn more revenue, grow your brand, and take on exciting new opportunities. People often assume their franchise’s growth will come naturally, but businesses don’t grow on their own. You need to be willing to put in the work to make sure your franchise grows.

  1. Have a teacher’s mindset. There are lots of reasons that people decide to start and grow a franchise. Whatever your origins reason, remember that you need to be a teacher above everything else. You must be willing to teach others how to run a business so they can copy your model for success and use it to create a duplicate of your business that is just as successful. Without this mindset, you won’t do well.
  2. Start by perfecting your business model. The first thing that you need to do to grow a franchise is to work on perfecting your business model. Your business model needs to be clear-cut, successful, and easy to follow and share with others. Franchise management software can help to keep this consistent. The stronger your plan is, the better your organization will be able to run.
  3. Let things happen naturally. Don’t force growth. Let it happen naturally. The success of the establishments that you have should convince others to open a franchise. If you push it, then you’re putting new franchises at risk of failure, which will damage your name and reputation.
  4. Foster franchise relationships. For the organization to grow as a whole, the individual francises need to be successful. Create a culture of positive franchisee relations. Individual franchises need to be able to operate independently but rely on one another for help and advice.
  5. Build strong brand identity. If you want to grow your franchise, your brand identity needs to be strong. It should be recognizable throughout your industry. The stronger your brand identity is, and the easier it is to recognize, the better off your franchise will be.
  6. Create a balance between local and national. You could have a national franchise, with location all over the country, but there still needs to be a balance between your national name and the local establishment. This means that each establishment should stay in touch with the community it is based in, do local marketing, attend community events, and act as though it is a normal small business. You can’t just rely on national marketing for the whole franchise.
  7. Put strong franchise owners in your establishments. A franchise is only as good as the individual establishments, so it’s essential that you put strong franchise owners in place in each one. You will need to take the time to make sure that the right people are running each of your establishments.

What are the Best Sectors to Invest in the UK Stock Market Now 2020?

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |UK Stock Market|What are the Best Sectors to Invest in the UK Stock Market Now 2020?There’s no doubt that global stocks have endured a difficult time in 2020, largely on the back of the coronavirus outbreak.

The categorisation of Covid-19 as a global pandemic certainly sent shockwaves throughout the global marketplace, with the FTSE 100 crashing by a third from a peak of 7,634 in mid-January to below 5,000 on March 23rd.

Despite a subsequent and sustained rebound throughout Q2 and Q3, experts are now predicting a steep correction and further crash as the threat of a second wave of infections rises throughout the world. With this in mind, what are the best sectors to invest in and why are they poised to deliver a viable return?

Why are Stock Options Still Viable in 2020?

In simple terms, the stock market crash of March undermined and devalued a number of high-profile shares, without challenging their status or profitability in the long-term.

This trend was best observed amongst tech stocks, with relevant indexes such as the Nasdaq Composite tumbling by more than 4% recently and yet to scale their pre-pandemic highs. The S&P 500 also declined by 2.8% last week, as tech stocks faltered and saw their value proposition falter.

Despite this, the big-tech market and its individual stocks are fundamentally strong and well-established, which means that such equities will once again grow in value once normal market conditions are restored.

This creates a small but tangible window of opportunity for investors to buy variable cap stocks at a significantly reduced price, before selling these on for a profit in the future.

Sectors and Caps – Picking the Right Investments

Of course, not all sectors and markets have been created equal, which is why some have performed significantly better than others during the last six months, and determining the best stocks to buy now will depend on market trends.

For example, supermarkets and e-commerce brands have achieved huge growth since the start of the pandemic, with the virus thought to have added £5.3 billion to online sales in 2020 so far. Both of these of these sectors are also poised to deliver growth in the long-term too, so they’re ideal for investors with a more patient outlook.

Some technology markets have also thrived during the coronavirus outbreak, particularly those based in remote communication. Take Zoom, for example, which has forecast a potential 300% revenue increase in 2020 and represents the ideal short-term option.

Beyond this, you may also decide that midcap stocks are ideally suited to the current investment climate, with these entities having performed demonstrably better than others since the FTSE 100 crash on March 23rd.

This is part of a wider and more historic trend too, with dedicated research showcasing that midcap stocks have also performed consistently better than others during periods of ‘systematic risk’ since the mid-1990s.

As a result of this, investing in mid-cap stocks (which boast an average market cap of between £2 billion and £10 billion) is a great way of optimising profits and minimising risk during significant peaks and troughs.

Choosing Equity Funds Over Indices and Individual Stocks

One of the best ways to target mid-cap stocks is through an equity fund, which offers considerably less risk and higher potential profits than both indices and individual shares.

The reason for this is simple; as such funds are naturally diverse and feature multiple holdings from an array of carefully selected markets, while they’re also carefully managed and directed by skilled managers such as Downing’s Rosemary Banyard.

With this example, you can also access a fund that’s focused primarily on small and mid-cap stocks, while simultaneously targeting UK stocks that are capable of delivering sustained and tangible returns.

Of course, the key is to identify the right equity fund to suit your risk profile and outlook, while also seeking out an option that’s tailored to your profit expectations.

Measurement of Success in Business

StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Article |Success in Business|Measurement of Success in BusinessSuccess in business can be a difficult concept to grasp. Success means different things depending on your industry, your products, your market and, most importantly, your goals. But just because it’s a broad concept, doesn’t mean there’s not a methodical way to measure success.

The crux of measuring success in business is quantifiable, trackable metrics. It’s all well and good to feel like you’re doing a good job, but if you can’t prove that to your shareholders that feeling isn’t much use. Knowing how to measure your business’ success rate can improve how you fare against competition and determine how quickly your business grows. Here are a few of the most common ways businesses measure their success, and some tips on how to implement them in your work practices.

Sales metrics

This one might seem obvious to many companies engaged with sales, but tracking your sales data is an essential way to determine business success. Naturally, as with any data there are many ways you can go about this. But whether you track the volume of sales, the frequency, the time of day, or which products are most popular, use that data to help measure your sales success rate.

One key tip is to break down your data into various sections. Sales, be they online or offline, generate huge swathes of data that is hard to wade through at the best of times. Trying to use gross data to determine your business success is giving yourself more work than necessary. Instead, think about how you can divide that information into something you can act upon. Take a look at customer demographics, and whether certain products are more popular in certain areas. You can then use that information in a future action, say, developing a targetted marketing campaign, track the change and easily measure its success.

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Net income

Another obvious one, your business profit is a clear marker of how financially successful your business is. Profit is purely the money left over from revenue after expenses have been extracted, it’s a fact of life for pretty much any business in any industry. How you manage your expenses versus your profit will be an indicator of how you manage your business as a whole.

It’s important to have a consideration for profit, even for small businesses and startups. As much as you should expect to be in the red from time to time, you should be consistently planning for profit in other times.

Leads Generated vs Leads Converted

Finding leads is an essential part of most marketing-driven businesses, but tapping the potential of these leads is a different matter. You can find a thousand potential clients a day, but if none of them result in actual clients then your work has achieved nothing.

Karlie Fiorina, a business manager at Essay Service and Revieweal, offers that “keeping track of your converted leads will let you know which of your actions work and which don’t. For example, you may find that your leads from email are far more likely to become customers than those from direct mail. Use that information to direct your resources and attention when it comes to marketing.”

You Can Get Satisfaction

Success in business isn’t just about profit margins, it’s also about how satisfied shareholders are in your business. Yes, some of that will be determined by profit margin, but there are a myriad of elements that can affect how your business is perceived. Satisfaction can be determined through surveys, feedback forms and reviews.

Bear in mind that satisfaction is not a one way street. Birk van der Beck, a career coach at UKWritings and AssignmentHelp, points out that “while customer satisfaction is usually more talked about, employee satisfaction is equally, if not more, important. A satisfied and engaged workplace will be more productive, more innovative and, eventually, more successful.”

Goals, goals, goals

The subtitle on all these points should be about setting goals. There are hundreds of ways you can measure the success of a business, but putting those measurements to use means setting yourself goals. How to set a reasonable but challenging goal is the subject for another article, but make sure you consider how your metrics can inform your future business decisions.


About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Katherine RundellKatherine Rundell is a business writer at Big Assignments and OXessays services. She writes about business, finance and project management, amongst other things. She is a keen reader and a blogger at Essay writing services reviews.

HVAC Marketing

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |HVAC|HVAC MarketingMarketing strategies have changed over the last decade, no matter the industry, thanks to avid use of the internet. It is not enough to offer quality service or products. People have to know about your business and the best way to do that is through contemporary marketing strategies.

Summertime is coming to a close for some people, which means lots of potential customers will be surfing the web searching for the best HVAC companies to heat up their homes. This is where a great HVAC marketing strategy comes into play. If you are a HVAC company looking to generate new leads and drive conversion, adopting a great marketing strategy will help your business reach its goals.

Growing your heating, ventilation and air conditioning business is simple as long as you focus on creating an SEO friendly website, improving your company’s organic SEO, learning more about Google Adwords, tracking pay-per-click metrics and incorporating the use of social media for your business. These are all the main ways to grow your HVAC business. If you have all of these things, you can be sure that you will garner great, new leads.

Enlist a company marketing company that can handle all of that for you, that way you can focus on what is important which is running your business. A marketing company can build up your website, get your business involved in Google AdWords, improve your SEO and even get you set up with a few social media accounts. Leave the marketing to the experts.


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Benefits Of A Standing Desk

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Standing Desk|Benefits Of A Standing DeskWith a rise in home offices, people are starting to understand the benefits that come with incorporating a standing desk in their home office. Sitting down for long hours at a time is awful for your health, can damage your posture and can even relinquish your productivity. With a standing desk, you will be able to keep the blood flowing leaving you motivated and alert while answering emails and joining Zoom meetings.

Standing desks come in a variety of styles and forms. You can choose an L-shaped standing desk, which is great for fitting into corners. If you are looking for a way to maximize your space, you can also choose a double desk. Get your work and your workout done if opting for a standing desk with a treadmill. You can save time and burn calories. If you are looking for something simple, go for a standalone standing desk. More than likely these will be the cheaper options.

The benefits of using a standing desk are endless. It is known to decrease your risk of obesity and excessive weight gain, could lower your blood sugar levels, decrease your risk of heart disease and heart failure, and can also decrease your pesky neck and back pain. Standing desk can also help out with your posture.

Standing desks are easy to use too. If you need to sit back down, you can press a button and the adjustable desk will be lowered for a comfortable sitting position. Make sure you keep your feet firmly on the ground and look straight forward.


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