I Think I Blew It
I had high hopes for a post I recently published on my franchise blog. But I think I may have blown it. I’ll explain.
Buried
Maybe I should have buried it at the bottom of the post.
But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Why?
Because doing so would have been against something I strongly believe in.
Transparency.
I’ll explain.
A First
I decided to name a “Franchise of the Year.”
I would base it on a few things.
- Popularity
- Buzz
- Experience of the franchisor
- Consistent growth
- Quality of the product/service
So I made my choice.
I picked a franchise concept I’ve been following for the past couple of years. But it looks like I created a problem. Why?
Because I consider the CEO of the franchise company my friend. And?
I made that known without the use of small print or by burying that fact at the end of the article.
Instead, I placed the fact that I consider Greg George (CEO of the franchise company) to be a friend, smack dab in the middle of the post. Wanna know what happened?
It Failed (So Far)
The 2022 Franchise of The Year
I was excited to name the “2022 Franchise Of The Year.” It was well-deserved. Especially since the franchise has done so well.
The Peach Cobbler Factory, under the leadership of Greg George, has been awarding franchises like crazy. So what if Greg happens to be a friend? Right?
WRONG.
Turns out that naming a franchise the “2022 Franchise of the Year” that’s headed up by a person who’s a friend of the dude that named it, may have been a mistake. Except it wasn’t. Not in my eyes.
That’s because The Peach Cobbler Factory franchise deserved my award. The company has done very well. Their dessert concept has really taken off.
Maybe I was too transparent.
Maybe I should have buried the fact that I consider Greg a friend below the article in teeny-tiny print.
Or worse, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the fact that I even know Greg. I would’ve received a lot more web traffic. And more buzz. But I couldn’t do it. The though never crossed my mind, because that’s not me. I’ve always been transparent. But am I too transparent?
No. It’s how I roll. I can’t do business any other way. I won’t.
A Final Thought
I could’ve chosen a different franchise to name franchise of the year. Again, my website would have received more traffic. But my gut told me I made the right choice this year.
Damn. I had such high hopes for this.
A question: what would you have done?
And could I have gone about this in a different way?
Your ideas and thoughts are appreciated.
Because I’m still learning.
Are you transparent in everything you do?
Has it caused problems?
(♛ I’m The Franchise King®, Joel Libava. I help prospective franchise owners avoid bank account emptying mistakes. I’m the author of two books on franchising, and I’m a Franchise Ownership Advisor.)
