Editorial

This marketing company’s mission is to make the franchisee happy – or the franchise fee is refunded!

Helping small and medium-sized businesses connect with new customers is the focus of a Franchise called Our Town America of Pinellas Park, Florida. The Our Town concept is to send new families in a community a gift package containing certificates for free services from local neighborhood merchants. The gift package welcomes people to a new area and also helps them find new sources for the services they need, from pizza delivery to drycleaners to a hair salon.

From the perspective of the business owner it is a great way to get new customers and increase a client base. The Our Town service targets only those people within geo- graphical proximity to the business who are new to the area so the recipient is likely to try out the business, particularly because the offer is for something completely free such as a haircut or oil change.

Michael Plummer, Sr., president of Our Town, says the welcome package is immediately perceived as something valuable by those who receive it because it is personalized – not only on the envelope but on each certificate. “We use parchment paper rather than bond,” he adds, “so the package is seen as something of worth – which it is. Many of our packages offer up to $500 in free gifts.”

The Franchisee’s Edge
“Franchisees in our system are awarded a territory equal to about 2,000 families who move each month. Their responsibility is to call on local businesses who may be interested in our service,” says Plummer. “Sales, customer service and collections are handled by the franchisee while the corporate office does everything else. We handle layout of the certificates, production of the welcome packages and mailing them on a monthly basis. We get the lists from people who have registered a change of address so our mailing list is accurate and current.”

One of the many positive aspects of this business is that a large percentage of Our Town clients, or sponsors as they are called, sign an annual contract, creating reoccurring revenue for franchisees. “Most sponsors sign on for a year or more and 90% ae annual because we offer them category exclusivity,” says Plummer. “If a florist wants to keep out their competition, they would continue to contract with us. Many of our sponsors stay with us for years and years.”

Once the contract is signed, Our Town produces the certificate and begins sending them out to new residents. “The franchisee sends out invoices we have produced for them and collects the fees. We’ve made it all very turnkey for them,” says Plummer.

What we offer our franchisees, besides a great opportunity, is a truly independent lifestyle,” says Plummer. “Because the corporate office handles the mailings and because much of the advertising is on-going, our franchisees are actually able to take time off.

Freedom to take vacations is something many people want but few can accomplish when they become franchise owners. At Our Town, our franchisees actually can leave their business for days or even weeks.”

If you want to be an Our Town franchisee, it helps, says Plummer, if you have an aggressive, goal-driven personality and a proven record in sales. Since your job will be calling on local business owners, you should understand field sales and be adept at relationship-building. “This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is self-disciplined and can follow a system,” says Plummer, “and I would love to see more women involved because I see this business as a good fit for women’s natural sales ability.” The franchise fee is low ($25K for the first territory and $15K for the second) and the business can be run from home and without additional employees.

Big Business
Our Town America has been in business with corporate-owned stores and dealers since 1972 and has recently opened up the business to franchising. The value to new franchisees is that the business is very well-established and Our Town has both the structure and the support to grow their business through franchising. Plummer says that by the end of 2005 they will have 30 franchise locations and he expects that number to increase to 75 by the end of 2006.

“We currently send out 6 million envelopes a year,” says Plummer. “Statistics show that 17-20% o the U.S. population moves every year, which equals about 15 million families. Digital technology has enabled us to ramp up our production capability so that we are ready to tackle this moving population in an even bigger way.”

Our Town was recently recognized for their excellence in the use of technology by the MFSA (Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association). At the awards presentation in June 2005 they received first place for their Variable Data Printing Solution in the Fulfillment Ingenuity Award category which recognizes the inventive problem-solving solution involving a fulfillment project.

Sponsors who contract with a franchisee for Our Town’s services receive more than initial advertising with Our Town. “One of the services we offer,” says Plummer, “is that we bar code our mailings. This means an advertiser who receives a certificate from a customer can find the customer’s name and address through the bar code and send a thank you note, or if needed, follow-up on a complaint.”

In addition, a person who has used one of the certificates mailed by Our Town can go online to fill out a survey about the business they visited. The feedback adds another layer of value to the Our Town service. “Sponsors also pay less for advertising through Our Town than they would with a competing welcome service and,” says Plummer, “we feel our welcome package is superior to what any other company offers.”

Why Join Our Town?
“The real key to this business is that if a person is good at sales, this is the very best opportunity available,” says Plummer. “You can make money on your first sale and that first sale is likely to stay with you for years and years. Our franchisees love our business because it lets them get where they want to be financially very quickly.

“We feel we offer something to everyone,” continues Plummer. “We help new movers adjust to their new communities while helping businesses gain new customers. We also give our franchisees a wonderful opportunity.” Our Town believes so strongly in their system that they actually offer a 100% rfund of the initial franchisee fee to any franchisee who is unhappy with the business after one year.

The Keys to Success at Our Town America