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New Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), the only franchise executive conference dedicated to operations performance excellence, announced for Dec. 4-5 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bob Gappa of Management 2000 will be a keynote speaker at Franchise OPS, December 4-5, in Atlanta, GA.

WOBURN, MA and ATLANTA, GEORGIA…

The influence of new technologies like handheld devices and social media has had a staggering effect on business and, for that matter, our everyday lives for the better part of the last decade. Yet in the franchise industry, franchisors have been relatively slow in employing these technologies to improve operations, particularly with regard to the role of the Franchise Consultant. That’s one of many topics to be addressed at Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), set for December 4-5 in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Technology and new applications have dramatically improved how franchisors work and communicate with franchisees. In terms of franchise operations, however, we’ve only scratched the surface,” said Evan Hackel, founder of Ingage Consulting and one of the keynote speakers for the December Franchise OPS, to be held at the Centennial Hotel in downtown Atlanta. “We covered some Web 2.0 technology applications in previous OPS sessions. The Atlanta OPS will specifically target how modern technology can greatly enhance the Franchise Consultant role to improve service and performance.”

In addition to covering new material, this Franchise OPS will also feature several new franchise experts on its roster of speakers, including Bob Gappa, founder of Management 2000. Over the past 31 years, Gappa and Management 2000 have worked with more than 950 franchises, providing strategic insights and recommendations for those organizations to address critical business challenges and capitalize on new opportunities.

“Anybody who’s anybody in the franchising world either knows Bob Gappa or knows about him,” said Hackel.

In addition to Hackel and Gappa, other Franchise OPS speakers include: Deb Binder of Ingage Consulting, Rupert M. Barkoff of Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton; Keith Gerson of FranConnect; Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review; Stacey Ruth of Actio Marketing; Barth Getto of BizUnite; Mindy Golde of Listen360; and Matt Talbot of GoSpotCheck.

Topics to be covered at Franchise OPS include:

  • Technology for Field Consultants
  • Benchmarking
  • The Field Consultant of the Future
  • Better Onboarding
  • FDD Item 19 – How to Do It Right

Said Adam Marmelstein, COO, Brightway Insurance of Franchise OPS, “Even if you know a great deal about many topics, you don’t. Come and learn more about what you don’t know so you can take the first or fiftieth step down the path to success.”

In addition to the educational benefits, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities with C-level franchise executives, the Franchise OPS offers the added bonus of being approved for 300 CFE credits by the International Franchise Association.

“With a lot of conferences, you come away with good ideas and make some good connections but because you get that information on the fly, it’s not as easy to implement when you get back to the home office,“ said Hackel. “With Franchise OPS, each attendee will be able to take actionable items back with them to help improve their franchise operations.”

Interested parties can register for the Franchise OPS before November 3 for $599. After that, the fee increases to $699.

Added Hackel, “Those interested in attending should register early. The previous OPS in Denver sold out before the early bird special and something tells me that with our agenda and roster of speakers, the same will be true in Atlanta.”

Franchise OPS is sponsored by FranConnect, Franchise Business Review, Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton; Actio Marketing, BizUnite, Ingage Consulting, Listen360, Management 2000 and Go/Spot Check. For complete information on Franchise OPS, please visit http://www.franchiseoperationssummit.com.

About Ingage Consulting

Ingage Consulting is a management consulting firm that works with franchisors and franchisees to improve the franchise organization’s culture which in turn increases sales and satisfaction; improves growth and retention and boosts loyalty and profits. Ingage Consulting provides solutions that drive the cooperation, commitment, passion and loyalty of both franchisors and franchisees.  The company helps solve the problems of franchise organizations by offering services that range from partnership creation and vibrant intranet community creation to trust building, improved communication and strategic planning.  After a thorough assessment, Ingage Consulting devises solutions to a franchise organization’s challenges. These solutions may include the development of methods that maximize collaboration among franchisees/licensees or the development of a clear strategy and execution plan for change which is customized to meet organizational objectives.

Evan Hackel, Ingage founder and management expert has more than two decades of experience in best practices, turnaround strategies and team dynamics.  He is often engaged to analyze franchise businesses, provide recommendations and facilitate strategic planning.  He is a member of the International Franchise Association and New England Franchise Association.

Ingage Consulting is located at 400 Trade Center, Suite 5900 in Woburn, MA.  For more information, contact (781) 569-5900 or visit the website www.ingage.net.

New Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), the only franchise executive conference dedicated to operations performance excellence, announced for Dec. 4-5 in Atlanta, Georgia.Read More

Two tons of caring. Lapels Dry Cleaning stores contribute more than 4,000 pounds of clothing to Big Brother/Big Sister clothing drive

HANOVER, MA…

Lapels Dry Cleaning Clothing Drive
Some of the more than two tons of clothes Lapels Dry Cleaning stores in Mass. and RI collected and donated to the Big Brother/Big Sister Association of both RI and Mass.

Having a “ton” of laundry is an often-used figure of speech. This year’s Lapels Dry Cleaning Clothes Drive put a visual to this expression by collecting 4,073 pounds—more than TWO tons—for Big Brother and Big Sister of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The drive, held from May 5 through May 20, included significant contributions from 18 Lapels Dry Cleaning stores and plants in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island.

“Our Massachusetts stores and our Lincoln, Rhode Island location really stepped it up for this clothing drive,” said Kevin Dubois, CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning. “Lapels prides itself on being environmentally friendly. A part of that is giving back to the communities we serve. We’re grateful to have a customer base that shares that spirit of giving.”

Some of the larger contributors to the clothing drive included the following stores:

  • Lapels of Norton (575 pounds)
  • Lapels of Hanover/Assinippi Corner (437 pounds)
  • Lapels of Walpole (345 pounds)

“With 18 Lapels stores participating in this drive it helped make this a huge success,” said Ken Higgins, Big Brother Big Sister Dispatch supervisor.

As impressive as those numbers are, the biggest individual store contributing came from the smallest state. The Lapels of Lincoln, Rhode Island collected 600 pounds of clothing.

“We’re so grateful for the contribution by Lapels customers and Lapels for coordinating the effort,” said Laura LoBreglio, customer service manager, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State. “Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the union, but this clothing drive shows how Lapels customers care about helping out fellow Ocean Staters.”

Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners
Each Lapels Dry Cleaning store offers a full slate of services, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage. Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Arizona (Gilbert, Phoenix), California (Poway), Colorado (Littleton), Connecticut (Cromwell), Louisiana (Monroe, West Monroe), Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Boston, Brighton, Cambridge, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Walpole, Westford, Westwood and Wilmington), Missouri (Wildwood), New Jersey (Brick, Freehold and Verona), Ohio (Liberty Towns), Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg), Rhode Island (Lincoln); South Carolina (Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Forest); Texas (Arlington). Additional locations coming soon to Chandler, AZ, Boston, MA, Quincy, MA and Brownsville, TX.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s 26th Annual “Franchise 500” as well as Entrepreneur’s “Top 50 New Franchises,” identifying Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of today’s top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur’s “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.

To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email sales@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.

Two tons of caring. Lapels Dry Cleaning stores contribute more than 4,000 pounds of clothing to Big Brother/Big Sister clothing driveRead More

No hang ups about recycling and returning money to the community. Lapels of Littleton, CO recycles hangers and contributes to worthy causes.

Lapels Dry Cleaning
: Lapels Dry Cleaning of Littleton, CO owners Dave and Karen Wood (center in white shirts), donated $300 to local food pantries last year by selling steel hangers for scrap metal. The Woods are pictured here at their grand opening in 2010.

LITTLETON, CO…

Lapels Dry Cleaning of Littleton, CO is helping to raise the bar on environmentally friendly practices within the dry cleaning industry through their program for recycling hangers.  Used steel hangers are collected from customers and reused or sold as scrap metal and those proceeds are then donated to worthy community groups.

By giving where it matters most — education and fighting hunger — Lapels redefines what it means to be green, focusing on sustainability, which is one of the main goals of green practices. Last year Lapels of Littleton received over three thousand pounds of hangers.  These efforts resulted in donations in excess of $300.

Lapels has also provided support to many of the schools in the neighborhood as well as the Leawood and Columbine Knolls Community Associations.

Dave Wood, local owner and operator of Lapels of Littleton, noted, “Doing business in the community means a lot more to me than just making a living.  It also means making an impact. We are delighted to be in a position to both be a steward of the environment and share recycling revenues with non-profit organizations in our region.”

Lapels has pioneered its eco-friendly dry cleaning experience over the past 10 years.  Lapels is committed to using the most advanced environmental practices and technologies not only in the manner in which they clean clothes but also in the build of their Stores and Plants. Their environmentally-friendly cleaning process has no odor, breaks down naturally and is gentler on clothes, thus lengthening the life of clothes. At Lapels you can see, feel and smell the difference.

Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners

Each Lapels Dry Cleaning store offers a full slate of services, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage. Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Arizona (Gilbert, Phoenix), California (Poway), Colorado (Littleton), Connecticut (Cromwell), Louisiana (Monroe, West Monroe), Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Boston, Brighton, Cambridge, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Walpole, Westford, Westwood and Wilmington), Missouri (Wildwood), New Jersey (Brick, Freehold and Verona), Ohio (Liberty Township), Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg), Rhode Island (Lincoln); South Carolina (Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island); Texas (Arlington). Additional locations coming soon to Chandler, AZ, Boston, MA, Quincy, MA and Brownsville, TX.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s 26th Annual “Franchise 500” as well as Entrepreneur’s “Top 50 New Franchises,” identifying Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of today’s top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur’s “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.

To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email sales@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.

No hang ups about recycling and returning money to the community. Lapels of Littleton, CO recycles hangers and contributes to worthy causes.Read More

The future of dry cleaning has arrived in the East Valley, AZ

Lapels, East Valley, Arizona
Jeff (far left) and Tanya Kline (far right) in one of their new Lapels Dry Cleaning stores in the East Valley part of Phoenix. Also pictures are the couple’s son Austin and daughter Payton.

AHWATUKEE, AZ, GILBERT, AZ CHANDLER, AZ AND HANOVER, MA…

Lapels Dry Cleaning, an innovative, environmentally friendly dry cleaning company headquartered in Hanover, Massachusetts, recently opened two dry cleaning stores in the East Valley, in Gilbert and Ahwatukee, and will open it’s third store in Chandler in October. The Gilbert store is in the Kohl’s/Sprout’s Shopping Center at 2586 South VaI Vista Drive, while the Ahwatukee store is located in the Trader Joe’s/Safeway Shopping Center at 4025 East Chandler Boulevard.

The three new Lapels Dry Cleaning stores are locally owned and operated by Gilbert residents Jeff and Tanya Kline. Store hours at all locations are Monday through Friday, 7 am to 7 pm; Saturday 8 am to 5 pm; and Sunday, 12 pm to 3 pm. Both the Gilbert and Ahwatukee stores will hold grand opening celebrations on September 15.

“We are delighted to bring Lapels’ standard of high quality dry cleaning and superior customer service to our friends, neighbors and fellow East Valley residents,” said Jeff Kline.

Prior to opening the Lapels stores, Jeff worked as an aerospace engineer at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Gilbert. Tanya continues her work as a homemaker and active community volunteer, in addition to her role in their new business. Jeff and Tanya live in Gilbert with their son Austin and daughter Payton.

“What we especially like about Lapels”, says Tanya, “is how it’s ‘green’ process produces such a nice finished product.”

Lapels has pioneered its eco-friendly dry cleaning experience for the past 10 years.  Using the latest technology in equipment and cleaning solution, Lapels is the only cleaner in the East Valley able to boast no hazardous waste in their process. Their environmentally-friendly cleaning process has no odor and is gentler on clothes, thus lengthening the life of clothes. At Lapels you can see, feel and smell the difference.

Lapels customers are greeted to a warm and inviting reception area, with friendly customer service representatives, and a full service on-site tailor.

“There were so many reasons why we chose to purchase a Lapels franchise. The environmental piece was certainly up there on our list, but it was an overall commitment to a high quality customer experience that truly sold us,” said Tanya Kline. “We’re hoping to make Lapels ‘the neighborhood dry cleaner in the East Valley.”

Lapels offers it’s customers Automatic Rewards earning them credit towards free dry cleaning for every dollar they spend, Loyalty Programs, a VIP Program which eliminates the need to wait in line and the use of a 24 Hour Drop Off Service. Same day service is also available with pick-up after 5 pm.

“We want to congratulate Jeff and Tanya on joining the Lapels Dry Cleaning family and we look forward to an ongoing relationship as we continue to provide guidance and support at the corporate level to help ensure the success of their new dry cleaning stores in the East Valley,” remarked Lapels Dry Cleaning CEO Kevin Dubois.

For complete information on the Lapels Dry Cleaning stores in the East Valley, please visit www.mylapels.com/ev. Or, you can call the Ahwatukee store at 480-706-1032 or the Gilbert store at 480-855-2000.
Lapels Dry Cleaning – Environmentally Friendly Cleaners
Each Lapels Dry Cleaning store offers a full slate of services, including: same-day dry cleaning; shirt service; tailoring; shoe repair; wedding gown preservation; suede and leather processing; box storage and fur storage. Lapels Dry Cleaning has stores in Arizona (Gilbert, Phoenix), California (Poway), Colorado (Littleton), Connecticut (Cromwell), Louisiana (Monroe, West Monroe), Massachusetts (Abington, Bedford, Boston, Brighton, Cambridge, Dedham, Easton, Framingham, Hanover, Marshfield, Newtonville, Norton, Walpole, Westford, Westwood and Wilmington), Missouri (Wildwood), New Jersey (Brick, Freehold and Verona), Ohio (Liberty Towns), Pennsylvania (Bloomsburg), Rhode Island (Lincoln); South Carolina (Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Forest); Texas (Arlington). Additional locations coming soon to Chandler, AZ, Boston, MA, Quincy, MA and Brownsville, TX.

Lapels Dry Cleaning has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s 26th Annual “Franchise 500” as well as Entrepreneur’s “Top 50 New Franchises,” identifying Lapels Dry Cleaning as one of today’s top franchise opportunities. Entrepreneur’s “Franchise 500” is the best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world and is based on objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation.

Lapels Dry Cleaning corporate offices are located at 962 Washington Street, Hanover, MA 02339.

To learn more about franchise opportunities with Lapels Dry Cleaning, call toll free (866) 695-2735 or email sales@lapelsdrycleaning.com. Additional information and up-to-date company news can also be found on the company’s Web site, www.lapelsdrycleaning.com.

The future of dry cleaning has arrived in the East Valley, AZRead More

Wave2 Launches New Franchise Division

Wave2 logoFranchisors and Franchisees Collaborate Using a Self-Service Portal Automating Marketing and Promotion Processes

DATELINE: WESTBOROUGH, MA

Franchisees in Tampa, Topeka and Tempe are about to launch new locations and need marketing tools to reach new customers, promotional collateral to present professional consistent messages along with digital ad campaigns to hit the ground running.  How do you control promotional activities in multiple locations with a consistent message, image and quality?

Wave2 Media Solutions has launched a new Franchise Division that removes the drama, cost and hassle replacing it with an easy to use self-service white-labelled portal to manage the entire marketing and promotional process.  A customized portal designed with your branding offering your corporately approved designs for both print and digital campaigns that can be accessed and edited by your franchisees.

With an eight year track record of providing similar services for the world’s leading newspapers and corporate clients, Wave2 Media Solutions is poised to take that same technology and turnkey solution to the franchise industry. Wave2’s large install base of newspaper partners will play an important role in this strategy.  A new Expert Partner” status will enable newspapers to participate with the local franchisees by facilitating their use of the Wave2 solution.

While most franchisors are looking to manage and control use of their brand there is a void of systems to enable them to do this.  Wave2 working with their newspaper partners will be able to offer a digital workflow that will connect franchisees to their local newspaper’s advertising products for the print editions of the newspaper and digital ads for the newspaper’s website.

Wave2 Media Solutions also helps manage, control and implement online standards for other marketing materials.  These include logoed apparel, email campaigns, brochures, business cards, direct mail, door hangers, internal and external signage, Point of Purchase (POP), post cards and anything that includes a franchisor’s brand.

Stormy seas?  Worried about protecting your brand?  Need to streamline marketing materials for franchisees?  Wave2 can help you navigate the roughest seas to a safe harbor.

“We understand that the last thing franchisors want is to juggle dozens of emails, phone calls and shipments from warehouses around the country every time a franchisee needs new monthly promotional materials or on-going marketing tools,” noted Brian Gorman, co-founder and Vice President of Wave2 Media Solutions.  “The typical franchisor system being used today is a server with static PDFs that franchisees can download or they order pre-printed material from a warehouse.  These systems offer little if any customization and regionalization for the franchisee and are slow to respond to changes in products, promotions and advertising.”

Gorman continued, “By implementing one of our white-label self-service portals, franchisors will be able to maintain their corporate brands across all types of media.  Franchisees will have much better access and editing capabilities so they can both personalize and localize their message in a more time effective manner than they can now.  The Wave2 newspaper partner channel will also be available to franchisees in their local markets making it much easier for them to place ads with newspapers.  This will empower the franchisee to improve both the targeting and timing of their localized promotions increasing their sales and lowering their costs. This is all available without taking the brand management away from the franchisor.”

Wave2 Media Solutions was formed in 2004 specifically to develop a range of solutions for the automated generation of documents. With an extensive installed base around the world hosting hundreds of websites, Wave2 aims to provide tools that will enable clients to both save costs and to generate new revenue.

Wave2’s product range includes solutions for Self Service Advertising, Self Service Portals, Creative Automation, Sales Visuals, Online Marketing and Personalized Publishing.  Wave2 is a world leading developer of Adobe Systems InDesign Server and Adobe’s Flash technology.

For more information, Wave2 Media Solutions can be contacted at 114 Turnpike Road, Suite 203, Westborough, MA 01581, (508) 366-6383, info@wave2media.com, www.wav2.com.

Wave2 Launches New Franchise DivisionRead More

2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS) receives rave reviews from C-level franchise operations execs.

Eric Stites
Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review

WOBURN, MA and DENVER, COLORADO…

What makes a successful conference? From the organizer’s perspective, a sellout is a good start. In fact, it’s a great start. Yet as organizers of the recently held Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), the only franchise executive conference dedicated to operations performance excellence, will tell you, it’s what attendees take away from the event that matters.

“We sold out the OPS in Denver, which is great,” said Evan Hackel, founder of Ingage Consulting and a keynote speaker at Franchise OPS, which took place on July 18 and 19. “What really made this event special is that every single attendee—with the help of franchise operations experts–left with a written out list, which they created, of action items they can implement right away to improve their organization’s operations.”

Said Nancy France, president and CEO of Fast Track Kids, “This was our first Franchise OPS, and we left with several key ideas that we can immediately implement in order to improve our operations. It was a great way to interact with other franchisors as well as knowledgeable speakers.”

Topics covered at Franchise OPS included:

  • Real World Franchise Compliance
  • Impactful, Substantive and Effective Conventions/Conferences 
  • Turning a Survey into a Powerful Management Tool
  • Maximizing the Benefits of an Online University 
  • Supercharging Operational Excellence with Web 2.0 Technology
  • Making the Most of Franchise System Buying Services

While attendees benefitted from all the workshops, “Turning a Survey into a Powerful Management Tool”, hosted by Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review, drew particular interest.

“Surveys can be a great tool to improve communication with the franchisees and show the franchisees the organization is truly listening,” said Stites. “In the workshop at Franchise OPS, we provided attendees some innovative ideas on how to better utilize surveys and give them the tools to put a survey strategy together for their company.”

Stites’ company, Franchise Business Review (FBR), is a market research and consulting company that specializes in franchisee satisfaction and engagement. Stites created the Franchisee Satisfaction Index (FSI), which has quickly become the industry standard for measuring and benchmarking franchisee satisfaction and engagement. FBR has worked with more than 500 leading franchise systems including Action Coaching, Snap-on Tools, FastSigns, Budget Blinds, Church’s Chicken, Firehouse Subs, Home Instead Senior Care, ValPak and many other leading brands.

Other franchise operations experts who conducted workshops at Franchise OPS include: Deb Binder of Ingage Consulting, Stacey Ruth of Actio Marketing, Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review, Keith Gerson of FranConnect, Rupert M. Barkoff of Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton, Barth Getto of BizUnite and Bill Gauthier of CCA Global Partners.

“If you want to improve your knowledge about trends in franchise operations, this session is the place. You will learn from experts, and you will learn from your peers,” said Bill Sherman, Chief of People and Processes, ConciER FSED Franchising.

In addition to the educational benefits, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities with C-level franchise executives, the Franchise OPS offers the added bonus of being approved for 300 CFE credits by the International Franchise Association. A future Franchise OPS session is being scheduled for __ in Atlanta, Georgia.

Franchise OPS was sponsored by Franchise Business Review, Kilpatrick Townsend, Actio Marketing, BizUnite and Ingage Consulting. For complete information on Franchise OPS, including announcements on future Franchise OPS conferences, please visit http://www.franchiseoperationssummit.com.

About Ingage Consulting

Ingage Consulting is a management consulting firm that works with cooperatives and cooperative councils and leadership to improve the organization’s culture which in turn increases sales and satisfaction; improves growth and retention and boosts loyalty and profits.

Ingage Consulting provides solutions that drive the cooperation, commitment, passion and loyalty of cooperative members.  They offer unique services that help solve the problems of cooperatives in a number of ways.  Working closely with clients, the Ingage Consulting team quickly and thoughtfully assesses, understands and devises solutions to a cooperative organization’s challenges.  Leaders come away with ideas for improvement, including methods for maximizing collaboration among co-op members and a clear strategy and execution plan for change, customized to meet organizational objectives.  Ingage Consulting’s proven techniques to increase collaboration brings about greater productivity and success on many levels. In short, Ingage Consulting makes cooperatives more successful.

Ingage Consulting is located at 400 Trade Center, Suite 5900 in Woburn, MA.  For more information, contact (781) 569-5900 or visit the website www.ingage.net.

2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS) receives rave reviews from C-level franchise operations execs.Read More

Operating at full capacity. 2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), to be held July 18-19 in Denver, CO, sells out.

Evan Hackel
Evan Hackel of Ingage Consulting will be a featured speaker at Franchise OPS, July 18 & 19 at the Westin Hotel in Denver, CO

DENVER, COLORADO…

The Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), the only franchise executive conference dedicated to performance operations excellence, recently announced the July 18-19 event was a sellout.

“Clearly we’re thrilled with the response to this year’s Franchise OPS in Denver. One of the thoughts in putting together this year’s OPS and the one we held last year in Atlanta is that there is very little out there in terms of conferences for franchise operations executives. The sellout of this session bears that out ,” said Evan Hackel, founder of Ingage Consulting, one of the event’s sponsors. “Fortunately for those who weren’t able to attend this session, we’re planning another session with updated operations material for later in the year.”

To be held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Denver, Franchise OPS includes two days of workshops conducted by a number of franchise operations experts. In addition to Hackel, those franchise operations experts include: Deb Binder of Ingage Consulting, Stacey Ruth of Actio Marketing, Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review, Keith Gerson of FranConnect, Rupert M. Barkoff of Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton, Barth Getto of BizUnite and Bill Gauthier of CCA Global Partners.

“The strength of OPS is our roster of speakers. It includes some of the preeminent authorities on franchise operations in the country,” said Hackel. “In addition, we’re going to be covering material that’s critical to franchise operations and attendees will leave with an actual action plan they can begin to implement from Day One of their return to their franchise.”

A sampling of the workshops being held at Franchise OPS includes:

  • Real World Franchise Compliance
  • Impactful, Substantive and Effective Conventions/Conferences 
  • Turning a Survey into a Powerful Management Tool
  • Maximizing the Benefits of an Online University
  • Supercharging Operational Excellence with Web 2.0 Technology
  • Making the Most of Franchise System Buying Services

In addition to the educational benefits, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities with C-level franchise executives, the Franchise OPS offers the added bonus of being approved for 300 CFE credits by the International Franchise Association.

Franchise OPS is sponsored by Franchise Business Review, Kilpatrick Townsend, Actio Marketing, BizUnite and Ingage Consulting. For complete information on Franchise OPS, including announcements on future Franchise OPS conferences, please visit http://www.franchiseoperationssummit.com.

About Ingage Consulting

Ingage Consulting is a management consulting firm that works with cooperatives and cooperative councils and leadership to improve the organization’s culture which in turn increases sales and satisfaction; improves growth and retention and boosts loyalty and profits.

Ingage Consulting provides solutions that drive the cooperation, commitment, passion and loyalty of cooperative members.  They offer unique services that help solve the problems of cooperatives in a number of ways.  Working closely with clients, the Ingage Consulting team quickly and thoughtfully assesses, understands and devises solutions to a cooperative organization’s challenges.  Leaders come away with ideas for improvement, including methods for maximizing collaboration among co-op members and a clear strategy and execution plan for change, customized to meet organizational objectives.  Ingage Consulting’s proven techniques to increase collaboration brings about greater productivity and success on many levels. In short, Ingage Consulting makes cooperatives more successful.

Ingage Consulting is located at 400 Trade Center, Suite 5900 in Woburn, MA.  For more information, contact (781) 569-5900 or visit the website www.ingage.net.

 

 

Operating at full capacity. 2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), to be held July 18-19 in Denver, CO, sells out.Read More

Customer Loyalty comes ashore in Portland. New “Shop Local/Buy Local” marketing group helps Mom & Pop shops build greater customer loyalty by offering real-time access to customer feedback.

PORTLAND, ME…

While the “Shop Local/Buy Local” sentiment gets many Portland consumers in the doors of local merchant, the customer experience still dictates whether or not they return and continue to patronize a local business. Until recently, local merchants rarely had direct access to concrete data relating to a customer’s experience, good or bad. Local Marketing Community (LMC) Group recently launched a turnkey program to help Portland neighborhood businesses attain that feedback in real-time in order to build customer loyalty and grow their business.

“It costs seven to 10 times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to grow the value of an existing customer by the same amount.  A referred customer is the most profitable type of new customer to acquire.  A dissatisfied customer will return 92% of the time if the issue is resolved quickly.  Many businesses struggle to identify and measure the value of the individual customers to their business and to effectively focus on growing the more valuable relationships,” said Bruce Wildes, CEO of LMC Group. “With our program, the merchant knows who their loyal and most profitable customers are and also who the detractors are, potentially before they go viral on public web sites.  The LMC program gives them the tools to easily build upon their most valuable customer relationships.”

Here’s how LMC’s program works. Participating merchants give a feedback card to their customer that includes a tangible benefit for their feedback.  The customer completes a simple one-minute online survey with their smart phone or computer.  They are immediately emailed a validation code for the feedback card to redeem the benefit on their next visit to the merchant.  If the feedback is positive, the customer is given the option to refer others to join the Local Marketing Community and to also receive other offers from other participating merchants.  If the feedback is negative, the merchant is immediately notified to respond to the customer to address the concern.

“This kind of information is invaluable to merchants on a number of levels and has the added benefit of letting the merchant’s staff know that customers are being surveyed. This tends to improve the level of service, which increases retention and makes a customer more likely to refer family and friends,” said Wildes.

In addition to providing feedback, the LMC program offers a number of rewards vehicles so vendors can regularly communicate with their loyal customers. Those vehicles include:

  • Birthday Club
  • Anniversary Club
  • eClub
  • Text Club
  • Facebook and Twitter posts

Besides tools for customer feedback and communications, LMC’s program also provides a convenient referral platform to generate multiple referrals and develop customer appreciation programs.

LMC’s program has already enabled many local businesses to grow their business and recognize staff members.

“Statistics indicate that if a business treats a customer well, chances are 26% that the customer will become a loyal patron. Statistics also state that if we are able to exceed the customer’s expec­tations, chances of developing a loyal customer jump to over 80%. LMC offers the most effective tool to measure if we’re actually accomplishing our goal,” said Jeff Corey, president of Day’s Jeweler. “The customer feedback has been a wonderful reinforcement to our front line staff because they are seeing first hand that customers are appreciating their hard work.”

“Until now, smaller, local businesses didn’t have a convenient way to identify the customer, measure their experience, and then further build a relationship with them to keep them coming back,” said Reade Brower, an advocate of the LMC program in Rockland, Maine. “With LMC, it’s quite simple for both the merchant and consumer to participate.  It also encourages the customer to support other participating local merchants in the community.”

LMC offers a number of affordable packages to participate, ranging from $65 to $150 per month. There’s an initial commitment of one year, with a six month opt-out. For more information, please visit www.lmcgroup.biz or contact Bruce Wildes 207 370 8210 or bruce@lmcgroup.biz.

Customer Loyalty comes ashore in Portland. New “Shop Local/Buy Local” marketing group helps Mom & Pop shops build greater customer loyalty by offering real-time access to customer feedback.Read More

FranConnect’s Keith Gerson joins roster of speaker for 2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), to be held July 18 & 19 in Denver, CO.

Keith Gerson
Keith Gerson, president of FranConnect, will speak at the Franchise Operations Performance Summit in Denver, CO on July 18 and 19.

WOBURN, MA and DENVER, COLORADO…

When franchisors and franchisees think of the Internet, it’s typically in terms of how to better serve customers and attract new ones. The new addition to Franchise OPS speaker roster, FranConnect President Keith Gerson, CFE, will address how new Web 2.0 technology can be used to transform how franchisors train and work with franchisees—elevating franchise performance.

“There are many franchisors who underutilize the capabilities of the internet, particularly when it comes to operations,” said Evan Hackel, president of Ingage Consulting and one of Franchise OPS’ keynote speakers. “We’re ecstatic to have Keith Gerson speaking on this topic because he will not only talk about how new Web 2.0 technology can be used to improve franchise operations but he will provide attendees with a written, actionable plan they can implement from Day one when they return from conference.”

In addition to Web 2.0 technology, Gerson will also hold a workshop entitled “Maximizing the Benefits of an Online University”.  The workshop will illuminate the best practices in implementing an online university as well as presenting real world case studies to stimulate conversation. As with Gerson’s other workshop, attendees will be able to create a list of action items to improve their franchise training systems.

“Done right, online universities can be truly transformational and improve operational execution.  The key is combination of integrating the online training into a comprehensive implementation and having the type of online training that users will both enjoy and learn from,” said Gerson. “The workshop can help with online universities or those thinking about adding one by teaching best practices in implementing an online University. “

Gerson is a 35-year franchise industry veteran. Prior to holding his current position as president of FranConnect, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at Sopra Brands, one of franchising’s leading private equity and management companies. Gerson has also led multiple companies to record levels of franchise development and accelerated them to multimillion-dollar revenue growth, leading to increased royalties and significant EBITDA. Companies he has led include PuroClean, AlphaGraphics, Mrs. Fields, and ChemDry.

A highly sought public speaker and mentor, Gerson’s expertise covers emerging as well as established franchise systems. His knowledge base helps FranConnect efficiently implement in-depth franchise development solutions for consistent growth and revenue profitability.

“Part of what makes Franchise OPS a one of a kind conference, besides the fact that we deal specifically with franchise operations, is speakers the caliber of Keith Gerson,” said Hackel. “His combination of experience, intelligence and presentation skills makes this a must-see workshop.”

The initial Franchise OPS was held last December in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to Gerson, seven franchise experts—Evan Hackel and Deb Binder of Ingage Consulting, Stacey Ruth of Actio Marketing, Eric Stites of Franchise Business Review, Rupert M. Barkoff of Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton, Barth Getto of BizUnite and Bill Gauthier of CCA Global Partners—will conduct two days of workshops at the Westin Hotel in downtown Denver.

Workshops to be held include:

  • Real World Franchise Compliance
  • Impactful, Substantive and Effective Convention/Conferences 
  • Turning a Survey into a Powerful Management Tool
  • Maximizing the Benefits of an Online University 
  • Supercharge Operational Excellence with Web 2.0 Technology
  • Making the Most of Franchise System Buying Services

In addition to the educational benefits, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities with C-level franchise executives, the Franchise OPS offers the added bonus of being approved for 300 CFE credits by the International Franchise Association. Interested parties can register for the Franchise OPS before July 2 for as little as $399. After that, the fee increases to $499.

Franchise OPS is sponsored by Franchise Business Review, Kilpatrick Townsend, Actio Marketing, BizUnite and Ingage Consulting. For complete information on Franchise OPS, please visit http://www.franchiseoperationssummit.com.

About Ingage Consulting

Ingage Consulting is a management consulting firm that works with cooperatives and cooperative councils and leadership to improve the organization’s culture which in turn increases sales and satisfaction; improves growth and retention and boosts loyalty and profits.

Ingage Consulting provides solutions that drive the cooperation, commitment, passion and loyalty of cooperative members.  They offer unique services that help solve the problems of cooperatives in a number of ways.  Working closely with clients, the Ingage Consulting team quickly and thoughtfully assesses, understands and devises solutions to a cooperative organization’s challenges.  Leaders come away with ideas for improvement, including methods for maximizing collaboration among co-op members and a clear strategy and execution plan for change, customized to meet organizational objectives.  Ingage Consulting’s proven techniques to increase collaboration brings about greater productivity and success on many levels. In short, Ingage Consulting makes cooperatives more successful.

Ingage Consulting is located at 400 Trade Center, Suite 5900 in Woburn, MA.  For more information, contact (781) 569-5900 or visit the website www.ingage.net.

FranConnect’s Keith Gerson joins roster of speaker for 2012 Franchise Operations Performance Summit (OPS), to be held July 18 & 19 in Denver, CO.Read More