Here are five New Year’s resolutions franchise business owners can make for a prosperous and productive 2022
As 2021 comes to a close, a common practice is to make resolutions for the New Year. Although most resolutions are geared towards self-improvement, they don’t have to be limited to your personal life. Franchise business owners can make their own set of resolutions, too. Below we offer New Year’s resolution ideas franchise business owners can make for a prosperous and productive 2022.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IDEAS FOR 2022
Provide outstanding customer service
Excellent customer service is key to any franchise business. While you may think your customer service is excellent, why not make it even better in 2022? According to Harvard Business Review, investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 more expensive than retaining existing ones. Getting new customers to your business can make or break you, so make a conscious effort to stand out from your competition by making sure your website and social media pages are constantly checked, and you answer all questions and inquiries your customers make. You can do this with chatbots, which is a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can answer common questions customers have at any time of the day.
Boost your marketing efforts
Another great and attainable New Year’s resolution idea for 2022 is to increase your business’ marketing efforts. As a franchise business owner, you should always be aware of marketing trends that are popular in the industry. For example, look on social media to see viral trends that you can follow in order to get more traction for your business. TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are great sites to use to reach a broader audience. Look at your marketing strategy for 2021 and change it accordingly to gain more customers in 2022.
Become a better listener
An attribute any decent business owner must have is being an avid listener. In the New Year, make it a priority to listen to your employees, customers, and business partners to see how you can make the experience at your franchise business even better. If your employees have a common complaint, listen and change that behavior. If there is a pattern of customers making similar complaints, that has to be addressed. It is also important to take compliments humbly and keep up the good work.
Delegate more
As a business owner, it can feel like you do everything by yourself. If you feel that way, make a New Year’s resolution in 2022 to delegate tasks to others and hire more staff if necessary. Take stock of all your daily tasks and think about your employees who can help. If you’re in the position to, consider making jobs like marketing and social media remote to keep a lean budget.
Attend franchise conferences
Any good business owner attends conferences in order to keep up with industry trends and make contacts in franchising. These contacts include consultants, brokers, lenders, legal specialists, franchisees, vendors, marketing gurus, suppliers, and many more. At franchise conferences, attendees can enjoy presentations, discussions, and networking to shed light on creative practices and tools, from hiring to software upgrades, and maintenance to financial advice. There are great conferences scheduled in 2022. Take advantage of any opportunity to learn more about the industry and network.
HOW TO KEEP NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS
No matter what New Year’s resolution ideas you have for your franchise business in 2022, they will only work if you keep them. Here are some strategies that will help you stay on track.
Make New Year resolutions that are attainable and realistic
The small victories over time will keep you motivated to keep going. For example, if you want to increase the number of customers you have in your store, set quarterly goals to hit a certain amount and make changes if those goals aren’t met.
Set a time frame to achieve resolutions with small benchmarks to hit as time goes on
Resolutions should be specific, and you should avoid making them overly broad because those are hard to quantify in a timely manner. For example, saying you want to make more money is too general of a goal, so you should keep a realistic figure in mind and make a plan to achieve it.
Let others know what the New Year’s resolutions are so they can keep you accountable
People are notoriously bad at holding themselves accountable for their actions, so you shouldn’t be the only one aware of the resolutions you are setting. Let trusted friends and business partners know your goals for the New Year so they can share in the victories when you achieve them.
Here’s to a prosperous and productive 2022 for your franchise business!
Haley Cafarella December 30, 2021