Pet Franchise

Steps to Recovery When Trouble Arises in Your Pet Grooming Franchise

It’s normal for any business to face difficulties. In fact, as trouble arises, it’s more of a reassuring health check that one’s business is open and operating. A pet grooming franchise is no different. As you plan, open, and run your own pet franchise, you should always hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. It doesn’t matter how well things have been going so far, at some point, some kind of disaster will hit and if you’re unprepared, even the smallest issue will seem unsolvable as you shuffle to fix whatever went wrong. As you run your pet grooming franchise, keep these things in mind for when trouble arises.

Know That Problems Happen

The best thing you can probably do for your pet grooming franchise is to acknowledge that trouble happens and to just be mentally prepared. By acknowledging that everything will not be 100% perfect all of the time, you set yourself up in a prepared mental state so that when something does go wrong, you’re not panicked because it’s a moment you’ve known was coming, even if the problem itself is unexpected.

Find the Problem

So now that you’re mentally prepared for the problem, when you see one, find out where it’s coming from and destroy the bottleneck as quickly as possible to slow down the problem’s effects. It can be difficult to diagnoses a problem in a pet grooming franchise, it can be even harder to fix it, especially if that problem is an employee who is not picking up the store culture, rules, or responsibilities like they should have. This is why you have spent time mentally preparing. You need a solution, and depending on the problem, you may need it fast. Identify who or what’s contributing to the problem and what can you do to slow it down. Even if that means termination.

Make a Decision and Do It

Now that you’ve identified the problem and its cause, you have to make the decision of what to do about it. Sometimes consulting your team for multiple perspectives is alright, but at the end of the day as the owner of a pet grooming franchise. It’s up to you to make the decision that will affect your business and sometimes the opinions of other can hold you back. Do what you think must be done, even if it’s hard. It’s always much better to make a wrong decision and learn than to do nothing at all.

Smile and Be Confident
You are the brain and backbone of your pet grooming franchise. As you go face-to-face with trouble, don’t let your employees, clients, or consumers know that you may feel intimidated. Put on a poker-face, be respectful if you’re terminating an employee, and be confident in the moves you make. People will always follow a confident leader who is making the wrong move over an unconfident leader making the right one. As you remain professional, you’ll set an example for your employees and show you can be trusted and followed, even in the worst of times and this will create a stronger team out of something that was once a problem.

Reputation and the Pet Grooming Franchise

Brand recognition for a pet grooming franchise shapes customer perception of the business and penetrates the market. As you franchise with Splash and Dash, you’ll collect all the positive associations that associate with them, building a foundation of reputation by simply associating with a strong, established brand. A positive reputation will bring in more business, helping your pet grooming franchise to not only stabilize, but expand. As a business owner, keep these things in mind as you consider reputation and your business:

Reputation = Success

pet store franchisingThe better the reputation of your pet grooming franchise, the more likely your success. Through franchising, your business brand may already have a very well-known and attractive name, like Splash and Dash, to bring in customers already familiar with the brand’s values and that’s ultimately what any business owner should strive for. If people think of a need and think of your business first, you know that you have made it to the upper tiers of business ownership. When someone thinks luxury, affordable pet grooming franchise, they think Splash and Dash and with that name at the top of consumer’s lists, they are much more likely to visit for the first time than an unknown store they find by searching the internet or phonebook.

Reviews Matter

Internet has taken word-of-mouth reviews to a new level with websites like Google+, Yelp, and even just posting on personal social media pages about an experience. In fact, your pet grooming franchise will probably acquire most of its reputation through social media. Studies have shown that more than 80% of consumers read online reviews and more than 70% of consumers trust a business more if they see positive reviews online as much as they’d trust a personal recommendation.

Encourage Positive Reviews

As you collect reviews from regular and new customers, try to encourage positive reviews by not only providing excellent service, care, and listening to consumers, but also offer a prize of some kind like a discounted or free treat or service. Many restaurants offer a free dessert with proof of a review. Think about what your store could do, put up signs around the shop to inform consumers, and follow through.

Follow Reviews and Respond to Complaints

As you provide excellent service at your pet grooming franchise, prepare for the worst as well. If you receive a review from a less than pleased individual, don’t ignore it. Respond respectfully and see if you can solve the problem. By responding, you are showing you do care and you have the opportunity to mend the relationship and recover a possibly lost customer. The worst thing you can do in the case of negative feedback is delete it or ignore it. Think about what that says about your company