It is Time to Abandon Excel for Brand Standards

When we went paper less, we all assumed we'd magically become more efficient. Whiz-bang, look at us saving data! However, you can be just as inefficient with technology as you can without. Capturing data electronically does not, in and of itself, make it efficient. To make matters worse, multi-unit operators now collect more data about … Continue reading It is Time to Abandon Excel for Brand Standards

Who Benefits from Retail Audits?

Retail audits and store visits are proven to drive brand standards, increase customer satisfaction and mitigate risks in multi-unit retail. How exactly do retail audits benefit you? Here are some of the benefits you can expect from retail audits. Head Office Lower total cost of ownership than Excel™ and paper-based visits. Home-grown solutions are often … Continue reading Who Benefits from Retail Audits?

District Managers or Checklists?

Let's say you need to check brand standards across your business, for all franchisees and locations. How do you do that? Do you rely on district managers, their experience and personal touch or do you deploy checklists for all to fill-out? Checklists largely consist of yes/no answers to standard questions. When a district manager fill-out … Continue reading District Managers or Checklists?

Misconceptions about Brand Standards

Let's be completely honest. Are your franchisees, stores and locations really on top of brand standards? A survey by the In-Store Implementation Network sought to quantify a facet of this issue, specifically merchandising, and asked retail professionals how they measure performance of in-store merchandising. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed responded that they "make the assumption … Continue reading Misconceptions about Brand Standards

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6 Reasons to Measure Brand Standards

Brand standards span broad areas of the operations of a franchise network, including customer service, product preparation, merchandising, cleanliness, human resources, security, loss prevention and fire prevention. They govern how specific tasks should be completed and what a successful implementation outcome entails. Most customer-facing franchise-based groups, especially in industries such as hospitality, food service and … Continue reading 6 Reasons to Measure Brand Standards

The Bindy Workflow

Bindy implements an end-to-end, closed-loop store execution workflow. It you want to validate brand standards or "make it happen" at store level, Bindy is for you. Let's dive in on key steps of of a common workflow for a retail organization. Step 1: Build checklist(s) at head-office Build forms using the system's web-based Form Builder … Continue reading The Bindy Workflow

Mystery Shoppers vs. District Manager-Led Audits

District manager-led audits focus on the process A mystery shopping program and district manager audits ultimately address different needs and have vastly different outcomes. A district manager audit essentially amounts to “quality assurance”. Using retail audit software, the district manager follows a process that is regular and actionable. The visit is meant to be educational … Continue reading Mystery Shoppers vs. District Manager-Led Audits