Ringing in the New Year with three new franchisees

Ringtons are laying the foundations for a successful 2014 as they proudly welcome three new franchisees this month. Martin Martin LawlerLawler, Jamie Lawrence and Steven Hook all join the Ringtons franchise family and will take to the roads in their brand new VW caddy vans.

Ringtons, a mobile tea and coffee business, doesn’t just deliver first-class products with exceptional service, it’s now one of the most exciting new business opportunities available! Founded in 1907, the business has a rich heritage of which it is immensely proud and the core business is still family owned to this day.

“After being made redundant, I was assessing my options in terms of jobs and future career. I already knew about Ringtons so was looking at their website thinking about jobs when I saw the ‘Join our Franchise Family’ button and I thought, ‘this is more like it!’. There wasn’t just one thing in particular that drew me to Ringtons, it was the whole package. The support team are great, they are always there for you, the products are so well known and all the franchisees and the head office team are so friendly, it’s just brilliant!” explains Steve.

“I chose franchising over starting a business for myself because I wanted the security of a proven system and more importantly a well-established and experienced company. I chose Ringtons because it ticked all those boxes, the company is 107 years old, they are financially backing their choice of franchisees and have a proven formula and business history in a market which they dominate and continue to try and improve upon,” adds Martin.

Joining Ringtons as a franchisee has never been easier or more attractive. Ringtons are so confident in their franchise model that they are now offering an unprecedented level of financial support for new franchisees. The new fee structure opens the franchise opportunity up to a significantly wider audience with the initial franchise cost being just £5,000. Ringtons will then fund the remaining £10,000 which franchisees can repay through an increased monthly Management Service Fee over four years.

“After almost 30 years in the insurance industry I had completely lost interest in my role. I desperately wanted a change and what I really wanted was to own my own business. I liked the idea of having that support from Ringtons to establish my business and after speaking to, and meeting, key members of the team, I was convinced that this could be a success for me,” says Jamie.

As part of the fully comprehensive training and launch package, new franchisees are guaranteed a minimum of 1,800 new customer orders from day one. Ringtons team of expert door-to-door canvassers visit a franchisee’s territory two weeks prior to their launch to spread the good word and secure the new orders. This ensures new franchisees get off to the best possible start with income and often repeat business from their very first day of trading. The package also includes an exclusive territory, in-depth training programme, £3k of stock, a 3-month deposit on a VW caddy van plus all the equipment needed to successfully launch and run the business.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us

Ringtons Vintage Extravaganza

1505005_10153608915980440_1632880352_nHusband and wife franchise team Marc and Carol Griffiths embraced all things vintage this December as they sponsored the 4th Exmouth Velo Vintage bike ride, newly rebranded as the ‘Ringtons Velo Vintage’ in honour of their contribution and participation!

The Ringtons Velo Vintage saw in excess of 100 riders take to the roads in their best 1940’s fancy dress for a journey back in time and culminated in the centre of Exmouth for a grand award ceremony and charity prize draw. Marc and Carol provided refreshments on the day including a variety of vintage Ringtons teas and famous biscuits. Keen to fully immerse themselves in the day, Marc and Carol also sponsored the best dressed military lady and gent award, donated a prize for the raffle and sent all riders home with a Ringtons goody bag; wrapped in vintage brown ration paper of course.

“We’re so thrilled to be such a big part of the Velo Vintage, we really feel like it’s the perfect partnership! Our brands just fit so well together and everyone has commented on how much they love Rintgons, not just the taste of the tea but the brand and its heritage. We’ve definitely got lots of new customers and made some great friends so we couldn’t be happier,” says Carol.

Steeped in a rich heritage and tradition, the event organisers found Ringtons to be the perfect partner for their treasured event. Marc and Carol first became involved in the Velo Vintage in the summer of 2013 and so well received were the products, and Marc and Carol themselves, they were invited back as headline sponsors.

“There’s no denying the quality of the products offered by Marc and Carol to their customers. Everything about Ringtons aligns with us so well; getting them back for a second time was just great for us because our riders really are passionate about all things vintage! That’s not just things like packaging and quality but real values and customer service which Ringtons have by the bucket load!” explains Alistair Cope, Velo Vintage organiser.

Ringtons franchisees deliver first-class products with exceptional service and a personal and friendly touch to over 260,000 UK households. Founded in 1907, the business has lustrous heritage of which it is immensely proud and the core business is still family owned to this day.

“Business is going really well for us and that’s why we’re able to be involved with projects like the Velo Vintage. We recently expanded our business and took on a second territory which Carol now manages so the Ringtons Velo Vintage is something we’re really proud of. It’s great that we’re able to invest in brand awareness exercises like this and I think it’s a testament to how much our hard work is paying off that we were able to contribute as we have,” adds Marc

Joining Ringtons as a franchisee has never been easier or more attractive. Ringtons are so confident in their franchise model that they are now offering an unprecedented level of financial support for new franchisees. The new fee structure opens the franchise opportunity up to a significantly wider audience with the initial franchise cost being just £5,000. Ringtons will then fund the remaining £10,000 which franchisees can repay through an increased monthly Management Service Fee (MSF) over four years.

As part of the fully comprehensive training and launch package, new franchisees are guaranteed a minimum of 1,800 new customer orders from day one. The package also includes an exclusive territory, in-depth training programme, £3k of stock, a 3-month deposit on a VW caddie van plus all the equipment needed to successfully launch and run the business.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

UK businesses to ramp up investment in IT skills

nhz-pro 912 d113

A new survey from Accenture has revealed that many businesses will be investing significantly more money into IT training for their employees throughout 2014, putting innovative training companies like New Horizons in an even greater position.

In today’s society, it is not uncommon for workers to have to use a computer or other mobile device at least once a week, if not once a day. However, recent surveys have revealed a massive skills gap across industries which is only getting wider as technology advances at a rapid rate. These skill gaps mean potential losses for companies whose employees are simply not as up to speed with technology as their competitors’ employees are.

The latest survey follows news that the UK economy has just seen its third consecutive quarter of growth. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth forecasts for the UK by more than any other advanced economy. Britain is now expected to outpace many of its European peers in terms of growth for the next five years and businesses are responding by kick-starting investment in-house in order to maximise the value and efficiency of their own workforces.

New Horizons franchisees provide essential IT training to those who are struggling to keep up with the demands of modern technology and are now offering exclusive territories in the UK. Over the last 30 years, more than 30+ million people have been made more valuable through their services.New Horizons is the world’s largest independent IT training company. With a network of over 300 training centres in 60 countries, they are Microsoft’s largest training provider, delivering more than 40% of all authorised Microsoft training worldwide.

Many training and mentoring services are often seen as a luxury and, as such, are the first to be cut when budgets are tight. However, New Horizons has witnessed a number of varying business cycles over the years and with the increased usage of virtual classroom training (New Horizons Online LIVE®) and flexible classroom training (Mentored Learning®). Franchisees enjoy a dynamic business model that allows for more consistent student demand for their services as technology continues to change and develop at a phenomenal pace. In short, New Horizons training methodologies and business strategies allow franchisees to be minimally, if at all, affected by any future downward fluctuations in the economy.

Along with an award-winning training programme and comprehensive support package, new franchisees are offered an exclusive territory in a major city along with training programmes for all employees. In addition, the package includes ongoing training events and annual conferences, a wide variety of live online events, self-paced e-learning resources and a wealth of tools that franchisees can use to train their employees.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. It will also be included in upcoming print publications. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

Making waves with Ripples!

Chris O'Halloran with his designers

Chris O’Halloran with his designers

Chris O’Halloran opened his Ripples showroom in Chelmsford in September 2010. His consistent hard work and high performance have meant that his business has enjoyed year-on-year growth. As a result of this success, Chris has been able to open a second showroom in Colchester much earlier than he had originally anticipated.

Having already been shortlisted for the Startups Franchisee of the Year award, celebrating the achievements of Britain’s most exciting and fast growth businesses aged three years and under, Chris’ business continues to go from strength to strength as proven by this expansion.

Ripples is the premier bathroom franchise, designing and supplying high-end bespoke bathrooms for both residential and commercial clients. Ripples pride themselves on the quality of their products and their exceptional customer service. Franchisees operate their own beautifully-appointed showrooms in the luxury retail market. There are currently 15 franchised showrooms in the UK and the network boasts over 50 industry awards to date.

Franchisees operate in a market predicted to be worth nearly £1 billion by 2016, making now an ideal time to invest with Ripples. Chris’ new showroom is expected to turnover £500k by year two and, with ten luxury bathroom settings, his new showroom will enable him to increase his sales to £1.5 million within his territory.

“Opening a second showroom had always been in my plan but to be able to do it so soon after buying my franchise is something I’m very proud of. It just goes to show that hard work and dedication to your business really does pay off,” says Chris.

It is not only Chris who will benefit from the success of his showrooms. The junior designer at his showroom in Chelmsford has been promoted and will now be the senior designer at the new showroom in Colchester. The success of Chris, his showroom and his team is testament to the training and support that is offered when you become part of the Ripples franchise family.

Ripples hands-on training and launch programme is designed to give new franchisees the experience and confidence to run and manage their own busy showrooms. Training is carried out by Ripples own expert team, as well as approved suppliers. Once trading, a member of the support team visits new showrooms weekly for two months to ensure franchisees are laying the foundations for success and the national PR and marketing campaigns help to drive clients through the door.

“The assistance and encouragement I’ve received from the whole team at head office has been brilliant from day one and I’m confident that they will continue to support me with the same care and attention during the running of my second showroom,” says Chris.

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

Ripples named as Startups Awards 2013 finalist

The shortlist for the Startups Awards 2013 has been announced and Ripples franchisee Chris O’Halloran is amongst the finalists.

Chris O'Halloran

Based in Chelmsford, Chris O’Halloran’s Ripples franchise is one of 29 companies from across the country that has been named as a finalist for the awards and is hoping to win one of the 12 trophies up for grabs at the glittering ceremony in London this December.

The Startups Awards, sponsored by Simply Business and organised by Startups.co.uk, celebrate the achievements of Britain’s most exciting and fast-growth businesses aged three years and under.

Chris has been shortlisted for the Franchisee of the Year award along with two other companies. He has only been operating his Ripples franchise since September 2010 but through his consistent hard work and high performance his business has enjoyed significant year-on-year growth. As a result, Chris is now expanding his franchise with the opening of a second showroom.

“The last few years have been a lot of hard work but the results speak for themselves really. My business continues to grow and to be able to expand so soon is obviously something we’re really proud of. To be shortlisted for this award after less than three years is a great honour and it just goes even further towards proving that starting my new business with Ripples was absolutely the right thing to do,” says Chris.

“We couldn’t be more pleased for, or proud of, Chris and his team. From the moment he first opened the doors on his showroom in Chelmsford, he has given 100% and it this just goes to show that with the right attitude and the drive to succeed, there’s no limit to where you can take your business,” adds Paul Crow, Managing Director at Ripples.

Ripples is the premier bathroom franchise, designing and supplying high-end bespoke bathrooms for both residential and commercial clients. Ripples pride themselves on the quality of their products and their exceptional customer service. Franchisees operate their own beautifully-appointed showrooms in the luxury retail market. There are currently 15 franchised showrooms in the UK and the network boasts over 50 industry awards to date.

This year’s judging panel is made up of some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs and business experts such as Specsavers’ co-founder Dame Mary Perkins, Sarah Tremellen, founder of Bravissimo, and Julien Callède, co-founder of Young Startup of the Year 2012 Made.com.

David Lester, founder of Startups.co.uk, commented: “The final shortlist really is a fantastic example of the prosperous and highly successful start-up businesses we have here in the UK. Congratulations to all the companies who have made it this far and good luck for the Awards ceremony!”

This press release has created wide spread coverage on franchise related websites and social media. To find out how Coconut Creatives can help you generate great PR why not contact us!

Franchisor Marketing Workshop Programme 2016

[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:

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

 [/vc_column_text][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color”]

  • 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:

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

 [/vc_column_text][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color”]

  •  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]

 [/vc_column_text][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color”]

  • 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]

 [/vc_column_text][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color”]

  •  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]

 [/vc_column_text][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color”]

  • 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

Coconut Table cost

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

RBS Logo_for_workshops

 

 

 

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]