Wake up Franchisors, You Are Being Watched
Super Blogger Jeff Jarvis Says Its Time for Corporate America (Translation: Franchisors) to Wake Up By Engaging the Blogosphere or Risk the Perils of Ignoring It
Beet.tv's Kate Lyon interviews BuzzMachine power blogger Jeff Jarvis. He cautions that companies need to change their approach to interact with customers (i.e. franchise owners and buyers).
Case in point: Jarvis blogged about a negative experience with Dell, which Dell ignored. But soon many unhappy Dell customers joined. With its bottom-line stinging, Dell finally chose to respond.
Writes Lyon, "The transparency that new media creates in the hands of customers can be a death knell for companies, but it can also be an opportunity for companies to talk with their customers and build a new kind of relationship. Choose wisely."
This follows along the same line as this franchise pearl of wisdom:
You are being watched by hundreds of thousands of eyes, franchisors. Maybe more. For some that means an opportunity to show extraordinary service, to break from the pack. And for others, it will mean showing a failure to support and then the inability to connect with franchisees and buyers. Because of the interactive nature and instant global reach of the new Internet, there is one thing we can say with certainty. How franchisees and buyers are treated will get out. It's a brave new world. Choose wisely.“In the old days,” said Robert Einhorn, an attorney in the Miami office of Zarco Einhorn & Salkowski, “a bad franchisor could keep trucking along, terminating unhappy franchisees and adding new ones. Today, the Internet and blogs shine a spotlight on abusive franchisors. It’s more important than ever for franchisors to address problems early on, before a disgruntled franchisee tells his tale on a blog.” [FT]
