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Category: Business Management

Business Management

How to Create Meaningful Offers that Spark Long-Term, Loyal Customer Relationships

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Restaurant Marketing Our Town America

Restaurant Owners – How To Create Offers & Loyal Customers   Modern Restaurant Magazine (September 2019) — It’s a sad fact of being a restaurant owner: even if your food and service are excellent, and a first-time customer had a wonderful experience, it may still be a while before he or she comes through your doors again. After all, customers have choices. Lots of them. It can be especially difficult for a restaurant owner to turn new customers into loyal ones if those people are new to the area. New residents often sample a variety of restaurants before choosing their favorite spots. That’s why it’s important to do more than offer incredible food and focus on creating a great first impression. Obviously, those things are important, but it’s vital to create a relationship with that customer. To begin building what will hopefully be a long-term relationship, you often have to offer an incentive — special offers or some kind of deal. While some people find a place that they like and aren’t interested in experimenting with other restaurants, many customers are understandably curious about what’s around the corner. They don’t want to miss out! While you could accept that fact, the danger is that customer may decide not to return. People do like to experiment, but they’re also creatures of habit. If your customers find a new favorite pizza place instead of yours, or a new French restaurant they adore instead of yours, or a new beloved burger joint instead of yours, and so on, you could be relegated to one of those “we’ll go there because we haven’t been there in forever” eateries. That’s better than nothing, but obviously, you want more regulars than semi-regulars. So how do you do that? Incentivize those new customers. Offer Restaurant Discounts Based on Age This is a classic; I’m not telling you anything that you haven’t heard before, so just consider it a friendly reminder. You might want to offer a “kids eat free” or “kids eat for half-off” type of deal. If parents know that every time they come to your place — even if it’s just on a particular day — they’re going to shave a bit off their bill, that may encourage them to visit more often instead of going elsewhere. Just make sure your discount is well promoted. Promote Dining Specials Based on the Day or Time of Day Dynamic pricing at work. Bars have their happy hour, not just because it makes customers happy, but it makes bar owners happy to see customers coming in earlier, at a typically less-busy time. If you often see a lull on Monday nights, offer an awesome Monday-night special that your customers will have trouble refusing. Again, make sure this is well promoted, so customers coming on, say, Friday, will be reminded about what they can have when they come in on Mondays. Market Restaurant Discounts to People who just Moved into Town Granted, this is my wheelhouse, since my company markets to new movers, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. If you aim your marketing at residents who are new to the community, and you can get them in the door, it’s extremely important to offer them more deals so that they return. That might involve sending them home with an added incentive to return (half-off your next appetizer!) as they leave — or using a service that will send them a thank you note for coming paired with another special offer for when they return. The new movers are the people in your community who haven’t picked out any favorite restaurants yet. You could be their first. Dining Loyalty Programs This is an obvious idea. But I bring it up because it would feel silly not to. If you haven’t developed a discount program for your most loyal customers yet, it’s definitely something to think about. Restaurant Incentives – Theme Days Your customers aren’t just people who like food. They’re dog lovers. They’re sports fans. They’re marathon runners. Maybe some of them are birdwatchers. Depending on your restaurant, you could have days where anyone dressed as a TV character or their favorite superhero gets a 25 percent discount. Or hold a singles night and see who shows up. Or — if you won’t be breaking health codes — invite your pet parents to bring their dogs. Not every interest is going to be worth catering to, or practical, but if it’s conducive to your dining establishment, you could host book clubs in the off-hours, where people gather for a drink and appetizers. The point is — your customers are more than just anonymous people receiving a delivery, sitting at a table or standing at a counter, ready to pick up their food. They have interests. They also have challenges, ranging from time-management to finances and everything in between. If you can remember that and cater to their personality or situation as much as you do their taste buds, you’re going to make a much stronger connection — the first step to building that oh-so-important relationship. You may have to do that with some clever incentives, but getting your customers to come through the door (and keep them coming back!) is the ultimate goal. Because another fact of being a restaurant owner is that you need your customers more than they need you. That is, until the relationship is no longer one-sided. That’s the day when your hungry and time-starved customer realizes that he or she needs your restaurant’s help more than they thought. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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If There Were Our Town America Trivia, This Guy Would Win

Written by Brittany N. Johnson

Considering becoming a Franchise Owner? If you’re considering purchasing a franchise location, from any brand, of course, you’ll want to do your research. The same is true for Our Town America. You’ll likely want to talk to some of the people who know the company best. You might contact various Our Town America franchise owners, and at some point, you’ll likely want to talk to the CEO, Michael Plummer, Jr. And then there’s the real expert: Jack Kieffer. That’s our take, not his. Kieffer’s a low-key, unassuming guy. But, in all seriousness, in a way, the Bowling Green, Ohio, franchise owner may have more institutional knowledge about Our Town America than almost anybody else. Kieffer, 69, has been part of the company since 1997, working there during the days of the late Michael Plummer, Sr., when Michael Plummer, Jr., was serving in the military in South Korea. We caught up with Kieffer to get his story and his thoughts on being an Our Town America franchise owner. Kieffer is amicable and interesting, so the conversation flowed easily.   How he became an Our Town America Franchisee. For 23 years, Kieffer worked at Nabisco. He started out as a representative, became an account manager and was eventually promoted to sales manager. Then one day, the layoffs began, and, for a while, they didn’t stop. “I don’t think anyone I used to work with still works at Nabisco,” Kieffer says. After Nabisco, Kieffer began working for a direct mail franchise, one that we won’t name but he describes as “kind of a pyramid scheme.” While working with that company, he attended a convention. There he met Michael Plummer, the founder of Our Town America. Plummer’s company wasn’t yet franchised, and as Kieffer had soured on the company he worked for, he ended up jumping to Our Town America. Unlike the prior direct mail franchise, Kieffer had a feeling Our Town America was a solid, reputable business. He was right. Kieffer was given his own territory — Bowling Green, Ohio — to work, but since Our Town America franchises didn’t yet exist, he wasn’t an official franchise owner. That would come later. “A lot of people questioned franchising Our Town America, including me,” Kieffer says. “But it was a smart move.”   The best parts of being an Our Town America franchisee. Kieffer says there are a lot of things he loves about his career path, but one of the biggest benefits has been the flexibility to own his time. “That’s been the best part of it,” Kieffer says. “I got to coach my sons with baseball and wrestling, and they were very involved in 4-H, and so we’ve gotten to do a lot of that.” Additionally, he estimates since he started with Our Town America, he has gone on nine or 10 cruises with his wife. “It’s also allowed me to do things that I didn’t have time for when I was working for Nabisco,” Kieffer says. For instance, he and a friend started a local baseball tournament that gives money to local schools’ sports programs in the area. Kieffer (who received no money for running the tournament; nor did his friend), says that they raised $200,000 over 15 years before deciding to hand over the reins to other do-gooders.   The secret of any franchise owner’s success. “You have to be somebody who is a self-starter,” Kieffer says, echoing what many Our Town America franchise owners have said. “You have to be someone who can work alone and be motivated. If you’re the type of person who has to have a timecard and a supervisor telling you what to do, this is not the job for you.”   Where does Kieffer go from here? He isn’t sure. For now, he’ll keep building his business and meeting clients, an activity the community-minded business leader thoroughly enjoys. But sooner or later, as Kieffer approaches his 70th birthday, he is mulling over the idea of eventually retiring. So if there is anybody who lives in the Bowling Green, Ohio area and is thinking of becoming an Our Town America franchise owner, maybe you should contact Kieffer. In any case, he says he is glad Michael Plummer Sr. took a chance on him, and that he himself took a chance on Our Town America. “This is a good business and career to have,” Kieffer says. “You don’t need any employees. You can run it all by yourself. And you can make a great living. It’s been a very successful and fulfilling career, and I highly recommend it!”   Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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To Get New Dental Patients, It Helps to Go “Old School”

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Dentistry New Mover Marketing

Dentistry Today (August 2019) — Like any business, if you want to grow your dental practice, you can’t rely only on your existing clientele. Certainly, there are some patients who likely keep you in business—the ones who (despite you and your staff’s entreaties) don’t brush or floss and then need to come in repeatedly for fillings and root canals. Still, ideally, you’d like to see your practice grow by having happy patients with healthy teeth and a steady stream of new patients stopping by. But how do you get those new patients? It’s time to consider new mover marketing. Our Town America, a franchise that targets new movers by direct mail, has a proven business model that helps local businesses thrive even in this increasingly technological and wired world. While many may think that direct mail and paper incentives may already be obsolete, the data shows otherwise. According to numerous reports, the direct mail industry has been steadily, albeit slowly, growing over the last 10 years. In today’s world where everything is digital and it’s easier than ever to delete emails (or even block them from arriving in your inbox in the first place!), offers that are mailed directly to a new resident have proven to be more effective than their electronic counterparts. Now, of course, businesses advertise through social media and reach out to people through their phones. You would think that would have finished off direct mail, but no. In fact, despite being more wired and connected than ever, it’s become clear that direct mail—especially when it is aimed at people who are new to a community—works better than ever. According to the business intelligence company USData Corp, which did a study on direct marketing, 25% of millennials consider reading direct mail a leisure activity. I know. You’re wondering how reading mail could be a leisure activity. But it makes sense if you think about it. If you’re thinking that reading direct mail for enjoyment is nuts, you’re probably a generation X’er or baby boomer who is used to getting letters and bills in the mail and tossing direct mailers in the trash. Nowadays, receiving any mail is rather unique and, yes, it can be fun to open. It’s email that’s become sort of a drag. Adobe, the computer software company, polled more than 1,000 white-collar workers last year and found that millennials spend 6.4 hours a day checking their email, with more than a third checking their work email before they get out of bed. And it’s especially fun to get actual mail in your mailbox when you’re new in town and trying to get acclimated to your surroundings. That’s where targeted new mover marketing comes in. By providing new movers with one-time use housewarming gifts from local neighborhood businesses in a premium welcome package, your business is capturing the new residents’ attention first. The key is to provide an offer that has value. It’s a welcome package, not a flier. The offers can be tracked, so as a business owner, you can feel comfortable knowing your investment is paying off. Once these new customers redeem the offer, they get a followup mailing to improve the chances of them turning into a repeat customer. If your dental practice is part of a beautiful new mover welcome package, consisting of valuable offers from businesses in the area, essentially alerting somebody that, “Hey, welcome to your new home! We’d love for you to consider us to be your new dentist,” prospective patients are going to be far more receptive than if you sent them yet another tweet, text, or email, which will probably go in the spam folder anyway. When we’re on our phones, desktops, or devices, we have countless distractions. When we’re at our mailboxes and then walking back to our apartments or up the driveway to our homes, dentists (as well as pizzeria owners, auto mechanics, hair stylists, and anyone else) have at least a fighting chance for some mindshare. And once you’ve captured their attention, these new residents are far more likely to visit your establishment than that of your competitor. Never underestimate the power of being the first to grab a potential customer’s attention! In other words, these days, if you’re trying to get new customers’ attention, you need to find a marketing strategy that has some teeth. Mr. Plummer is president, CEO, and CTO of Our Town America, the nation’s premier new mover marketing franchise. A US Army veteran and Certified Franchise Executive, he has more than 15 years of experience as a senior-level franchise executive and IT professional in the direct marketing industry. He can be reached at jplummer@ourtownamerica.com. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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Why Leading Restaurants Commit to New Mover Marketing

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Restaurant New Mover Marketing Our Town America

QSR Magazine (July 2019) — New mover marketing is a fantastic way to reach those new residents and begin building a relationship. Sometimes, being well-known and well-liked can actually work against a restaurant. That may sound like a crazy statement, particularly since brand recognition is an important aspect to consider when buying a franchise. Restaurant owners, after all, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase franchises with big-time brand recognition. But when it comes to landing customers who are new to a neighborhood, a big name is often a disadvantage for owners of mainstream restaurant franchises. When someone moves into a new house or apartment, they usually want to explore their new neighborhood. After a long day of moving, they’ll have worked up an appetite and be on the hunt for new, local places to eat. Many times, new movers want to know what’s good, trendy and local, rather than settling for the same restaurants they have already been to countless times before. The key is to let the new movers know that, while the brand may be national, the owner is still a local. Marketing to new movers can turn a big brand from being impersonal to personal. New movers may be searching for local mom-and-pop restaurants; however, that doesn’t mean big brands are out of the running. Reaching out to people who have just arrived in town can be an effective way to remind them that the owner of a national franchise is still a vital part of the local community. In fact, it’s something today’s movers are craving. In a recent millennial mover survey, 80 percent of respondents said they’d love to receive a housewarming gift and more than half (57 percent) said they want to live within walking distance of restaurants. Therefore, any neighborhood restaurant who connects with them first gains a huge advantage. Also, by welcoming a new mover to the neighborhood, a big-name brand is suddenly no longer something corporate and impersonal. It’s a brand that cares enough to reach out to somebody new to the neighborhood. That’s presuming the restaurant isn’t just mass mailing a coupon to every house and reaching the new people by chance along with everyone else. Targeted, new-resident offers with appealing offers or freebies are key to drawing in this lucrative demographic. There is more than one big-brand restaurant. Another simple reason to market to new movers is one that is as old as business itself—competition. Customers have a lot of choices, especially when it comes to food. The restaurant industry, along with the economy, continues to grow. Sales at restaurants hit $825 billion in 2018 , according to the National Restaurant Association, and are projected to reach $863 billion in the United States by the end of 2019. There are over a million restaurants in America, and a lot of them have familiar names. Even famous brands need to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack, simply because the pack is so big. If a neighborhood is full of popular restaurants with notable name recognition, that familiarity will draw some new residents in the door. But in a well-populated area, there’s no guarantee that every new mover will try out each big name-brand dining establishment competing for stomachs and dollars. People develop habits pretty quickly. While people new to a neighborhood may be looking for quirky and unusual eateries, they often get their morning coffee and breakfast sandwiches at the national restaurant franchises that can give people what they want quickly and efficiently. New movers who also work in the area and are grabbing food during their lunch hour will quickly start compiling a list of easily accessible favorite spots. When they don’t want to cook dinner, and they want something simple and easy, they go to the familiar and comfortable. In all of those cases, nationally recognized franchise restaurants usually fit the bill. But big brand names have the same problem as the small, mom-and-pop restaurants have; customers develop daily habits that can be hard to break. Restaurants that miss out on getting new movers to come into their business in those first few weeks may lose out on that customer becoming a regular forever—and that’s a lot of potential profit missed. New mover welcome packages should be full of fun, local offers to nearby businesses—included. New mover marketing is a fantastic way to reach those new residents and begin building a relationship. After all, from a new mover’s point of view, if he or she is enjoying that coffee and breakfast sandwich in the morning and getting to work on time, why go somewhere else where things may not go so well? If a new mover loves “Pizza Fridays” with the family and has discovered the ideal pizzeria to pick up something on the way home, why risk upsetting the kids—who are still adjusting to this move—by trying something different? While part of the excitement of moving is trying new things, what makes people feel at home are rituals that become ingrained in daily life. It’s a mistake for owners of a national restaurant chain to assume new movers will simply walk in the door. It’s always a good idea to put out a welcome mat and make life-long customers in the process. By: Michael Plummer Jr. – a U.S. Army veteran with more than 20 years of experience as a senior-level franchise executive and IT professional in the direct mail marketing industry. In 2009, he took over as the president/CEO of the Our Town America franchise brand for his father, the founder, Michael Plummer Sr.   Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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New Mover Marketing: The Critical Competitive Advantage Helping Restaurants Win Hearts and Minds

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Modern Restaurant Magazine and Our Town America Eating Pizza

Restaurant Marketing to Millennials Modern Restaurant Management (July 2019) — We are creatures of habit. If you’re a caffeine junkie, you probably go to the same coffeehouse every day, rather than trying new ones every other day or so. If you find a favorite toothpaste, you probably stick with it. We have our favorite TV shoes and music. Some people even go to the same vacation spot year after year. That can be a scary concept if you’re a restaurant owner looking to win over more customers. It isn’t enough to offer wonderful food. You have to get people in the door, first to try your food — and then, of course, convince them to keep coming back. You have to ensure your food and service are so good that you can break customers’ habits of regularly visiting your competitors’ restaurants and come to yours instead. That’s a worthwhile goal, and of course, restaurants should be trying to draw consumers away from other restaurants. But if you really want to win over loyal customers, an easier approach is to focus on your potential customers who haven’t yet aligned themselves with your competitors. That is, look to the new movers, the people who have just bought a house or put down their first month’s rent in an apartment. They’re new to the community, excited to be there, and they’re hungry for information about your neighborhood. You can give them that knowledge — by targeting your marketing efforts to them. There are probably more new movers in your community than you think. Every year, approximately 40 million Americans move to a new home, and many of them, it should be noted, are Millennials and lately, Generation Z (people born in the mid-1990s). Our Town America, a new mover marketing franchise, recently commissioned an online survey of 652 men and women (born between 1981 and 1996), to get a sense of what’s important to Millennials when they move to a new city. And they are moving. Our research indicates that the most popular places for Millennials are the following cities: Phoenix, AZ Las Vegas, NV San Diego, CA Fort Collins, CO Raleigh, NC Fort Myers, FL Des Moines, IA Boise, ID Charlotte, NC Greenville, SC Wilmington, NC Houston, TX Birmingham, AL In other words, instead of cities like New York City, San Francisco and Boston, which have an exciting and glamorous reputation, many Millennials are opting for places that are known for a more reasonable cost of living and better quality of life. That’s good news for many restaurant owners across the country. Regardless of where you are located, your odds of winning Millennials over increase when you understand them. While individuals are obviously unique, as a group, generations have a lot in common. While baby boomers’ habits have been studied and over-analyzed for at least half a century, we’re arguably still getting to know Millennials. So, if you’re looking to know more about the young people moving to your neighborhood, you’ll do well to keep a few things in mind. Millennials Expect You to be Able to Come to Them Our survey found that 69 percent of Millennials want to live within a range of delivery services. That’s probably not a surprise, given how delivery has taken off. But it does underscore that if you haven’t partnered with a service that can bring your food to your consumers, it may be time. There are countless delivery methods to consider including: adding delivery drivers to your staff, working with Uber Eats, or encouraging customers to use services like Postmates to enjoy your food at their convenience. Despite Their Love of Delivery, Millennials May Still Want to Come to You Fifty-seven percent of Millennials want to be within walking distance to restaurants and stores. Three out of four of them would prefer to meet their neighbors in person rather than just see them online. This means that, while delivery is important, don’t forget to ensure your restaurant has quality table service and a nice ambiance for customers. Owners should be making an effort to get Millennials into their place of business. In fact, our survey indicates that if a Millennial is new to the community, they would love a new business to welcome them with a valuable offer. Millennials Very Much Want to be Part of the Community There’s a lot of talk about how Millennials are always on their phones and don’t take much stock in face-to-face interactions. But our research shows that a majority of them still crave human interaction. Fifty-three percent of those we surveyed say that they want to live in a neighborhood that offers great community events. In order, their preferences are food festivals, concerts, sporting events, bar hopping or wine tastings and family-friendly events. By sponsoring or participating in some of these events, you may be able to reach some new-to-town Millennials and establish countless loyal customers. If you’re involved in these events, Millennials are more likely to see your restaurant as one of their favorite dining spots, and a place that makes them feel as if they’re home. Millennials Are Always Looking for a Good Deal Sure, what generation doesn’t want to get the most bang for their buck? But like their great-grandparents who grew up during the Great Depression, the Great Recession came along when many of these Millennials were in their formative years or just starting out in their careers. The Great Recession made a powerful and often devastating impact, and so Millennials are looking to be part of the community while still being fiscally responsible. In fact, 85 percent of respondents say that they’d take advantage of a local small-business discount or freebie, like a free meal or haircut. Almost all of the survey participants (98 percent) say they’d likely revisit the business after trying out the offer. The point is — getting new Millennial movers in the door can pave the way for a new generation of loyal customers. New mover marketing can help to establish new […]

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Jennifer Moseley – Our Town America Was the Cure for Business Travel Burnout

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Our Town America Franchise No Business Travel

Jennifer Moseley was always traveling, without getting anywhere. That’s not quite true. She was very good at her job, for instance, and was by all measures a success, but she traveled so much, the airport and hotels felt more like her home than her real house. Moseley saw the people at the Transportation Security Administration more than her friends. “I would leave my home Sunday and get back Thursday,” Moseley recalls. The money was good – she worked for a textbook company, selling nursing textbooks to colleges – but she had no time to spend it. “I was just burned out,” Moseley says. She isn’t over-hyping that. To relax and deal with the stresses of a high-pressure job where she was always in a new city, Moseley said she started hanging out at the airport and hotel bars more than she should have. Even after she moved into jobs that required fewer plane tickets, she continued the habits she had picked up mingling with flight attendants and hotel minibars. Seven years ago, she finished her last drink, brushed up her resume and began looking for a fresh start.   Finding Our Town America Moseley found that much needed fresh start with Our Town America. But if there’s a typical way people become Our Town America franchise owners – and there really isn’t – this was as atypical as it gets. Moseley didn’t go looking to be a franchise owner, and at first, didn’t become one. She saw a salaried position for a corporate sales representative at the Our Town America headquarters. She liked what she saw. She would be working in an office. There seemed to be no, or minimal, traveling. And the more she read about it, she just had a good feeling about the company. She sent in her resume, was called in for an interview and got the job. She was good at it. In fact, one day, after about a year on the job, her boss, the National Sales Director, Michael Murphy, told her that her sales were, on average, a little higher than the franchise owners. Murphy couldn’t help but be pretty pleased – he had, after all, trained Moseley – and so mentioned her success to the company’s CEO, Michael Plummer Jr., who was impressed (“Damn, that’s awesome” is reported to be his response). Moseley naturally asked for a raise and a higher commission, and Murphy and Plummer immediately said yes. “They were wonderful to me,” Moseley says. Fast forward to another year later, and Murphy mentioned to his star pupil that he was thinking of investing in a franchise, but he didn’t want to run it. Instead, he proposed that they become business partners. He would put up the money to invest in a franchise, and Moseley would put in the sweat equity. Moseley liked the idea. She soon left the corporate headquarters and became the co-owner of Our Town America of Sarasota, Florida. Moseley found the Sarasota location because the owner, Sondra Conk, Our Town America’s first franchise owner, was looking to sell after being a franchise owner for about 15 years. Conk wasn’t unhappy with her business, though, and she wasn’t looking to retire. She was interested in selling for another reason. She had, unfortunately, been diagnosed with terminal cancer. “We had become friends, and she was a real mentor to me,” Moseley says. Conk would pass away far too soon, and far too young, in 2016 at the age of 69. Conk had been wary about selling her business, but Moseley would do well with her franchise, building the business up and hopefully making her mentor proud. In fact, Moseley seemed to be on track during her first year to quickly become an incredible success story and no doubt make Murphy very pleased with his decision to buy a franchise and make her a partner. But then Moseley was quickly reminded of her past with alcoholic drinks.   It isn’t what you think. Don’t worry; she didn’t take up drinking again. Moseley started having serious health issues due to her past drinking – it had taken a toll on her pancreas. During her first year of business, she reluctantly missed five months of work. Her second year as an Our Town America franchise owner wasn’t much better. She figures she lost four months due to her poor health. The next two years, maybe a combined three months. “I’m finally better now,” she says. She is extremely appreciative of the people working at Our Town America. “The opportunity that Michael Murphy and Michael Plummer provided to me was life-altering. I’ve truly never been happier – and I can now say, healthier. Those two Michaels changed my life.” But she credits Our Town America, and the strength of its business model, for allowing her the freedom to be sick. “The model is just so family-friendly. It’s just mind-boggling,” Moseley says. “I can’t think of any other franchise where I could have been sick – and still kept the business going. If you have a brick and mortar location, you have to worry about your lease, insurance, customers, etc. The support I got from corporate was just amazing. I don’t think with any other franchise; I could have been really sick and still had a good paycheck coming in.” And she cringes to imagine how employers in Corporate America would have reacted to her being sick. Granted, she had some existing clients from buying an existing franchise – and by the time her health issues crept up, she had landed plenty of new clients on her own and had built a revenue stream. It isn’t as if the model would have provided a paycheck had she not had any existing clients when she got sick. But, still, the business model kept her in the game – and allowed her to focus on her health and recover. “I also was able to take some time off to go take care of my mother […]

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Dana Nelson Has Made Friends and Helped Family, Thanks to Our Town America

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Our Town America Lifestyle

Dana Nelson’s tale is a familiar one. If you talk to enough successful franchise owners of Our Town America, patterns begin emerging. For instance, it’s a “people person” business, and it helps to have a driven personality and a knack for sales. On all counts, Nelson fits the bill. For most of her career, Nelson was in wholesale account management. She oversaw a five-state territory for a business in the custom-made home furnishings industry. Nelson trained staff on the products and how to sell them. Additionally, she coordinated marketing programs with accounts. She often talked to business owners, of both large and small companies, learning what their frustrations were. She pretty much did it all. And then one day, she, along with a slew of other coworkers, was downsized during what’s often called the Great Recession. That was one big life event that helped steer Nelson toward Our Town America, but that wasn’t the only event. She had something else going on in her life — her parents were both aging and having trouble living on their own. “They were still in their own home, and they needed in-home health care,” Nelson says. “My mom had dementia; and my dad, as far as he was concerned, was going out of the house in a pine box.” They were 170 miles away, and Nelson began thinking that instead of trying to make it work as an employee, maybe she would have more flexibility to go check in on her parents and spend time with them if she could make her own hours. Nelson tried the interior design field for a while, a career that had been hers before she worked at the custom-made home furnishings company. “But it had changed so much,” she says. “And it wasn’t as lucrative.” From there, Nelson started working with a franchise broker to find out what her options were. She knew she didn’t want to be tied down to a brick and mortar business, one that would come with employees and a lease. That option would likely prevent her from spending more time with her parents. Ultimately, the broker recommended Our Town America. Nelson liked what she heard about the New Mover Marketing company. She loved the attractive, oversized Welcome Package that was sent to those new movers and felt it would be contributing to her community. She began having that internal dialogue we all have when thinking about a big decision. “The timing seems good. The business seems like a good fit. Do it now, or don’t do it,” Nelson told herself. She did it. In the waning months of 2013, about two years after the lay-off, Nelson became the owner of Our Town America of Little Canada Minnesota. She has done well since then, and for those looking for inspiration for their own businesses, there are about four reasons why Nelson has thrived. The flexibility factor. It’s hard to work when you’re worried about loved ones, and because she had a job that allowed her to make her own hours, Nelson was able to help her parents get that in-home care they needed. Her mother passed away a couple of years later, and her father passed several years ago, on his 93rd birthday. But in the midst of all of that, Nelson was able to continue to work on building her business clientele. After convincing her father to move into a nursing home, Nelson and her siblings had the time to properly clean out their parents’ home, renovate it and ultimately keep the cherished property. “If I hadn’t that time with my parents, I would not have been a happy daughter,” Nelson says. The experience factor. It helped Nelson that she was comfortable in the world of sales. Still, she says her personality isn’t one where she is comfortable doing “the hard sell”. She sees her job as more of an educator and a listener. “Don’t tell anyone you can help them until you understand what their needs are,” she advises. “If you get them talking, they’re going to tell you what they need, and then you’ll be able to show them how the product will help them achieve their goals.” The bounce back factor. “The best advice I can give anyone is to stay focused. You are going to get no’s and rejections. If you’re patient, you will eventually get positive results that are going to boost you back up,” Nelson says. “You might meet with people several times, and then a year or two later, you end up working with them because the timing is right. Timing and persistence are important.” The “people person” factor. As noted, Nelson likes people. That’s helped her business grow quite a bit. She doesn’t want to waste time pitching business owners who aren’t going to be receptive to her message, so she is selective about whom she approaches. For instance, she might go into a store, look around and buy something and then later, contact the owner. If she gets the sense that the business isn’t interested in good customer service, she won’t contact them. That practice has served her well. For example, she cites one of her first customers, a liquor store, as a good example of a store that cares about customer service. Upon learning Nelson was a first-time customer, the Owner of the store offered to take her on a little tour of his business, having no idea she was going to pitch him her services. She could tell by this experience that he cared about his business and his customers. He quickly became an Our Town America partnered Sponsor business, and he still is to this day! Now, let’s jump ahead to more recent times. Nelson was recently at a local Papa John’s talking with the new franchise owners and discussing Our Town America. The owners, a husband-and-wife team, were worried about landing new customers. But, while they saw the wisdom of marketing to new movers, they weren’t sure if […]

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Our Town America is a State of Mind (or Two States)

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Our Town America Franchise Flexibility

Ken Sultar was the last of a dying breed. He was a phone book consultant. For 16 years, he worked for a company that advised business owners on how to get their company the most efficient advertising in the yellow pages. In those 16 years, Sultar helped businesses save millions of dollars on their advertising. So naturally, the Our Town America franchise, a business model that relies on direct mail, was right up his alley. “There’s a misconception that direct mail doesn’t work,” Sultar says. Sultar was guilty of believing in that misconception at first. He was a bit hesitant to purchase his franchise as he thought that direct mail might be heading the way of the phone book. He did his homework and soon learned that the direct mail industry was thriving and, actually, the Internet and digitalization of the world have actually helped the direct mail industry. “Studies show that Millennials love direct mail – mostly because they don’t typically receive much mail in general. It’s much nicer to read about a business you’re interested in on paper, rather than scrolling through your phone. Our mailings are personalized, and people just don’t get anything like that anymore,” Sultar says. Sultar obviously thought there was something special about Our Town America and liked the concept of targeting people who are moving into a new neighborhood. In 2012, Sultar became the owner of Our Town America of Connecticut. It has gone very well, so several years later, he also bought Our Town America of Massachusetts. He now splits his workweeks, traveling between the two states.   How Ken came to Our Town America As noted, the phone book industry has seen better days. We aren’t ragging on them. We like phone books. As door stops. (No, seriously, we’re rooting for them, but the Internet has certainly done a number on the industry.) As Sultar puts it, “I saw the writing on the wall.” He adds that two other top salespeople left the company shortly after he did. “I was the leader, though. I started it,” jokes Sultar. And so, in the months before he left, Sultar wound up talking to a franchise broker. “I was chatting with my brother-in-law who lives in the Cleveland area and a friend of his happened to be a franchise broker,” Sultar says. Sultar spoke with that franchise broker, who was actually considering buying an Our Town America territory himself. The closest Our Town America franchise, at the time, was in Columbus, which was too far away for the broker. However, he thought Sultar, who lives in South Windsor, Connecticut, should look into buying a franchise. After all, Sultar had 16 years of experience in both business and in business sales, both of which are a major part of the Our Town America business model. As mentioned, Sultar bought Our Town America of Connecticut in February 2012, the very next month attended his Our Town America on-site franchise training, and by April, he was a full-time franchise owner soon landing clients. “It’s a great franchise for those that are dedicated, have a strong work ethic, enjoy chasing leads and like meeting new people. It’s rewarding helping people grow their business while also making the transition to a new area easier for new movers,” he says. It’s not just about money Sultar says that a big part of the attraction of owning two Our Town America franchises is the flexibility it affords him. When he bought his first territory, his son Zack was a sophomore in high school, and on the baseball team. Sultar was able to manipulate his work schedule so he could attend nearly every game. Previously, Sultar coached Zack’s baseball from when he started at age 5 through Little League at age 12. At age 11, Zack also started playing travel baseball. “You get tired of asking permission to get off work an hour early to go coach or watch games,” he says. “I wanted that flexibility of being able to leave the office when I wanted to — and to work later other times.” Zack is now about to graduate college. Our Town America has also given Sultar more time with his wife, Alanna. He mentioned how, last fall, he won a contest for growing his business. The prize: A 10-day trip to Hawaii for Sultar and his wife. “If you work hard, with this company, you can earn that type of stuff,” Sultar said. Obviously, Sultar knows what he’s doing. If you are a business owner in Connecticut or Massachusetts and want to learn about the benefits of targeting new movers, you know who to call. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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How to Inspire New Movers to Become Regular Patients

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Our Town America Dental Marketing

Dentistry Today (May 2019) — Businesses are always on the hunt for new and innovative ways to effectively reach new clients, yet many organizations are completely missing out on arguably the most lucrative portion of the population—new movers. Residents who have just moved to town are actively seeking out new businesses to frequent, including grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, and dental offices. Attracting new customers often can be quite challenging and one of the biggest obstacles a business can face, so it’s crucial to capitalize on this target market and build long-term relationships. The key is to create a personalized offer that will inspire new movers to visit your dental practice and keep them coming back for more! To build a sustainable client base, business owners first need to give their managers and employees the opportunity to spark relationships that last by getting customers in the door. Where Do You Begin? Let’s start with the initial attraction. Targeting new movers can be a tricky endeavor. The first major obstacle is simply locating a new mover. Fortunately, that’s where new mover marketing comes into play. Our Town America helps connect new residents with local businesses through custom welcome packages delivered right to their mailbox. These packages include a collection of one-time, practical, and enticing offers from local businesses. While this paper method of appealing to new movers may seem old fashioned at first, studies have shown that new movers are more likely to utilize a physically mailed offer than one delivered electronically. Despite an increasingly electronic world, paper mailers have shown to be effective. The key is to deliver a new mover marketing offer that inspires action. A simple 10% off coupon usually isn’t compelling enough to pique a potential customer’s interest. Ideally, local businesses will offer a free service or gift if possible, though that isn’t always an option in dentistry. Currently, some of the best new mover marketing offers available from dentists include a free exam or x-ray or a $100 gift certificate for your first visit. Each of these offers will help draw in new customers and give them an added sense of value and appreciation on their first visit. Some dentists even offer new patients a free t-shirt bearing their office’s name and information on the back. This is particularly effective because not only do these new guests feel valued, but each time they wear that t-shirt, the practice gets free advertising. When it comes to crafting an appealing new customer offer or gift, it can pay to think outside the box and get creative. Community involvement is also a terrific way to reach new customers. Many new movers will attend local community events to get a feel for their neighborhood. Hosting events, sponsoring a local sports team, or manning a booth at a festival can be an effective way to get your name out in front of new movers. As you gather more and more happy customers, word of mouth advertising can also be a fantastic method of reaching new customers, including new residents. Much like a new mover welcome package, a friendly neighbor can be a great introduction to the community. Neighbors will recommend their favorite restaurants, veterinarians, and, yes, dentist offices to a neighbor who is just settling in. As the new mover has no other frame of reference, a neighborly piece of advice can be a powerful motivator. While this method of marketing can certainly be effective, it is much harder to target. Many offices have seen success through a referral program. By offering a small discount or gift for both the old and new client, you are killing two birds with one stone. A referral program incentivizes the current resident to spread the word and encourages the new mover to give your office a try. First Impressions New movers are a high-spending target who are actively seeking new dentists. Local practices can’t afford to miss out on this segment of the population. That said, it’s important to reach new residents before your competitors do. Once consumers have chosen a dentist, they typically will not transfer unless given a compelling reason, such as poor service. This disinclination to switch dental service providers stems from a combination of brand loyalty, convenience, and a lack of time, energy, or desire to find a suitable alternative, though that’s not to say that a new customer will never switch locations. When customers have a terrible first experience, they very well may make the effort to find a different dentist who provides better service. The newer the customers are, the weaker their ties to the business are and the more likely they are to leave. It’s no surprise that first impressions can be crucial to long-term success. Sometimes it only takes one bad experience to turn away a customer for good. If you want to see a long-term profit, it’s important to think beyond the initial visit. Lasting relationships, built on a positive foundation, are the key to reaching more people in the community and becoming an established business. Retention rates are important because it is typically far easier (and cheaper!) to keep a customer than it is to draw in a new client. Beyond a tantalizing welcome gift, top-notch customer service and a passion for client satisfaction will keep patients coming back. New mover marketing can be a tricky endeavor, but it is one worth pursuing. Drawing in fresh patients will help keep your practice thriving for years to come, so now is the time to put in the work to grow your customer base. A few years down the road, you’ll be glad you did! Mr. Plummer is president, CEO, and CTO of Our Town America. A US Army veteran and Certified Franchise Executive, he has more than 15 years of experience as a senior-level franchise executive and IT professional in the direct marketing industry. For more than 40 years, Our Town America has been providing new movers with traditional hospitality by mailing warm housewarming gifts from local […]

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Clint Finch named Rock Star Franchisee by Franchise Business Review

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Clint Finch Rock Star Franchisee by Franchise Business Review

Franchise Business Review (April 2019) — Clint Finch purchased his first Our Town America franchise territory in 2005, after working as a sales representative for a majority of his career. What is his key to success? Be excited about the product you are selling. This year, Clint was named as an FBR Franchisee Rock Star. “Clint doesn’t let anything stand in the way of making a sale that he knows will benefit the client. Due to his relentlessness, he has become quite the role model and mentor to fellow franchisees in the system.” – Brittany Johnson, Marketing Executive, Our Town America What advice do you have for someone considering investing in a franchise? DO IT!  But don’t think that because you own a business that you are going to just make money!  It takes work and discipline.  There is no one there to check that you are working.  It is really up to you to go out and make it work!   What are you most proud of when it comes to your career in franchising? We have grown to a top franchisee group in our company and we get to spend time helping and training others who are coming in.  It is humbling to know that other business people respect and admire your work.   What was your career path before you entered franchising? I was climbing the corporate ladder. From the beginning as a Sales Representative and working my way up to VP of Sales in several organizations.   As a business owner, what has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome? Expecting everyone to be as excited as I am about my products.  I have learned to accept that others might not see the benefit. However, so many people do, and I will continue to find those people! A second challenge has been keeping my work-life balance.  Getting carried away with work seems easier when it is your own business.   What do you like most about your franchise organization?   Total support from each and every person at our corporate office!  It is more than just the systems in place, which are also fantastic. We also enjoy a great group of franchisees who care about and support each other. To learn more about an Our Town America franchise, request information here. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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