Retail Franchising Feature from Business Franchise Australia New Zealand January/ February 2020

retail franchising

VOL 14 ISSUE 02 jan/feb 2020

safeguarding your retail franchise from Chargeback Fraud

Retail Experiences that will

keep customers coming back

your customers have changedBut have you?

Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand 35

what’snew!

7-ELEVEN WENDOUREE NOW OPEN to provide fantastic service and a convenient range of products and services.

Ballarat locals can use the 7-Eleven Fuel app. Drivers can lock in the cheapest fuel price locally available at the five closest local 7-Eleven stores, and redeem it anytime in the next seven days at any 7-Eleven fuel store. As a bonus the 7-Eleven Fuel app also has regular offers on the great range of products instore.

7-Eleven Australia opened its newest store at 1002-1006 Howitt Street Wendouree in November.

The Wendouree team have been providing a great experience and offer to Wendouree locals and visitors.

7-Eleven Victorian State Manager, Marc Costabile said the store team will be working

“Victorians have been great supporters of our 7-Eleven Fuel app. The app lets customers lock in the fuel price when it suits them and redeem it within the next seven days at any store in the country. Since January 2017, Victorian drivers using the 7-Eleven Fuel App have saved more than $4.6 million, an average of $5.88 per fill (average 15 cents per litre saving),” he said.

Mr Costabile said the store offers the new 7-Eleven ParcelMate service, in addition to a range of other convenient products and services.

“The 7-Eleven ParcelMate service allows customers to conveniently and reliably send parcels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Our prices are designed to give our customers great value, domestic standard 1kg is $11, 3kg is $14. For domestic express, 1kg is $14 and 3kg is $17,” Mr Costabile said.

Customers at the store are encouraged to bring along their reusable cups, or to recycle any single use cups.

“Our customers can bring along their reusable cup for their coffee, or use one of our reusable Slurpee bottles for their Slurpee purchases to reduce single use cup waste.

In our pioneering partnership with Simply Cups, we’ve helped them to recycle more than 6 million cups nationwide since early 2018.

We’d love Wendouree locals to take advantage of our Simply Cup recycling unit to recycle any single use cups or straws they have,” Mr Costabile concluded. www.7eleven.com.au

Game-changer for Snap Print & Design

Snap Print & Design can offer customers the glossiest white on transparent and coloured media with high-opacity white that resists yellowing over time, has enhanced scratch resistance and a quicker turnaround times.

The HP Latex R1000 Plus Printer is designed for a variety of hybrid applications including signage and displays.

you can transform any rigid or flexible substrate with amazing colours. And with no smell, new colours, new substrates, and HP’s white latex ink this printer is an industry breakthrough. Snap will be able to deliver quality printing on any rigid or flexible surface including wood, aluminium, glass, ceramic and more.

With the new HP Latex R1000 Plus Printer,

With the new HP Latex R1000+ printer,

www.snap.com.au

To deliver for their customers Snap Wynyard has just installed one of the first HP Latex RSeries Printers. It’s a gamechanger for Snap, and for what they can do for their customers

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Snap Wynyard will be able to push the boundaries for its customers – more than ever before.

THREE NEW BEN & JERRY’S STORES

David Jones and BP Collaboration opens in Melbourne It’s time to celebrate! Ben & Jerry’s has announced a trio of new Scoop Shop franchise openings, with more on the way for 2020.

Ben & Jerry’s and franchise partner, DC Strategy have announced that two new scoop shops are confirmed to open around Melbourne, as well as an additional location in Auckland, New Zealand.

James Young, Head of Franchise Sales and Development at DC Strategy, said, “We’ve been working with the Ben & Jerry’s team for a number of years and the new string of franchise grants show that we’re continuing to grow and evolve in innovative and socially-responsible ways. We’ve been their franchise partner since the beginning and it’s great to see their vision and passion come to life. The new scoop shops are key assets to the network performance and will provide a solid foundation for the next wave of franchisees.”

The much-anticipated Ben & Jerry’s Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre opened its doors before Christmas. Aiming to be the most sustainable shopping centre in the world and the first to achieve the Living Building Challenge™, Burwood Brickworks is set to raise the bar and transform the area into a brand new mixed-use urban village.

The second Melbourne location on Acland Street in St Kilda will create a buzz and provide a new attraction along the famous food and casual-dining street! The ice cream giant’s addition will create a brand new hotspot for people from all areas of Melbourne, just in time for Summer. The popular strip is well known for its desserts and beach vibes! Perfectly located amongst the busy shops and bars, the cuttingedge and famous storefront design is sure to have queues outside all day and night!

David Jones and BP have unveiled their first store collaboration, in Bayside, Melbourne.

The new high-end convenience store, offers over 400 high-quality products under its dual-branded roof, with food-for-now and food-forlater options including pre-prepared meals and groceries from David Jones Food’s exclusive range.

The 24-hour store has been designed to create a seamless shopping experience, utilising BP’s expertise in convenience retailing, with selfservice checkouts and ample parking.

Five more partner stores are set to open in Melbourne between December and March. These stores will pop up in Ringwood, Glen Waverley, Brighton, Clarendon and Greensborough.

Five sites have also been earmarked for Sydney in Rozelle, Artarmon, Kingsford, Ashfield and Mosman, with these stores set to open from February to April 2020, The retailers will use insights and customer feedback from the initial 11 stores to inform the next phase of development, with plans to add more stores in 2020.

“Our Bayside BP and David Jones Food Store offers customers a glimpse into the future of shopping on our Australian forecourts – aiming to deliver an outstanding retail experience with the highest quality fresh food at great value,” Brooke Miller, BP Australia vice president sales and marketing said in a statement on Wednesday.

The latest Auckland location will open in Commercial Bay at the start of the new year, giving locals a fresh and convenient scoop shop to indulge in chocolate chunks and swirls.

“The store design has been carefully planned to cater to the expectations of busy, urban customers while still providing BP’s usual high-quality offers such as the Wild Bean Café.”

Bruce Lambert, Business Development Manager, Ben & Jerry’s ANZ said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to see three new franchised Scoop Shop’s opening in Australia and New Zealand. We’ve worked really hard with our franchise partners DC Strategy to find and recruit the right franchisees that are passionate about both the business and its company values.”

She said the opening is an important step in BP’s strategy to transform convenience retailing in Australia.

www.benandjerry.com.au

www.bp.com/en_au/australia/promotions/david-jones-food.html

“It’s been a real pleasure to work with David Jones to develop this partnership and both companies are excited about offering Australian consumers something fresh, delicious and different,” she said.

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FE AT U R E A R T I C L E

Retail Experiences That Will

Keep Customers Coming Back Advice on improving and promoting the retail customer experience gets thrown around a lot these days, mainly because your customers can shop from anywhere.

At a time, where sites like Amazon, eBay and ASOS are enabling people to purchase products with a tap of a button, traditional retailers need to step up their game and offer experiences that customers can’t get on their phone or online.

It’s important to remember that although retail may be struggling at the moment, it is alive and well, but it is evolving, and retailers must play on their strengths to ensure their customers keep coming back.

Face to face customer service

You shouldn’t underestimate the value of face to face customer service. Providing customers with a warm welcome, being patient and taking care of the customer’s needs with high-quality service goes a very long way.

The key to excellent customer service is building good relationships with your customers by promoting a positive, helpful and friendly environment. A positive environment will ensure your customers leave with a great impression. Happy customers will return often and are likely to spend more with you.

In the retail space, keep the following customer service points in mind: • Perfect your greeting • Remember and appreciate regular customers • Make an effort to educate and upsell shoppers • Go the extra mile for your customers • Establish a local connection with your customers

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• Find the perfect solution for each shopper • Ensure your product knowledge is flawless • Apologise for any mishaps

Make your shopfront stand-out Rather than simply lining up your wares in your front window, create a scene to engage and attract customers - you want to tell them a story about your business.

Make sure your shopfront is clean and fresh for maximum street appeal – don’t let dust gather and update your display regularly.

The right lighting can make a huge impact on your shopfront. Installing overhead lighting or spotlights to make your products stand out and look their best.

Have fun creating your window space. It’s a great chance to share your products and attract customers.

Create customer loyalty Not only do loyal customers spend more, but loyal customers will refer their friends

Give your customers a reason to be loyal, set up ways to communicate with your customers and provide extra perks for your most loyal customers.

If you’re thinking about implementing a rewards program; make it free to join, make it easy to take part in and make it worthwhile for the customer.

Unless you are a big name brand offering extremely valuable benefits, there is no reason to expect your customers to pay for your rewards program. Remember the loyalty program is an incentive for them to make more purchases at your store.

Make sure that your customers find it simple taking part in your rewards program - it does not need to be something complicated or time-consuming.

Your customer should want to take part in your rewards program. While it is essential to keep them engaged, the only thing that will make them want to take part in the first place is an attractive perk at the end.

Give back to your loyal customers to display your appreciation, be it through gifts, surprise events, discount offers and secret sales.

Implement personalisation Personalisation in retail uses your customers personal data to provide tailored shopping experiences to shoppers in a retail environment. Every path to purchase is different, and, personalisation in retail aims to assist each individual based on their behaviours and needs.

Making a customer feel like one in a million can be the secret ingredient to creating a strong connection between your customer and your store.

mobile app, in-store, or post purchase, communications are integral and should offer appropriate incentives, offers or products.

Online shopping options In today’s market, many purchases involve both digital and physical perusing of goods.

A purchase can often begin with online research followed by a visit to the store to make a purchase, or a purchase may start with a customer examining the product instore but making the purchase online.

Smartphones mean shoppers can perform their research and price comparisons on a product while in the store.

Virtually all large brick-and-mortar retailers will also have a robust online presence, so even if you are a small retailer, an online store is a must-have to increase sales and build your brand. Your customers are increasingly browsing and shopping online, and a presence online will keep you competitive.

Offer click-and-collect Are you already selling online? Great. By offering click-and-collect services in your store, you will not only get people to your physical location, but you can potentially increase sales in the process.

Customers who use click and collect get to control when they want to pick up their delivery, and they don’t need to think about missing their delivery.

Also, your customers are not met with any added delivery costs, so it’s much more convenient for customers.

Conversely, offering a simple returns process online or in-store, adds the same benefit to customers and your business.

Post-purchase communication Post-purchase communication is an essential feature of any retailer’s customer retention plan. Post-purchase communication keeps the conversation going with your customers well after they leave your store, and can strengthen the relationship with your brand and builds loyalty.

If you capture your customers’ email addresses, phone numbers and mailing address when they make purchases, you can use this to communicate with them after they purchase to cross-sell or upsell.

Social media Most of your customers are likely to follow you on social media after purchasing with you. Make it simple for your customers to find and connect with you online by adding your socials to your website and in emails.

Once your customers are following you, you need to get them to engage with you. Create easy ways for them to share information about their purchases with social posts via a branded hashtag or pre-populated posts.

Soliciting feedback It’s essential to ask for feedback from your customers. Your customers’ feedback can inform decisions on product or stock, pricing and branding.

You can seek customer feedback via reviews, surveys and social media; this will not only provide you with great insights but will make customers feel as though their voices are heard and appreciated.

Every interaction you have with a customer has the potential to turn a one-time shopper into a lifelong loyal customer, so play on your strengths and keep those customers coming back.

Before you start on any project, there are a few steps to consider; you will need to have the right technology platform in place, that can store and manage data. You will need to gather as much data as possible from customers, so having a secure and easy to use platform is necessary. Your technology platform will also need to segment and automate the campaigns for you.

All personalisation programmes should have similar goals, including: • Increased relevance for the consumer • Improved customer experience • An increase in sales for the business Whether you communicate with customers about your loyalty program via email, a

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and family to your store and loyal customers are more likely to respond to marketing campaigns, offers and events.

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e x pert adv i c e

Your Customers Have ChangedBut Have You?

In the early days of e-commerce and online shopping, businesses were asking the question, “How can we make our website customer experience as good as the ‘real world’ experience?”

Now it’s precisely the other way around.

In the world of smartphones, social media, free shipping, online reviews, and a global marketplace, businesses are now facing the opposite challenge: How can you make your in-person experience as good as the online experience?

The fact is, your customers have changed.

The question is: Have you?

“In the world of smartphones, social media, free shipping, online reviews, and a global marketplace, businesses are now facing the opposite challenge: How can you make your in-person experience as good as the online experience?”

Gihan Perera | Business Futurist, Speaker & Author

Here are five key things customers do differently now.

according to SupplyChainBrain) now start their product search online.

1

Moreover, just because they reach you, don’t assume they are a captive market.

Yes, marketing suggests that 57 per cent of customers use their smartphones in-store to continue researching the products they want to buy.

They do more online research

Your customers’ buying journey doesn’t start with you. You might be one of the last steps on the journey after they have researched, reviewed, filtered, and finally narrowed it down to their shortlist. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that most customers (81 per cent,

This means that investing in your online experience – and more specifically, your mobile online experience – is a must. This will pay off, not just by keeping up with the competition, but by increasing loyalty: research by Google suggests frequent mobile shoppers spend 25 per cent more in stores.

2

They want to try before they buy

Augmented reality (AR) – where digital information is overlaid on the physical world – is playing a more significant role in the shopping experience. IKEA was a pioneer in this space, with its phone app allowing customers to ‘project’ IKEA furniture into their homes so they could see how it would fit in. Similarly, Sephora uses AR to help customers digitally ‘try on’ make-up in their stores.

AR is not yet mainstream, but that’s all the more reason to invest in it now because its novelty will attract customers. Besides, it might not be as far away as you think.

According to Digital Bridge, nearly 70

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FE ATUR E : r e ta i l fr a nch isi ng “Helping customers connect gives new customers a way to feel like part of a community, and passionate customers a platform to share ideas, rave about you, and everybody in between the chance to explore a stronger connection with your brand and organisation.” per cent of consumers expect retailers to launch an AR app soon, so it could be a very effective way to stay ahead of the game.

3

They want the personal touch

In the good old days, the owner of the corner store knew all his customers by name and knew their quirks, preferences, and buying behaviours. Big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics are bringing that kind of personalisation back into the customer experience – and your customers value that personal touch. Deloitte research suggests over half of consumers like personalised products and services, and one in four will pay more for them.

Personlaised service relies on collecting personal data (This is why Facebook is so powerful because its algorithms know so much about your life). However, customers – particularly younger customers – are more willing than ever to disclose that personal data. Research from both Accenture and Salesforce suggests that 55-60 per cent of customers will share personal data in exchange for rewards or exclusive deals.

Whatever you’re doing to collect personal data from your customers, do even more.

Even if it costs money now, it’s an invaluable

investment in your future customer relationships.

4

They want you to be helpful - but not pushy

Your customers want to buy, and value your help and advice, provided you do it appropriately. Many of them don’t like it when your advertising follows them around on social media after you visit their site, but they would welcome your tailored recommendations.

The pioneer in this area, of course, is Amazon.com, with its powerful recommendation engine. Amazon, through its Amazon Personalize service, has now released the powerful AI behind this service to any business.

5

They want to connect

Your customers already connect and engage with each other on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. However, few companies give their customers a way to communicate with each other. Sure, you might be making it easier for them to engage with you, and that’s an integral part of creating a better customer experience.

However, do you help them connect as well?

You could do this with an online customer forum, a Facebook page, a support forum for customers to share ideas and insights, or networking events for your top-tier customers.

Helping customers connect gives new customers a way to feel like part of a community, and passionate customers a platform to share ideas, rave about you, and everybody in between the chance to explore a stronger connection with your brand and organisation.

Invest in your future customer The best businesses have always understood their customer’s journey and created superior experiences at every touchpoint.

However, don’t forget that your customers have changed, so their customer journey has changed. To stay ahead of the game, invest in your future customer’s journey, and you’ll be investing in your future as well.

Gihan Perera is a business futurist, speaker, and author who works with business leaders to help them lead and succeed in an uncertain but exciting future. He is the author of “Disruption

By Design: Leading the change in a fastchanging world” (RRP $33).

For more about how Gihan can work with your leaders and teams, visit GihanPerera.com

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pr o file : th e Lot t

Festive season foot-traffic:

How the Lott supports its franchisees throughout retail’s biggest time of year Knowing that this time of year is one of the biggest for its franchisees, the Lott ensures its retailers are provided with not only innovative and exciting products but also the extra support to ensure their gifting season can be their best season.

In the lead up to the holiday shopping period, the Instant Scratch-Its team at the Lott works hard to develop exciting and fun Christmas Instant Scratch-Its games that are the perfect gift – whether they are popped in a Christmas card or used as a gift tag. These products provide an excellent add-on gift to many of our franchisees’ product ranges or an excellent cross-sell for others. In 2018, over 8.2 million Instant Scratch-Its tickets were sold, with the 2019 figures expected to be in the same range.

To complement this exciting festive range, the Lott provides its retailers with in-depth support to help them reap the benefits of the

busy period. This support includes educating franchisees about the product range, providing inspiration on how to display and sell the product, and creating promotional templates for local area marketing and more.

Speciality gifting accessories, such as tinsel Christmas trees, themed envelopes and Santa stockings, are designed and dispatched to franchisees to inspire gifting options for their customers. The Lott has also introduced specialised floor merchandising units to help profile Instant Scratch-Its tickets. During the 2019 merry season, over half a million pieces of gifting merchandise were ordered by the Lott franchisees to meet their customers’ demands for easy gifting options.

Franchisee with the Lott, and owner of CTC Erskine Park, Fares Shanoudi said the Instant Scratch-Its gifting options helped add another dimension to gifts being sold in store.

“We add Instant Scratch-Its, lights and candy canes to novelty Christmas trees and wrap them up in cellophane and we also package up Christmas baubles with Instant Scratch-Its added to them,” she said.

“We price these up at different price points from $20 to $50 and place them in high traffic areas, so they are constantly seen.

“We have seen an increase in sales during the

42 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand

Christmas period year on year, and we are looking forward to seeing what the results are after the 2019 festive season!”

The franchisees are also supported by a dedicated ‘Santa’s workshop’ portal on the Lott’s intranet, which has dedicated resources for retailers to leverage the potential increased foot-traffic the festive season brings. Retailers simply log onto their portal and download information about the product, step-by-step instructions on how to sell gift packs and more.

Recognising this time of year was a crucial trading period for its retailers, the Lott General Manager Lotteries Retail Antony Moore said his goal was to provide additional products and support to franchisees.

“We know that there are three major gifting periods throughout the year, Mother’s Day in May, Father’s Day in September and the Christmas season from late November to December 24,” he explained.

“Each year we ensure that our retailers have an enticing offer for their customers through specialised Instant Scratch-Its and other special promotional lottery draws, such as the annual Saturday Lotto $30 million Megadraw.

“Not only do these specialist products and promotional lottery draws entice people into a retail outlet, but the increased foot-traffic also provides an opportunity for our retailers to cross-sell their other products.”

With the busiest time of year out of the way, the Lott is already working on ways to support its franchisees during the next gifting season – Mother’s Day is only a few months away! www.thelott.com/franchise

When Australia dreams, we all win!

Why join us at the Lott?

The Lott* offers Australia’s official lottery games which Australians trust and love!

Each year Australia’s Official Lotteries make dreams come true. With the help of our retailers, Australia’s Official government-regulated Lotteries play an important role in helping to support Australian communities with over $1.4 billion^ available for hospitals, schools and sporting groups.

We are Australia’s largest retail franchise network with almost 4,000 franchisees, operating across all of Australia, except for WA.

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e x pert adv i c e

Safeguarding Your Retail Franchise from Chargeback Fraud As we enter the third decade of the 21st century we move further towards what has been dubbed a ‘cashless society’.

the process for which a customer can dispute a transaction. Subsequently, the various financial institutions that issue these cards – banks, credit societies etc. – changed their rules for disputed transactions to conform with Visa and MasterCard’s new policies.

But with more customers paying by card than ever before, it is important that retailers across the sector understand how the various laws and policies may impact their business.

In a nutshell, this has resulted in the bulk of financial institutions now accepting at face value any unauthorised claim by a cardholder regarding an online transaction.

Whereas previously a retailer was advised that a transaction was disputed before any reversal occurred, now an institution will initiate a chargeback with immediate effect and automatically deduct the relevant amount of money from the retailer’s financial account.

In 2018 two of the biggest card providers, Visa and MasterCard changed their transaction dispute policies to streamline

The rationale behind this rule change was sound enough. Visa and MasterCard wanted to make it easier for customers who have

For consumers, card transactions provide a simple payment option that doesn’t require them to lug around spare change, and thanks to new technologies has become increasingly more secure.

44 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand

genuinely had their card scammed to receive quick recourse.

However, this well-meaning reform has brought with it a raft of unintended consequences that impact retailers. Feedback that the NRA has received from industry is that there has been a noticeable increase in the number of customers purchasing goods online, receiving the goods and then disputing the transaction.

Financial institutions and card issuers simply taking customers ‘at their word’ has allowed a small minority of people to manipulate the system so that they receive both the purchased item and their money back.

There have even been reports of customers returning their purchase to receive a refund, only then to receive an added reimbursement by disputing the transaction and thereby effectively receiving a ‘double refund’.

Dominique Lamb | CEO | National Retail Association

which a business can lodge a dispute or the number of disputes that can be challenged in a specific period. It’s therefore vital that all retailers contact their bank regarding their rules for challenging a chargeback and compare which institutions offer the most flexible policy in this area.

The second, and perhaps most important, way for retailers to combat refund fraud is to be able to identify a chargeback on financial statements. Again, different institutions denote chargebacks in different ways, but generally transactions recorded as CBK, CBACK or of a similar code denote a chargeback. At the end of the day, it’s pretty hard to safeguard against chargeback fraud if you’re not even aware that it is occurring.

Understanding a financial institution’s dispute policy and being able to recognise a chargeback on a bank statement are all well and good, but what proactive steps can be taken to limit chargeback fraud from occurring in the first place?

Given that most financial institutions no longer provide advanced notice to a retailer about a deduction, affected businesses can be left with a significant difference between their sales records and their bank accounts.

This presents an even greater challenge to smaller retailers who require sufficient levels of cash flow to remain solvent.

So, what can retailers do to safeguard themselves from the small number of unscrupulous consumers manipulating the new rules?

First thing is to understand that since a business’s relationship is with the financial institution, and not the card issuer, it is the bank who a retailer should go to for any dispute against a chargeback. Respective institutions have different policies on how these disputes are processed. This includes different rules regarding the timeframe in

It’s important that retailers can demonstrate to their bank that the ability to make a fraudulent online transaction is as low in likelihood as possible. Having a rigorous transaction process in place for purchases made via a webpage or an app greatly enhances the ability to curtail shoppers exploiting any refund loopholes. Moreover, someone will be less likely to target a business that has a thorough set of checks and balances due to a high probability of eventually being caught.

The most straightforward measure is for a retailer to, where possible, implement a two-tier verification for any online purchase.

This is relatively easy to do and won’t impose a significant barrier to a consumer looking to make a purchase quickly. Alternatively, retail franchises should explore the secure payment facilities that are provided by card issuers such as Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode.

Then there are of course also the traditional safeguards such as requiring the three digit CVV number recorded on each card for online purchases or if the transaction is made in store checking whether the customer’s signature corresponds with the

one on the back of the card.

To be clear, from our experience it is only a miniscule number of dishonest people who have sought to rig the new set of rules. It should also be noted that there is certainly merit to Visa and MasterCard’s change of rules that seek to fast-track the process for customers who have become genuine victims of credit card fraud.

We’re confident that now that the loophole has been identified, that both the retail and banking sectors will work together to find a resolution that adequately balances the interests of consumers and retailers alike.

However, in the meantime, retailers of all shapes and sizes need to take the time to safeguard their business from chargeback fraud.

Australian retail faced enough challenges throughout 2019 with low consumer confidence and stagnant sales. Seeing hardearned revenue walk out the door due to dishonest transaction disputes is an expense all franchisees could do without.

The good news is that there are straightforward measures that can be implemented to combat the scourge of chargeback fraud and we implore all retailers in the franchising sector to take the appropriate steps to safeguard their business.

Dominique Lamb is the CEO of the National Retail Association, she has extensive experience providing industrial relations and employment law advice to a range of small, medium and large businesses across a range of industries.

The National Retail Association is Australia’s largest and most diverse industry association. As a not-for-profit organisation. Its mission is to support, inform, protect and represent the interests of retailers and fast food businesses, providing advice on issues such as employment law, industrial relations, training information, workplace health and safety issues, event details, advocacy and policy updates, HR advice and migration and visa issues. www.nra.net.au

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“Australian retail faced enough challenges throughout 2019 with low consumer confidence and stagnant sales. Seeing hard-earned revenue walk out the door due to dishonest transaction disputes is an expense all franchisees could do without.”

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e x pert adv i c e

“Trade Masters” Of Old the Hope for Retail Future There’s no denying that bricks and mortar retail are going through hard times, there’s also no denying that in many instances the retailer has been the instrument of their own demise.

To a large extent, the retail experience has become boring. There’s no theatre, no experience, no point-of-difference. Perceived value is only achieved by discounting, and service is minimal and disconnected. I, like

many others, think “Why would I bother to visit shops when online is so easy?”

It is time retailers turned back the clock and became “Trade Masters” – elite practitioners who have mastered and deployed every element of successful retailing. Trade Masters who spend time teaching their skills to new practitioners and Trade Masters who explore new ideas and implement change.

Start with passionate training Whether it’s your Christmas casual or the new full-time retail assistant, you are inducting into your business, make it a passionate process. Get them excited about retail, your business and all your products. Educate them in your processes

46 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand

and encourage them in their learning. Be patient and acknowledge successes with small celebrations. Have fun goals as well as serious budgetary goals. Build a team that is committed to the success of your business.

Build a team where ideas are welcomed.

Build the next generation of knowledgeable retailers.

Add theatre and experience You need to get people away from the convenience of their screens and into your shop. Offer them something they can’t get at home – an immersive experience. Whether it’s free five-minute massages, the latest local pop sensation signing autographs or someone in a “Bluey” costume giving kids handouts – plan something that relates to your business

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“You shouldn’t underestimate the value of face to face customer service.

Providing customers with a warm welcome, being patient and taking care of the customer’s needs with high-quality service goes a very long way.” and creates a “must-see” vibe. Use social media to spread the word and be strategic about how you harvest the crowds you draw.

Have a few choice exclusive deals for that day only. Advertise events, new products and specials happening in the future. Provide discount vouchers with short time periods for cash-in.

But before you do that, make sure your retail outlet is a great place to visit. Make it an inviting space that’s well-lit and where it’s easy to find what you’re looking for and add an engaging personality. Start with your front window – does it tell a story about what you sell? Will it make people stop to have a look? Movement always attracts attention, whether it’s an animatronic toy or a digital display.

“Do your homework, always over-estimate your financial outlay, add your passion then enjoy the challenges of being a business owner with that additional comfort of expertise on tap from your franchisor.”

Corina Vucic | Director | FC Business Solutions

Have a point of difference Design or source products that are unique to you, but if you can’t do that, have a service offering that is unique to you.

Make every customer feel like royalty A sincere interest in serving the people who enter your space is the basis of excellent customer service. It can’t be faked, but it can be learned, and as a Trade Master, you can help your team deliver customer service that is second to none. It’s not about the hard sell, but it is about providing information and alternatives. It’s about not jumping to conclusions but reading body language and verbal cues and it’s about doing what you can to provide the product or service the customer needs and if you can’t satisfy them, then reassuring them that you’ve been happy to spend time with them and hope to see them again soon. It’s about follow up and following through on promises. It’s about handling complaints with an open mind and an end goal of having the complainant be your advocate.

Embrace technology Obviously, your point of sale technology is vital and indispensable. If interrogated, a good system can give you an insight into how your business is going, what products are selling, where you are making the most profit, etc.

Technology can also be your silent salesperson with digital displays throughout your space. Use this technology to not only educate but to inspire. Don’t just tell people

“To a large extent, the retail experience has become boring. There’s no theatre, no experience, no point-of-difference. Perceived value is only achieved by discounting, and service is minimal and disconnected.”

Corina Vucic | Director | FC Business Solutions

about your products in a video, show them lots of ways to use them.

Promote upcoming specials, new product releases, in-store events. Maybe even consider partnering with a local business to promote a deal they have.

Use social media for conversations Too many businesses use their social media accounts as a means of putting brochures in front of people. It’s pointless and annoying.

Focus on the “social” in social media. Have

conversations with your client base. Provide them with great information, a bit of a laugh and competitions. Asking questions is an excellent way of interacting.

Ensure you have a well-constructed social media policy that provides all the dos and don’ts for your staff and anyone who is in the social space promoting your business.

Data is the new gold – be a miner The ability to continue to interact with clients or potential clients is gold. But

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“Online shopping is here to stay, and savvy Trade Masters will embrace it as an opportunity rather than treating it as competition. Make your online site exciting, informative, easy to navigate.” how do you get their contact data? It’s no accident that every major retailer has a loyalty program in place. In exchange for handing over their contact data, customers sign up to receive information on products and deals – usually with the carrot of points, discounts or rewards.

But there’s no point in collecting this data if you don’t have a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system in place to not only collect the data, but also to schedule interactions and then analyse results.

Data can be captured at the checkout with your sales assistant trained in how to offer the rewards program in exchange for contact information. It’s important to be flexible in the information you receive. Some people are happy to receive email EDM’s but aren’t interested in having text messages to their phones.

Competitions are also an excellent way to collect data. Give away an iPad or a Google Home – and all people have to do is provide you with their contact information to be in the draw to win.

Once you have this data, it mustn’t be abused. This means having a privacy policy that’s displayed on your website and is available in-store, training your staff on the importance of protecting that data and having the technology that is robust with the appropriate virus protection.

Any “unsubscribes” from EDM’s need

to be treated with respect and actioned immediately – there are legal implications if you don’t.

Don’t just blast out sales messages to your database. What would you like to have land in your inbox? Something informative, fun, engaging? So, do your customers. Analyse which of your EDMs provoked the most unsubscribes and conversely look at what had the most click-throughs.

Make online selling your partner, not your enemy Online shopping is here to stay, and savvy Trade Masters will embrace it as an opportunity rather than treating it as competition.

Make your online site exciting, informative, easy to navigate and above all, secure. Be accurate in all information, giving all the detail a person needs to make an informed decision. Let them know exactly how much postage is going to cost early in the process – there’s nothing worse than getting to the checkout and finding out that the delivery charge is more than the item. Be accurate in estimated delivery times and spell out your returns policy – making it as easy as possible for a person to return an item that doesn’t suit their needs.

Have a “click and collect” option, and when the customer comes in-store to collect their purchase have the collection point prominent

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and in the midst of your well-presented store, other stock and specials. Not only are you increasing the likelihood of an impulse buy, but, if you’ve set your space up correctly, you’re showcasing your product, letting them know about events, offerings and in-store discounts.

Elevate retail and get dollars in the door Yes, being a successful bricks and mortar retailer is getting harder, but with an elevated vision, a commitment to delivering a superior experience and by embracing smart marketing tactics, Trade Masters can entice people back into their shop as well as catching the buyers (and their dollars) online.

Corina Vucic is the Director of FC Business Solutions. With over 20 years in the franchise industry, and extensive operational and management experience, she works closely with leaders to take their business to the next level.

Whatever their goals, Corina coaches, mentors and supports business owners and executives to maximise success and minimise risk for long-term business prosperity and security.

To discuss how Corina’s expertise can help take your business to new heights, contact: 03 9533 0028 cv@fcbs.com.au www.fcbs.com.au

STATEWIDE MASTER FRANCHISE VIC - NSW - QLD perfect written and spoken English, be highly organised and be able to fund the initial Franchise costs.

No jewellery specific knowledge is required as full training is provided for this unique Franchise Opportunity. A low setup cost and fair royalty structure that reward and encourage growth and profitability.

“Polished Diamonds - Jewellery Design” is an award winning, global jewellery business looking for clever people to operate an exclusive State-wide territory in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. This is a big business opportunity to establish a leading brand across entire States with a low cost entry franchise model. Ideal candidates will have excellent sales and marketing skills,

Our supply chain includes the world’s largest diamond cutting facility, 1.56m loose diamonds worth $7.4b, CAD jewellery modelling, 3d printing and MRI laser scanning. Manufacturing is completed in our workshop and the franchise offering is a retail role in a boutique luxury showroom which we’ll help you select, then assist with fit out and a marketing campaign so you are ready to open. As winner of “Best Retail” at The Business Awards, our systems are a proven success.

Contact Daniel Joines to discuss this opportunity and for our indepth brochure.

1800-233-299

dan@polisheddiamonds.com

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One of the most critical decisions in franchising you will ever make!

Whether you are a franchisor, or a franchisee, finding a great site is one of the most important decisions you will be making, and sets up the way for a successful journey into the future.

Great location and low rents are the dream; however, the reality is you need an excellent site, and not to be paying too much for most franchises to operate successfully Do not think of the lease fee as a monthly expense, treat it as a long term commitment that if all else fails, the landlord will still be expecting to be paid until the end of your

“Whether you are a franchisor, or a franchisee, finding a great site is one of the most important decisions you will be making, and sets up the way for a successful journey into the future.”

Peter Buckingham | Managing Director | Spectrum Analysis

lease. Add that up over five to 10 years, and it will probably be the most significant expenditure you ever make outside your home.

Where do I start to make an informed decision?

The first thing you need to address is, where do you begin to seek the ideal store? You can be reactive – i.e. listening to every real

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estate agent in the market, telling you he/ she has the best opportunity available. Or you can be proactive, undertake preliminary research, and decide upon what makes logical sense where to start looking for the ideal store.

The first thing you must consider is who is the customer and roughly where do they sit in the socio-economic world? Some items may be described as “demographically agnostic”, or everyone uses it or buys it,

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“It is quite easy to talk about the perfect site, but my view is before you even open that discussion, you need to understand the areas under offer and select an area suitable to what you plan to sell, rather than a great site in a mismatched area.” but most franchise systems have a target audience, and your first thoughts should be to match the area to the product you sell. Would you be better selling $50,000 diamond rings in Toorak or Broadmeadows (Vic), Double Bay or St Mary’s (NSW), Cottesloe or Armadale (WA)?

Think of whom the customer is likely to be, and how do we locate our business in a suitable area?

You can use demographics to understand better the areas that interest you. The 2016 Census is still the most current data, and you can look up some information in the ABS website (www.abs.gov.au ), look for quick stats (or just Google quick stats), enter a suburb or postcode, and a large amount of information will appear. Once you click on the people data, you will see the area, the State and Australian figures for that location.

You quickly see whether the area is high or low in terms of what you are looking for, and you can use this to assist your decision.

Do NOT become concerned about the size of the population of a single suburb or postcode in the metropolitan areas, as these are irrelevant if you know there is population all around you. A country location (town or city) is different, as that number probably represents the total market available. Suburbs and postcodes are somewhat random in size and can vary from 817 people (in Kooyong) to 50,474 people (in Reservoir), both suburbs in Melbourne.

One point I want to make here is to look at a map, and remember - “fish don’t purchase what you are selling – unless it is bait”.

Areas such as Williamstown (Melbourne), Newport (Sydney) and Cottesloe (Perth) may look good when walking around, but you are in water within one-kilometre in at least two directions! The market is, therefore restricted in how many potential customers are within a three-kilometre radius.

Census data should help you answer the following types of questions: • Are the people in the area younger or older than average?

• Is the area a young family type area? (children’s items)

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“You need to have some base knowledge of the area as we have found these often to be excessive, or not realistic if another large shopping centre may be only five-kilometres away.”

3. Are the shops being offered the correct size?

4. Are you in a suitable precinct, matching you with others in the same market?

5. Who are your near neighbours – do they benefit or hinder your brand 6. Is the pedestrian traffic strong?

7. Am I paying the correct rent for what I am selling?

Shopping strip 1. Where is the busiest sector of the shopping strip?

2. Am I prepared to pay the rent for this area, or should I look further out from the centre of the strip?

3. If the store the right size?

4. Is there reasonable parking nearby?

• Is the area more of a yuppie/student type area?

• Is there high ethnicity in the area? If so, who is present? (suitable cafe offers) • What is the average household income, and where does that sit Australia wide? (fast food vs casual dining and expensive restaurants).

• Do people drive cars? (fuel and tyres) • Do they rent, are buying their houses, or own them? (mortgages and loans) Depending on what type of franchise you are joining, this can be very critical.

Most franchisors will do their best to help you, and in some cases may provide what we call a datapak, or could assist you with looking up and understanding the census data. You will have heard those words that you must do your due diligence ringing in your ears. The franchisor or their staff can not/should not/will not commit to you any undertaking regarding sales you can expect. They may be able to show you actual examples of other franchisees’ sales in the system and be able to introduce you to or advise what actual levels of sales they are enjoying. It is then your call on what you expect to sell in the future.

If you are looking at going into a shopping centre (mall), I am sure the leasing agent

will be providing the best demographic information possible to help sway your decision. My main concern is that they like to show a map and class areas as a primary catchment, secondary catchment and tertiary catchment areas. You need to have some base knowledge of the area as we have found these often to be excessive, or not realistic if another large shopping centre may be only five-kilometres away.

Once you understand the data, you should be able to be proactive and help the franchising manager by saying these are the actual areas you want to find a store in, not just where the local agent says.

What comes after the area analysis?

Once you have an area, you need to match your expectations with what is available and your budget. Depending on what you are selling and whether you are going into a shopping centre or a strip, these are the points to look at:

5. Is there some visibility for my signage?

Freestanding site (QSR, petrol station etc.)

1. Where is the traffic strongest (traffic counts)?

2. Is the site suitable for what we are selling?

3. Is the access good – preferably from both directions 4. Visibility (from both directions) 5. Traffic speed going past – is it reasonable to pull in?

Summary It is quite easy to talk about the perfect site, but my view is before you even open that discussion, you need to understand the areas under offer and select an area suitable to what you plan to sell, rather than a great site in a mismatched area.

1. Size of the shopping centre and what is the

Peter Buckingham is the Managing Director of Spectrum Analysis Australia Pty Ltd, a Geodemographic and statistical consultancy. Peter is the Go-To person as to where to open new stores in Australia. Peter is both a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and a Certified Management Consultant (CMC).

2. gross lettable area retail (GLAR), moving annual turnover (MAT) and pedestrian count?

To contact Peter email peterb@spectrumanalysis.com.au or visit www.spectrumanalysis.com.au

Shopping centre

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BECOME A BUSINESS OWNER

PARTNER

We support you to be well prepared to run and manage your own successful business.

Since 1980 Bakers Delight has been helping aspiring small business owners like you to set up a successful and rewarding career. Join Australia’s largest bakery franchise and draw on nearly 40 years’ experience. Our team will provide you with all the training you need to: • • • •

Assist with financial planning and driving profitability Manage day to day bvusiness operations Bake the highest quality fresh bread Train, grow and develop your baking team and implement local community marketing strategies

Take the leap and embark on the journey of becoming a Bakers Delight Franchisee COLLABORATE

GROW

We will train, support, and develop you towards your goal DEVELOP

MANAGE

Be your own boss in an iconic Australian business where you have control of your own destiny

SPEAK TO US ABOUT FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES WEB: bakersdelight.com.au/franchise PHONE: 0800225388

OWN