Canadian Franchising
is based on the following values: Respect, Accountability, Making it Fun, Momentum, and Profitability.
The Right Fit
RAMMP’s focus on long term franchisee profitability is based on finding excellent franchisees who fit with our values, work ethic and long term focus, says Robin Chakrabarti, one of RAMMP’s founding partners. “Together we work with our franchisees to build and consistently improve the guest experience and enhance the brand while staying true to a strong community focus in the towns and cities in which we operate.” As franchisors, RAMMP’s role is to leverage their expertise on brand, consumer trends and operations to achieve long term success for each location. The franchisee’s role is to deliver an exceptional guest experience within the brand parameters and operational standards set by the franchisor and to provide constant feedback to the franchisor from the front line interactions with the guests. The biggest advantage of a franchise model is the benefit of entrepreneurial-minded franchisees who contribute back to the long term success of the brand.
An Important Partnership
Mr. Mikes is an example of a brand and franchise system that needed the addition of intellectual capital in order to realize its potential for long term success. RAMMP purchased the brand just over two years ago. With the help and input of the franchisee group RAMMP has made significant changes that are accelerating the success of the individual stores and growth in new locations. “When we took over the brand it had strengths such as longevity in the marketplace and an exceptional group of core franchisees,” says Chakrabarti, “But the franchise was in need of a realignment on the importance of the partnership between the franchisor and the franchisee and the brand needed repositioning to reflect what its’ true brand personality meant to its most loyal customers.” When they took on the Mr. Mikes franchise, what RAMMP found was a core group of franchisees who were passionate about the brand, and had a long term goal of growing with the brand. “These were the type of people, says
Chakrabarti, who have aspirations of multi-unit ownership, and who provide an exceptional level of customer service on a day to day basis.” “This fit perfectly with our belief that our ideal franchisees are people who believe ‘Execution is Everything’ and are committed to delivering on a great customer experience.” This type of passion for the brand allows RAMMP the opportunity to garner street level input from franchisees about everything from the menu, to branding, and beyond. It is this unique combination of franchisee input and franchisor expertise that creates positive change, long term success, and sustained profitability.
Successful Rebranding
As important as the input of the franchisee base, was the input and emotional response of the consumers to the Mr. Mikes brand. Through considerable formal customer research and market studies, augmented by countless hours spent in the restaurants interacting with customers on the front lines, RAMMP learned important details that led them to create and bring to life Mr. Mikes SteakhouseCasual (formerly Mr. Mikes Steakhouse and Bar). The customers told RAMMP that after 50 years it was time to celebrate all of the great things about Mr. Mikes that the loyal and passionate customers enjoyed: No fancy frills, no stuffed shirt attitude. Just real people and great food; everything customers want in a steakhouse, only casual. The rebranding to Steakhouse Casual has been a huge success, but even more than the success, RAMMP is most proud of the process that got them there. “Open communication built on trust with our franchisees and our customers provided
us the feedback we needed to create an exciting vision for the brand,” says Mike Cordoba RAMMP CEO. “We then applied our expertise and executed upon our commitment to continuous improvement that underlines everything we do.” The response to date has been outstanding with over half of the Mr. Mikes locations having already converted to Steakhouse Casual and the remainder scheduled over the next year. This process of open communication and building trust has paid off not just in previously owned locations, but in new locations as well. RAMMP has already sold enough new franchises to double the size of the Mr. Mikes chain by 2016 and the pipeline continues to grow. The new Steakhouse Casual restaurants are opening at record levels and existing franchisees are realizing their dreams of owning more than one unit. Chakrabarti reflects on the success, “We are not standing still and we continue to listen and learn from our franchisees and our customers and are always looking at new and innovate ways to further enhance the brands. Our franchisees long term success depends on it.” For More Information: Contact Rick Villalpando, Vice President Business Development Phone: 604-536-4111 Web: www.rammp.net
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