Our response to COVID-19

When the going gets tough….

How we stepped up to the plate during the pandemic for our franchisees

When considering a franchise, many things are on your mind. It’s important that you can see a natural fit and a synergy between the business you’re considering and your skills, talents and of course, enthusiasm. But, buying a franchise goes much deeper than just ticking the business blueprint box doesn’t it?

You must feel confident that you’re also joining a network where the franchisor really has your interests at heart and, that when the going gets tough, they are unequivocally on your side.

No ifs or buts.

It’s an understatement to say that the going got tough when the coronavirus pandemic struck. For many businesses, their survival was suddenly at stake no matter how profitable and successful they had been up to that point.

Franchised businesses were not immune although there was the comfort of solidarity in numbers and of course that proven business blueprint.

And so, I want to share with you how we have navigated through the pandemic; the support we have offered our franchisees – practical, financial, and moral - from the outset.

I hope this provides you with a good indication of our ethos, our values and how we look after each one of our franchisees when business becomes anything but usual.

The Critical Problem Caused by The Pandemic 

When you distribute your printed magazines through school book bags and the pandemic means all schools are closed within days, it is a problem of some magnitude to say the least.

Undeterred, I decided that our summer editions would be digital E-Zines instead. We have been a multichannel business for many years and so I was confident we could give our loyal audience exactly what they needed; a Raring2go! tonic if you like. At this point I also decided that our ‘tone of voice’ across all communications, especially social media would be one of positivity and optimism. At all costs we would avoid referencing the Covid19 situation in pejorative terms. There was more than enough negative content on this. I wanted our readers to receive our communications with enthusiasm and a smile. 

Usually my franchisees print one summer edition of Raring2go! but thanks to my brilliant network and their vision, it became clear that we could in fact produce two summer digital magazines -with a little planning and a hefty dose of creativity and flair.

By doing this we could keep our audience on board and our advertisers too. Because our magazines are unique in that they are truly local to our readers – families with young children – these readers would be completely up to date with what was happening (and what was not happening) in their local area. 

Collaboration…At the Heart of Our Network

I have always worked in a collaborative manner with my franchisees and we have excellent channels of communication. So, I was confident that rolling out my decisions and sharing my thoughts with my network was going to be a positive exercise. In conjunction with my franchisee council - a group of franchisees who sit with me on a consultative panel making strategic decisions together - we set about producing our ‘plan’.

One of the most important things to agree on was the monthly support fee. For Raring2go! franchisees this is a fixed amount (not a percentage of turnover as is the case with many franchises). We also looked at supplier’s costs and terms and, how we could add value to our franchisees’ businesses during what was set to be an extended period of uncertainty and severe disruption. We then looked at how we could help our franchisees communicate with their customers and the schools that distribute their magazines. Our focus was on positive outcomes; for our franchisees, their customers, the schools that distribute their printed magazines and their readers.

Within four days we had a compelling action plan we were all agreed upon.

 Monthly Service Fee

• We reduced our monthly licence fee by just under 40% of the fixed amount.
• We fixed this from April 2020 to July 2020.
• We re-worked our monthly cashflow forecasts and calculated a lean operational budget for head office.

The time to thrive is in the future but for now survival was the goal. I knew I would have to temporarily furlough two head office staff albeit. I’m pleased to say they were only furloughed for one 3-week period until the dust had settled and we had a better view of the landscape ahead of us.

Suppliers’ Costs

• Printing is our one big supplier cost and so we worked with our suppliers to extend the terms for payment to 60 days.
• We reduced the cost of print by reinstating pricing from 2017. This made a significant difference to our franchisees

This was a real testament to the relationships we have built with our suppliers. Their support has been incredible.

Communications

• We established a weekly ‘drop in’ Zoom call which all franchisees could join. We had been using Zoom for some time but during this crisis it really became a lifeline.
• We were mindful that many of our franchisees now had young children at home. A commitment of an hour on a Wednesday afternoon might be a stretch for some. So, we recorded our Zoom calls and uploaded them to our franchisee One Drive, backing up each one with a detailed email so no-one would miss out.

Council

• Weekly franchisee council Zoom meetings became a must so we could discuss any issues arising from our weekly network Zoom call.
• Many inspired decisions have been taken at these lively and positive sessions.

It is evident to me how our franchisee network respects the fact that everything we plan on doing is discussed and agreed by a representation of their peers and myself before it is unleashed.

Adding Value

• We invited industry experts to present to our franchisees during our weekly Zoom calls. To date we have had a business advisor, a marketing expert and bestselling author, a motivational speaker, a debt recovery expert, and a networking guru. Each one has shared their pearls of wisdom and in doing so has inspired our franchisees, helping them see success beyond the pandemic.
• We have arranged workshops on design to help franchisees design their own summer editions thereby avoiding design costs.

Our debt recovery partners, Direct Route made the case that to protect their cashflow, our franchisees should not shrink from collecting overdue payments from customers. During a webinar they provided some very handy tips on how to do this.  This has resulted in some very happy franchisees recovering debts they had all but written off.

Tone of Voice

As I mentioned earlier, it was important that we were seen and, perceived by our family audience as a voice of reason and optimism at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety. So…

• We established a framework for our social media output to ensure this translated into practise.
• This framework was well received by our franchisees and followed closely by each one.
• With so many detractors out there already, adding opinion, hypothesis and negativity to an already worried community, the last thing we were going to do was jump on the band wagon with more of the same.

What has been truly heart-warming throughout all of this is seeing our franchisees using our portals to sound out their peers on wording for posts to ensure they are within the guidelines. They also share a great deal more which is just as it should be.

 Supporting Advertisers and Schools

We issued guidance at the beginning of the lockdown on how our franchisees should work with their advertisers. So many had been badly impacted by the lockdown.

• We decided to offer spring advertisers free space in our summer online editions. We explained that in doing so, our aim was to amplify their marketing messages so that when lockdown ended, we had helped keep a 'light burning' in their businesses.  We knew how important this small gesture was to the businesses that had supported our magazines with regular advertisements.
• We also provided guidance to franchisees on how best to support those advertisers feeling the financial pinch of lockdown. This included offering extended payment terms with no interest or additional charges.
• We provided guidance to franchisees on how they could support the primary schools in their areas. We work closely with these schools and so have built great relationships with them. We offered to promote the schools’ messaging to families.

The positive reactions from advertisers, schools, and parents alike to these initiatives has been tremendously rewarding. 

Reaching Out

• We reached out to the national brands that operate in our sector and, that advertise locally in Raring2go! printed editions. We offered free online listings and feature pages.
• We offered a no-strings, no-cost, no-commitment resource which was met with enthusiasm. We now have an abundance of content on our website that is regularly added to. It has proved to be a lifeline for many of these businesses that had virtually come to a standstill because of lockdown. 

Is This A Franchise You Would Like to Be A Part Of? 

I have always considered Raring2go! to be a family friendly franchise. It enables franchisees to strike a healthy life-work balance and work around their families. But it is also a family of individuals and of course a community of franchisees. And when the chips are down, we all pull in the same direction for the greater good.

I take my responsibilities as the franchisor of this incredible network very seriously. It is more than a business to me. It is a way of life and I would not have it any other way. Let’s talk if you are interested in finding out more about being in business for yourself as a Raring2go! franchisee but, never by yourself.

Find out more about the Raring2go! Franchise opportunity by clicking below now!