Editorial -- Build best practices
By Clair Urbain, Editor
It was interesting to sit down and learn more about Franklin Equipment.
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| Clair Urbain, editor. Pro Contractor Rentals magazine |
With 16 rental stores peppered across the eastern Midwest and an aggressive plan to have 40 locations up and running in five years, its goals are ambitious.
While they didn’t mention continuous improvement or best practices in our conversation, it’s evident those processes are woven into its culture. From its super store in Columbus, Ohio, suburb of Groveport, it orchestrates nearly every effort each store takes.
It conducts in-depth market research to enter a new market. It follows a wella thought-out game plan to crack into new areas and uses fine-tooth comb tactics to discover prospects and gain awareness with them. Once the new store is launched, it goes into measure-everything mode. Little goes on that isn’t measured, evaluated and, if needed, improved upon.
One aspect of the company that didn’t make it into the story was the company’s nimbleness in the market. With four primary decision makers running the control panel, the foursome can act fast to respond to quickly evolving customer needs.
One customer, working on a large project, needed water trucks. A rather novel need, but a customer need nonetheless. Within hours of learning of the need, the company leaders acted quickly, securing four units. The customer looking for the units had them in days instead of weeks – or not at all – from larger rental companies with labyrinthine decision-making processes.
As you learn more about Franklin Equipment from the story that starts on page 8, compare and contrast it to your operation.
What’s your brand message? What sets your business apart from your competitors? How do you improve processes? Are you measuring what works and, as important, what doesn’t? How do you measure and reward employee performance?
For example, Franklin Equipment controls messages displayed at its various stores from its home office. Consistent, tested messages are fed to each monitor from the super store in Ohio. It’s another example of how the company develops consistent, effective messages and relays them to employees and customers.
Good luck in identifying and improving the best practices in your operation.
Copyright 2018 Direct Business Media. All rights reserved. Contact curbain@directbusinesmedia.com for permission to reprint or rebroadcast all or part of this article.
PRO CONTRACTOR RENTALS MAGAZINE
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