Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2015 | Page 58

GROWING YOUR SYSTEM

Challenge the pros
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO INTEGRATE
TECHNOLOGIES FOR BOTH YOUR OVERALL
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND INTO HOW YOU
CREATE A PROFILE OF YOUR BEST PROSPECTS?”
Tim Courtney
Vice President, Franchise Development
CruiseOne
It’s really incredible how much technology continues to evolve! There are so
many tools available to assist franchisors
with their development plans today, and
at CruiseOne integrating
technology is an essential
part of our development
strategy.
• Invest in technological enhancements.
Get creative with your
development budget and
ensure there is room for
technological enhancements. We continually
invest in our existing technology tools and new platforms. This allows us to
continue creating innovative programs, giving us access to the latest
and greatest franchise development tools.
This investment has not only provided
us with a positive return on investment
in obtaining new franchisees, but also in
maintaining satisfied franchise owners
with a 94 percent retention rate.
• Develop technology for efficiencies. Our standalone recruitment website
is separate from the consumer website and
has proven to be the most beneficial tool
in our development strategy. Having a
responsive website is the best, most efficient way to increase website conversions
because you are providing a user-friendly
experience for prospects. It also gives you a
platform to build your credibility through
highlighting milestones and accomplishments such as industry recognitions. Plus,
with an average 90-day sales process, we
ensure our development team is equipped
with a robust CRM system and presentation tools that track the progress being
made with the prospect throughout the
entire process. This is an extremely important part of our development strategy

56

because we want our team focused on determining whether or not our franchise
model is mutually beneficial for us and
the franchisee.
• Identify the best prospects. Unless
you a