Happy Thanksgiving!

As 2010 comes closer to a close, F.C. Dadson has a lot to be thankful for. First, there's our amazing customers who give us the opportunity to serve them everyday. Then, there are our vendors and network friends that help us to serve our customers everyday. And last, but certainly not least, are our dedicated employees who serve our customers everyday.

To all these people: you helped to make 35 years in business possible, so thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter #9 - Take Me to the Pilot

Marie VanDrisse is back with the next chapter of her kiosk development story. In case you happened to miss 'em, you can check out the previous chapters here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Chapter #9 - Take Me to the Pilot

The real world is unpredictable. No matter how much you test your kiosks before deploying them, there's always the potential for unforeseen design defects to come up while in operation. The last thing you want is to have to invest a great deal of money and time in order to fix a bunch of kiosks out in the field. By creating a pilot program, you can put your kiosk design to the test of the real world and make any adjustments before launching a full-scale roll out.

Running a pilot kiosk program is a lot like baiting a fishing hook. If there are fish, you will at least have some hits on the line or even catch a few if you're really giving them something they want or like. However, if you still have bait on the hook at the end of the day, you didn't have to waste an entire jar of worms before realizing that you need to make some changes to your bait.

The biggest advantage of a pilot program is obvious: if there's something wrong with the kiosk that wasn't detected on the designer's desk or shop floor, the pilot's real world experience allows you to make adjustments before a full roll out is ordered. Changes can be difficult to make on location, but in limiting the number of kiosks in the field, changes become less expensive to carry out.

Ultimately, the pilot program gives you the opportunity to learn important lessons during its deployment that may affect the overall customer experience. It then allows you to tweak the design in a more cost-effective manner in order to make it something that meets your wants and needs in the actual operating environment. That way, when you dive into a full-scale roll out, you can be assured that your kiosks will work for you.


-- Marie VanDrisse (Connect with me on LinkedIn.)

Stuck in a Creative Rut?

I'm sure many of us have experienced this: it's time to work on a project that requires a little creative thinking, but you're finding it really hard to get going, so you put it aside to work on some other menial tasks that you deem more pressing at the time. And you're probably getting a little stressed out because you just can't seem to get out of your creative rut.

If you've ever found yourself in this situation, I strongly suggest that you check out this article, "Getting Around the Block," by Laura Sommers, on the VMSD.com website. It turns out that creator's block isn't your fault! It's actually due to your brain's physiological response to the stress you're feeling about not being able to create.

I won't get into the details here. You can read the article for that, but what I will share is what I found most interesting -that there are warning signs that your creative brain is starting to be taken over by your instinctual brain.

If you find yourself

• postponing starting the project,
• starting the project and suddenly "needing" to do five other things first,
• sitting down and then popping out of your chair,
• looking for answers at the water cooler or refrigerator,
• staying busy with less meaningful or lower priority tasks,
• endless research beyond what's really needed,
• trying to involve others or dumping it on someone else's desk,
• being critical of yourself,
• being critical of others, or
• feeling rigid, not being open to new ideas,

odds are that you're either already in or on your way to a creative funk.

So how does one get out of it? Well, you'll just have to read the article to find out!


-- Larry Myer (Connect with me on LinkedIn.)

Maximum Impact Retail Fixtures

According to this article on the New York Times website, it seems that retailers are taking to smaller spaces to sell their wares. Some brands, like Nike, are rolling out more compact prototypes. Others, like Anchor Blue, are partitioning off areas of their current stores to reduce their selling space.

The reasons for the shrinkage are many, but one thing's certain: smaller stores call for smartly-designed retail fixtures. And that brought to mind an article that F.C. Dadson put together a while back called "Maximum Impact Fixturing." Here's an excerpt:

Fixtures as function.
Beyond looking good, fixtures serve a purpose. From point-of-sale to merchandising and everything in between, you want to make sure your fixtures are performing to the max. Building in functional details is one way to keep your fixtures working for you. Work surfaces and storage areas can be stylishly incorporated or cleverly hidden in a fixture. Adding literature racks or interactive media screens to merchandising pieces not only allows consumers to see the product but learn about it as well.

If you're looking to increase the function of your fixture design, consider going modular. Modular components allow a fixture to change with your needs. So when that hot, new product comes in, you can essentially create a new fixture to display it.

For more ideas to maximize your fixtures' impact, check out the rest of the article at FCDadson.com.


-- Liz Blohm

Lessons Learned at the West Coast Franchise Expo

The franchise industry is like a little community where everyone knows -or at least knows someone who knows- everyone else. That's why I like attending franchise conferences and trade shows. I know I'll connect with old friends and make new acquaintances, and last week's West Coast Franchise Expo didn't disappoint in either department.

Talking with people at the show, however, it seemed not every franchisor was enjoying the same success. At first I thought that's just how it goes at shows -sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But is that really true? Thinking about it more on my flight home, it became clear that's not exactly right.

In fact, I discovered two major commonalities among those franchise concepts that were finding the show successful when I talked with them:

1. They were all based on or near the West Coast.
2. They had all mentioned that they had spent time prior to the show encouraging prospective franchisees to come to the show.

We always hear about how important brand recognition is for business. It turns out that it's also good for franchise expos. The local attendees had likely heard of most of the West Coast-based concepts prior to stepping foot on the show floor. They may have even visited a location or utilized their services before. This previous experience and knowledge likely made attendees more apt to stop by these concepts.

Now that doesn't mean that non-local franchise concepts are automatically going to have a less successful show experience. The second commonality, promoting your appearance at the show, plays a large part as well -especially for those brands with weaker recognition among attendees. Reaching out to prospective attendees beforehand gives any franchise -regardless of where they are based- the opportunity to introduce their concept and entice attendees to stop by their booth to continue the conversation.

I learned a lot of things at this year's West Coast Franchise Expo, but this one was big: brand recognition goes a long way, but targeted pre-show promotion can take you just as far, if not further.


-- Troy Schwehr (Connect with me on LinkedIn.)

Retail on Wheels

Move over, food trucks, there's another brand of mobile business hitting the road. According to this article featured on Entrepreneur.com, some enterprising retailers are choosing to go mobile with their merchandise.

While still quite new and novel, these retail trucks do offer an allure and certain benefits just not found in the bricks-and-mortar setting. To start, mobile retailers can do away with costly rent payments and outfit a vehicle for a portion of the price. They also have the freedom to go to where the customers are, and their visibility increases the opportunity for enticing impulse purchases. Plus, just like how food trucks are the new "it" thing in their industry, mobile retailers are often seen as being cool and trendy in their uniqueness.

To counter the benefits, there are some drawbacks too like certain government regulations that bricks-and-mortar concepts don't typically have to deal with. It may be too early to say whether retail on wheels will really go far, but retail concepts ranging from national companies all the way to small artsy-types have given it a try, and it doesn't seem to be going away.

First online and now on-wheels, bricks-and-mortar stores are facing some stiff competition. Now more than ever, it's incredibly important for traditional retailers to continue to create compelling reasons for customers to step into their stores. Product selection is part of it, but an even bigger part is the overall experience -and that's certainly something to think about when designing or redesigning a store.


-- Liz Blohm

Words to Franchise By

In "How to Build Your Dream Franchise," a slide show featured on Inc.com, Zane Tankel, CEO of Apple-Metro (An Applebee's franchise company in the NYC area), shares some wisdom for achieving franchising success.

It starts with location -make it a good one- and being nice to your neighbors. Test something on a small scale before going big and "celebrate small victories" are two other ideas Tankel offers.

Some may call him unconventional, testing Applebee's corporate's limits every now and then, but much of what he has to say is actually quite conventional in its thinking. To check out what else he had to offer, click here for the full slide show.


-- Liz Blohm

F.C. Dadson Goes West

F.C. Dadson is almost ready to close the books on another successful trade show season -but not before we head west one last time for the West Coast Franchise Expo later this week and the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference next week.

Having participated in the West Coast Franchise Expo for a few years, we know first-hand the value this show brings to franchisors, potential franchisees, and even industry suppliers. Starting this Friday, Nov. 5, the Expo will bring hundreds of franchise concepts to the Los Angeles Convention Center for 3 days of education, exhibition, and networking with thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners. Franchising has shown resiliency during the downturn and continues to be a popular option for those aspiring to open their own businesses. If you're on the West Coast and interested in franchising, this show is a can't miss!

The Restaurant Finance & Development Conference rolls into Las Vegas's Bellagio Hotel Monday, Nov. 8, and with it comes thousands of restaurant operators and industry suppliers. Complete with keynote speeches, educational sessions, and a "Finance & Development Mall" where F.C. Dadson will be exhibiting with our friends at Javelin Solutions, this show is sure to bring value to all who attend.

Will you be attending either show? Are you interested in learning more about F.C. Dadson's cost-effective and time-saving build out solutions while you're there? Give us a call at (800)728-0338 prior to the shows to set up an appointment.


-- Liz Blohm