August: Last Days Of Summer In this issue... Commentary: August is big-time vacation season in much of the world. But, what do you make of the fact that Americans are taking fewer and fewer vacation days and still score high on the happiness scale? Click Here Street Smarts: Marketing to Baby Boomers Industry Focus: More On The Link Between Boomers and Beauty Business Guest Column: More About Measuring Talent and Performance in Franchise Organizations.

News You Can Use NexCen Acquires Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker Darden to Buy Rare Hospitality Market Metrix Announces Second Quarter 2007 Hospitality Results McDonald's Satisfies Early Risers Franchisee Group Files Class Action Against Quiznos Melting Pot Debuts New Kiosk Concept Featured Supplier My Business Assistant We Thank Our Sponsors FREE White Paper FranchiseHelp's Franchise Meal Assembly Report Subscribe | Unsubscribe to the Newsletter

Companies have been marketing to the Boomer generation for half a century, but interest is definitely accelerating now that Boomers are marching into their 50s. It only makes sense. No business can afford to ignore the economic realities of this phenomenon. In just 3 years (2010), one in three adults will be over the age of 50. The juicy decade belongs to those aged 54 to 64. They have the deepest pockets with an estimated average net worth of $210,000-which is higher than any other age group.

Marketing to any target group is a complex process, but the following list of key points should help you get thinking in the right direction.

1. Don't call them old. It's a common mistake to break the population into two market segments-18-49 and everyone over 50. This is NOT the senior market. If you use a "G" word (Gramps or Granny), you'd better duck and cover. Baby Boomers consider themselves at least a decade younger than their chronological age; your marketing must reflect those youthful attitudes.

2. Boomers are extremely smart and savvy consumers. They look for endorsements and industry ratings. Give them straight talk and avoid hype or spin. Appeal to them with thoughtful messages, not hard-sell. And don't try to fool them. Using 20-something models to sell wrinkle cream is insulting to anyone's intelligence.

3. Stay in the present. Recognize who Boomers are today, not who they were when they came of age. Relying on the cultural stereotypes of the '60s generation with classic rock 'n' roll playing in the background won't cut it. It's been a long strange trip and your marketing message must resonate with who these people are at this moment in their lives.

4. Don't count on loyalty. Boomers are no more like to be brand-loyal than any other group. Just because they were once your customers, doesn't mean they'll stand by you.

5. Boomers are tech-savvy. Using traditional media for advertising can still work with this group, but be sure to include Internet marketing campaigns. The overwhelming majority of this generation is online now. Even if they don't shop online, they do their pre-purchasing research there.

6. Boomers feel special. Yes, they're part of the biggest generation in history. But you can't treat them like a mass market. They grew up feeling special; they still want to feel special now.

More On The Link Between Boomers and Beauty Businesses

Last time we focused on Radiance Medspa and the booming medical spa industry. For this issue, we looked at another franchise that's capitalizing on Baby Boomers' desire to look and feel young. Mona Spa is a Euro-style, upscale spa and laser center. CEO, Mona Sappenfield, says, "We combine soft-touch spa services with high technology laser and medical treatments. Our signature treatment is a 9-step copper lift facial that includes a skin consultation, enzymes and peels in the true tradition of a European facial." The Mona Spa menu of services includes all sorts of therapeutically and scientifically developed products and treatments to enhance visual appearance, from plastic surgery all the way down to facials and everything in between.

When the company started in 1991, medical spas didn't really exist yet. "Baby Boomers were just learning that they could go to their hometown spa rather than a destination spa to have these types of services. But Baby Boomers are the target market." Sappenfield adds, "I always say I am my own best customer profile. And yes, I am a Baby Boomer."

One of the challenges for a franchisor like Mona Spa is the difference in regulations from state to state. Which services can be offered and by what personnel depends on where you do business. "Our primary service providers are state-licensed estheticians," Sappenfield explains. "But we also have medical personnel. RNs provide injections in some states while other states require physicians to do that. In some cases, a physician must be on the premises. How we operate is driven by regulations of the state. As a result, I have 6 locations and 5 different business models."

Sappenfield says the medical spa field is growing fast. "We also see fallout. A lot of people were moving forward quickly 3 years ago and now they don't even exist." Sappenfield says that's because they misunderstood the market. "There was a high expectation of the business being driven by the masses. But this is still a very private and personal service business. It's not just about the pleasure that the customer has with the result; it's also about the experience. While Baby Boomers want the services and the results, they also want that comfort level and the expertise that doesn't come in the back of a beauty shop or a side room in the doctor's office. They want the ultimate spa experience"

More About Measuring Talent and Performance in Franchise Organizations

By: Mariel Miller

In the last newsletter, we shared remarkable results of a consulting project designed to create an "Ideal Franchisee Benchmark", and some if its implications. A few terms used in these discussions may be foreign to you, but it may be worth your time to get in on the buzz.

First, you will learn that "Competency Models" are the cornerstone to building these programs for your corporate office or franchisee network. Most organizations lack the expertise and tools to create high quality competency models, and employ consultants to work them out. The good news is that you do not have to invest thousands of dollars for a high priced organizational consultant to do this work - if you learn the basics of these proven models. You can begin today to improve your system.

Often a slow and steady (and affordable) effort will do a good job in a growing system, given the system is not suffering major performance problems. Although competency models are probably the single most critical element needed for talent management programs, the beginning step is to focus on the actual and specific activities you are asking a franchisee or staff person to accomplish. This is called a Job Profile. The Job Profile includes the information found in typical job descriptions (key responsibilities, key result areas etc.) plus additional information needed for effective talent and performance management.

We are now working with clients who have seen the need to transform the franchisee role from that of a technician (all things to all people, wearing many hats) to the executive, team leader and sales manager. One of the first things to look at is why the role is changing, what new key result areas are now expected and who is the individual needed to fill this new role. Then you need to analyze both the "old" and "new" model in order to create a valid new selection benchmark. The Job Profile begins the process.

You may have enough interest to do some of this in-house. The process would begin by selecting one of the most important roles in the organization, then:

When job profiling isn't done well or at all, an organization leaves its hiring and selection success to chance, often suffering average performance and mediocre growth. Grab a book, go on line or find a good performance consultant to discuss how to upgrade the talent of your organization one role at a time.

ExtraOrdinary Outcomes! Franchise Performance Systems is a performance coaching, training, and performance management practice. For more information about assessment, coaching or convention speaking, please call 866-417-6011 or e-mail me at Mariel@TheFranchiseAdvisor.com

NexCen Acquires Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker

NexCen Brands Inc., owner of the MaggieMoo's and Marble Slab Creamery premium ice cream restaurant brands, announced this month that it had acquired the franchisor's assets of the Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker snack concepts for $29.4 million from Mrs. Fields Famous Brands LLC. As of June 20, Pretzel Time Franchising LLC and Pretzelmaker Franchising LLC, both subsidiaries of Mrs. Fields, had a combined 376 franchised or licensed units worldwide with trailing aggregate revenues of about $6.4 million. NexCen estimated that aggregate revenues for the two businesses for the current full year would be about $6.7 million. The purchase price includes $22.1 million in cash and about $7.3 million in NexCen common stock.

MaggieMoo's system includes about 164 units and the Marble Slab chain boasts about 336 locations. NexCen, which also owns retail brands The Athlete's Foot and Bill Blass, acquired the ice cream brands for about $37.1 million in cash, stock and notes in February. The president and chief executive of Mrs. Fields said the sale of Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker would enable Mrs. Fields to focus on its "core business strategy." The company still owns the Mrs. Fields and Great American Cookies snack brands and the TCBY yogurt brand. (Nation's Restaurant News, 8/8/2007)

Darden to Buy Rare Hospitality

Two restaurant industry giants, Darden Restaurants Inc. and Rare Hospitality International Inc., reported this month that they had agreed to a merger in which Darden will purchase the steakhouse operator for about $1.4 billion, including debt, making it one of the largest strategic purchases in the industry. Darden plans to buy out Atlanta-based Rare for $38.15 per share in cash. The transaction received unanimous approval by the board of directors at both companies. Orlando-based Darden will finance the acquisition through cash and newly committed credit facilities of $1.2 billion and $700 million senior revolving credit. The deal is expected to close in October.

Rare currently owns, operates or franchises 317 restaurants, including 287 Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants and 28 Capital Grille restaurants. Darden operates 1,397 casual-dining restaurants including 680 Red Lobster units, 614 Olive Garden outlets, 23 Bahama Breeze restaurants and seven Seasons 52 units. (Nation's Restaurant News, 8/16/2007)

Market Metrix Announces Second Quarter 2007 Hospitality Results

Market Metrix, LLC, the leading provider of customer and employee feedback and performance tools for the hospitality industry, recently announced results of the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) for the second quarter of 2007. Walt Disney World Resorts, Midwest Airlines and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ranked number one in hotel, airline and rental car industry customer satisfaction, respectively. Although there was a small decrease (-.1) reported in the second quarter of 2007, customer satisfaction levels in the lodging industry are at positive record levels. This high level of customer satisfaction comes even as the lodging industry has reduced the number of employees per available and occupied room and while other industries, such as airlines, have experienced declines.

Among hotels, the upscale and timeshare segments are performing best with customer satisfaction results for 2007 significantly ahead of 2006. The brands in these segments showing the biggest improvement this year compared to 2006 include Homewood Suites (upscale) and Marriott Vacation Club (timeshare). Luxury hotels, conversely, are showing declines compared to last year with Mandarin Oriental posting the biggest drop. (Hotels.com, 8/21/2007)

McDonald's Satisfies Early Risers

McDonald's is urging all of its 13,700 U.S. restaurants to open at 5 a.m. daily to meet customers' increasingly earlier breakfast times. According to a spokeswoman, about 75 percent of their domestic restaurants already open around 5am. But McDonald's USA president Don Thompson told 16,000 unit managers at a recent conference that the chain would like to standardize the start time. The longer hours could boost McDonald's unit sales which now average close to $2 million. McDonald's is also one of several quick-service chains that have pushed back the closing times of their stores. The push to standardize the 5 a.m. opening time comes as Wendy's is striving to have breakfast service in place at 650 restaurants by summer's end and Starbucks adds warm breakfast sandwiches to additional markets. (Nation's Restaurant News, 7/27/07)

A group of more than 40 Quiznos Sub franchisees has filed a class action suit on behalf of the operators of nearly 5,000 domestic franchised branches of the sandwich chain, alleging the company has systematically defrauded franchisees in order to build the brand. The suit, filed this month in U.S. District Court in Denver, contends that the Denver-based Quiznos forces franchisees to purchase food, supplies and other services from the company or its affiliates at inflated prices while setting artificially low retail products for its products, making it difficult for franchises to make a profit. The suit also accuses Quiznos of misrepresenting key facts about the stores' operations to sell franchises. The lawsuit seeks damages for franchisees' lost investments and a court order that would halt Quiznos' allegedly improper actions.

Quiznos chief legal officer Rich Emmett said he was unimpressed with the substance of the lawsuit and was disappointed to see the action filed at a time when the sandwich chain has been focused on improving store operations for its franchisees. (Nation's Restaurant News, 8/15/07)

Melting Pot Debuts New Kiosk Concept

The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. said it is debuting a new concept called Dip, a kiosk-style offshoot of the 120-unit casual-dining fondue chain, at a shopping center in Tampa, FL this September. Future Dip locations are planned in the Florida cities of Clearwater and Brandon. The chain hopes this new concept will give their franchisees additional opportunities to grow their clientele and generate additional revenues while at the same time providing economies of scale. Additionally, it will give customers in the malls a taste of what their fondue products are all about. The Melting Pot chain recently opened its 120th location in Austin, Texas, and has 40 more units in development. (Nation's Restaurant News, 8/1/2007)