Feb 24, 2015 | Coconut in the Media, News
At Coconut Creatives, we like to share our knowledge and experience as much as possible. We recently 
collaborated with Premierline Business Insurance to produce an expert guide for franchising. The guide features a group of experts in business and franchising sharing their views on the best ways to choose a franchise and advice for franchisors on choosing the right franchisees. The guide includes information on setting up a franchise and funding and recruitment from the perspective of both the franchisor and the franchisee.
“When Premierline approached us to collaborate on this guide, we were only too pleased to share our knowledge and experience. Making the decision to franchise or become a franchisee is a massive decision and it is important to carefully consider it before you take the plunge. Guide’s like these help with the franchising journey and we aim to put people on the right track so that they can take their journey to the next step,” explains Sarah Carlile, Founding Director of Coconut Creatives.
Expert guidance is often needed to help with important and high value decisions. Searching the internet can often be overwhelming and provide conflicting advice. This guide puts all that information into one place to make the first steps towards a decision about franchising much easier. The guide is a great tool for anyone considering getting into franchising in any way, whether you’re a business owner or looking to become a franchisee. This guide will give you the knowledge you need to help you with your franchising journey.
Click here to access Premierline Business Insurance’s free expert guide to franchising.
Nov 14, 2014 | Coconut in the Media, News
Wagging Tails recently held their 2014 Annual Conference in the New Forest.
In addition to providing franchisees with an overview of another successful year which saw the franchise network grow 71% year on year, Wagging Tails welcomed Charity partners Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and franchise marketing specialists Coconut Creatives to their 2014 Conference.
Nicholas Orpin provided an overview of the work of Hearing Dogs. He then introduced volunteers Cathy, a puppy socialiser who has been caring for Aslan (the dog Wagging Tails have been sponsoring) and Mark with his Hearing Dog Erin who provided an insight into the impact Hearing Dogs have on the lives of the hearing impaired in the UK; there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Mark shared his own story and everyone could see his special bond with Erin.
Sally Anne Butters and Helen Thresh from Coconut Creatives spoke about business marketing prior to lunch and a series of afternoon breakout sessions in which a number of business related topics were discussed.
Wagging Tails annual Franchise Awards provided a fitting conclusion to the Conference as Gary Spencer-Todd received the Customer Service Award, Sue Day was Brand Builder of the Year and Hilary Coates was the worthy recipient of Franchisee of the Year.
Following her win Hilary had this to say,
“Taking on and running the Wagging Tails franchise has given me a new lease of life and I am so lucky to have found something that I can look forward to doing every day, there aren’t many people who can say that. I feel really proud to have received this award and look forward to providing holiday homes for many more dogs over the coming years.”
Click here to find out more about the Wagging Tails franchise opportunity
Jun 10, 2014 | Coconut in the Media, News
The NatWest EWIF Awards 2014 ceremony took place in Central London on Thursday 22nd
May in front of over 100 guests from the world of franchising including sponsors Bartercard, Coconut Creatives, McDonald’s, Merry Maids and The Franchise Show.
EWIF (Encouraging Women into Franchising) is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to encourage women to buy a franchise business, to franchise their existing business or to help existing franchise operations to attract more female franchisees and they run regular meetings across the UK. This year, the awards event was even bigger and better thanks to the hard work of all their volunteers from the franchise industry.
Coconut Creatives was proud to sponsor the prestigious Franchisor of the Year award. We had a tough decision to make and, after weighing up the finalists, we presented the award to Lisa Suswain, Managing Director at Wagging Tails, for her dedication to the franchise industry. Lisa’s passion for her business shone through and it is clear that she is doing something she loves.
Lisa set up Wagging Tails after an injury forced her to retire as a professional ballet dancer. She wanted to do something she was passionate about and so decided to follow a career in the pet care industry. Wagging Tails provides a home from home for dogs whilst their owners are a way on holiday and offers something a little different to the traditional kennels.
“Lisa is clearly passionate about her business and she is really working hard towards being an ambassador for her industry at all levels. All the candidates gave strong entries but Lisa demonstrated a deep understanding of her business, forging the way not only in the franchising arena but in her industry as a whole. Lisa has shown an unrelenting level of professionalism and pursuit of excellence in every area of her business showing that she clearly values her franchisees’ success as much as her own,” explains Sarah Carlile, Director of Coconut Creatives.
“It was a tough decision and the competition was high quality but Lisa definitely stood out in the category. Lisa is a true entrepreneur and has built the business up to be the successful franchise it is today. We hope that Lisa is as proud to add this award to her collection as we were to present her with it,” adds Sally Anne Butters, Director of Media at Coconut Creatives.
The ceremony was a massive success, commenting on the day Louise Harris, Co-chair of EWIF said:
“It’s great to know that we have honoured some of the best in the industry, both upcoming and established women franchising. We hope it will inspire women everywhere to take a closer look at franchising as an option, either buying into one of the many women friendly businesses available or franchising their own business.”
You can find out more about EWIF and the valuable work it does within the franchise community plus more about this year’s award winners by visiting www.ewif.org
May 28, 2014 | Coconut in the Media, News
Coconut Creatives’ Director of Media, Sally Anne Butters, received her latest accolade as Woman Service Provider of the Year at the 2014 NatWest EWIF Awards yesterday. This is the fifth time the awards have been held and, interestingly, this award was won by Coconut’s founding director Sarah Carlile back in 2010.
EWIF (Encouraging Women Into Franchising) is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to encourage women to get involved in franchising, whether buying one or developing their existing business into a franchise opportunity, running regular meetings across the UK. This year, their awards event was even bigger and better thanks to the hard work of all their volunteers from the franchise industry.
Commenting on the day Louise Bruce, co-chair of EWIF, said, “As ever, a wonderful day, positive in both theme and spirit. Every year our judges struggle to choose between the worthy entrants who make it through to the finals and this year was no different.”
Louise Harris, co-chair of EWIF, concurred, “It’s great to know we have honoured some of the best in the industry, both upcoming and established women in franchising. We hope it will inspire women everywhere to take a closer look at franchising an as option, either buying into one of the many women-friendly businesses available or franchising their own business.”
Marcelle Ingrouille, Head of Franchise Recruitment, at Merry Maids who sponsored the Woman Service Provider of the Year award explained that Sally had been chosen as the winner due not only to the significant growth in her own business but also the great results for her clients showing a real return on investment from their franchise recruitment marketing activities.
Sally realised she was the winner when Marcelle mentioned her latest fundraising attempt with the Three Peaks Challenge, “At that point, I realised it must be me they were talking about. How many other people in the room could have been mad enough to try such a challenge on the hottest day of last summer?!”
“In all seriousness, it is a real honour to receive the award and it’s great to be recognised for a job well done. EWIF is a great organisation be part of and we’d like to thank the Louises for the tremendous developments they have led over the last two years as co-chairs.”
Graeme Jones, Head of Franchising at NatWest said, “Franchising has proven itself once again to be a great way to get into business. EWIF provide a tremendous source of support and we are delighted to celebrate these awards.”
If you would like to encourage more women into your franchise network, why not contact us!
Nov 25, 2013 | Coconut in the Media, Coconut News, News, Workshops
[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This year sees the 6th anniversary of our popular Coconut Workshops for franchisors! Since 2010 we’ve had 200+ franchise brands from across the franchise industry benefiting from our practical workshop programme to fine tune their franchise recruitment and marketing performance. They grow year on year and we’re really excited to share with you what 2016 has in store.
Coconut franchise recruitment workshops deliver valuable insights and ideas for the franchise brands who attend. We advise franchisors on all aspects of their franchise recruitment marketing with proven results using examples and case studies. Our workshops are designed to cover a range of up-to-the-minute, relevant topics with helpful tips and techniques that you can readily apply to your franchise back in the office.
Franchisors attend our workshops because they want to:
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- Recruit more franchisees
- Spend their recruitment budget in a smarter way
- Improve their own skillsets in franchise marketing
- Learn the latest techniques and methodologies in recruitment
- Understand how social media can support franchise recruitment
- Help their franchisees obtain more sales.
[/fancy-ul][vc_column_text]NEW for 2016! Our workshops have received Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP) qualified event status from the bfa! This means that you can now attend our workshop programme as part of your own QFP training.
Each day of our QFP workshops is worth 250 points and will count towards your overall QFP qualification.
Click here to book via our contact form
Our 2016 workshop programme looks like this:
1st March 2016
How to Market your Franchise and Recruit for Network Growth: Day 1 – Setting a SMART approach to franchisee recruitment (250 QFP points)
Suitable for both new and seasoned franchisors this jam-packed workshop looks at how you can set a strategic approach to your marketing and recruitment. On the day we will take you through:
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- Current market conditions for franchisee recruitment (looking at the macro environment and how consumer behaviour changed since the 2007 crash and its effect on franchising)
- The micro environment: franchisee profiling, industry-wide and company specific
- The franchisee selection/sales process (learning from a decade worth of research across 200 franchise brands) looking at best practice models for building a franchisee profile
- Discovery Days vs 121 meetings
- Right recruitment techniques and collateral for each stage of the selection process
- Corporate responsibility: the legal and ethical role of the franchisor
- Relationship between recruitment selection and network quality
- Why develop a strategic plan of action for marketing and recruitment (leading onto day 2)
[/fancy-ul][vc_column_text]2nd March 2016
How to Market your Franchise and Recruit for Network Growth: Day 2 – Franchise marketing new media: The role of social (250 QFP points)
We’re told time and time again by franchisors that they don’t fully understand how to utilise social media for marketing and franchise recruitment. On this workshop you’ll learn crucial social media skills and we’ll take you through:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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- Developing an integrated marketing communications plan in franchising
- Setting budgets, timescales and monitoring ROI
- The roles of traditional offline media (exhibitions, magazines, newspapers, referrals)
- New movements in the marketing and selection process
- The roles of online new media in recruitment
- Your franchise sales process & where social media fits to support it
- The latest recruitment marketing techniques delivering results in the industry right now
- How to set up, personalise and automate social media channels to save you time & money
[/fancy-ul][vc_column_text]14th April 2016
How to motivate your franchisees (250 QFP points)
Your franchise network is your most valuable brand asset, they are out there every day representing you. This workshop will help you understand what you can do to steer your network in the right direction using a wide variety of tools to educate and motivate each individual franchisee. This workshop deals with these and many other sensitive issues that are at the heart of the franchisor / franchisee relationship covering:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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- An overview of bridging the gap between franchisee knowledge and their application
- Using tools to help your franchisees represent your brand effectively
- Using the franchisee toolbox: the Franchise Agreement, the Operations Manual, the Marketing Manual and Franchisee Business Plan
- Using a month-by-month support structure for your franchisees
- Recognising and rewarding franchisee achievement
- Leading and motivating franchisees through their life cycle (different methods for different lifecycle stages)
- Setting KPIs & targets on an individual basis and how to monitor these
- Understanding your leadership skills and how to use these to motivate the network
- How you can work to best practice guidelines as a franchisor.
[/fancy-ul][vc_column_text]14th July 2016
Exhibiting and speaking effectively for franchisee recruitment
Many franchisors are attending the same shows year on year but unfortunately don’t make the most of them year on year. As a franchisor you are in a room full of other franchise brands competing for the attention and contact details of the same visitors. So being noticed as a high-quality opportunity and making the most out of your initial contact with a prospect is key to exhibiting successfully. On this workshop you will cover:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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- How to plan your exhibition attendance like a military operation
- SMART collateral to have on stand (including your perfect pitch!)
- How to make YOUR franchise stand out from the crowd
- How to maximise your exposure during the show
- How to use presentations to generate more franchise enquiries at exhibitions
- Effective follow-up tools that will turn your leads into franchisees!
[/fancy-ul][vc_column_text]11th October 2016
How to Market your Franchise and Recruit for Network Growth: Day 1 – Setting a SMART approach to franchisee recruitment (250 QFP points)
As above!
12th October 2016
How to Market your Franchise and Recruit for Network Growth: Day 2 – Franchise marketing new media: The role of social (250 QFP points)
As above!
9th November 2016
How to motivate your franchisees (250 QFP points)
As above!
Structure & Pricing
We will happily offset any payments made for our Coconut Workshops should you become a Coconut retainer client within the 12 month period.
Coconut Franchisor Workshops are proudly sponsored by
If you are interested in learning more about our 2016 Workshop Programme please contact us via the form below and one of our team will be in touch![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][contact-form-7 id=”5974″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jul 30, 2013 | Coconut in the Media, Coconut News, News
Coconut Media has been shortlisted for an award at the 2013 CIPR Wessex and Channel Islands PRide 
Awards, announced today.
Coconut Media has been recognised for their outstanding work and has been nominated for Outstanding Small Consultancy. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the CIPR PRide awards, which will be held at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton.
The CIPR PRide Awards recognise the outstanding talents and achievements of public relations practitioners across the UK’s regions and nations. They are the most prestigious and rigorous awards of their kind.
Commenting on this year’s shortlist announcement, CIPR President Sue Wolstenhome FCIPR, said:
“The CIPR PRide Awards celebrate the very best in public relations from across the UK’s regions and nations. This year’s entries were all of an incredibly high standard, highlighting the industry-leading work that is taking place right across the UK. I would like to congratulate all of those who have been shortlisted for an award; their success demonstrates their exemplary achievements in such a thriving profession, and recognises the impact they have made in their region and beyond.”
To find out how Coconut Media can help you generate great PR for your franchise why not contact us!
