The single greatest predictor of a franchisees success is the quality of the relationship with the franchisor. The more effective a franchise is at sharing its expertise, the greater the possibility an individual franchisee.

One of the items auctioned for charity Saturday was a Pete Rose autographed bat. Pat Hunt (right) was the winning bidder. Hunt then presented the bat to Cincinnati native and 2006 Franchisee of the Year Ken Schimpf (left).

ColorTyme wrapped its annual convention in Cincinnati, Ohio Saturday with a black-tie dinner and dance (see photo galleries). In addition to a successful convention, ColorTyme franchisees raised over $30,000 for the company's adopted charity, Kids Across America.

ColorTyme announced that, beginning in 2008, the National Convention will not include a product tradeshow but will have opportunities for vendors to present to franchisees. The 2008 Convention will be held at the historic Sagamore on Lake George in New York.

There has been an increasingly aggressive re-imaging of physical locations in the Rent to Own industry in an effort to give consumers a more retail-like shopping experience. ColorTyme introduced a new look to franchisees at this year's convention. Company President Bob Bloom told RTO Online during a podcast interview (Listen) Saturday in Cincinnati, "It's a completely new design." Bloom said the first newly redesigned stores will be open in the next few weeks - The first in Queensbury, New York, and another in Rockland, Maine.

John Blair, CM Jewelry Manufacturing, at the ColorTyme tradeshow in Cincinnati, Ohio. ColorTyme announced that, beginning in 2008, the National Convention will not include a product tradeshow, but will have opportunities for vendors to present to franchisees.

ColorTyme will utilize slightly different designs for different regions of the country. "Different parts of the country have different cultures," said Bloom. "Our philosophy is, 'Your Hometown ColorTyme'. We believe your store should reflect your trade area. A store in Maine will look different than a store in Texas or California." Bloom said there will be common elements, but it's critical to adapt to the local consumer.

Bloom believes competition and an evolving recognition of customer needs is driving the industry wide re-imaging. "I believe our customers have always wanted to shop in a retail environment," he said. Bloom said Rent-Center, ColorTyme's parent company, began the trend in the 1990's and the current changes are needed for the industry to better serve its customers.

Feedback from franchisees is an important element of any franchisor's evolution. ColorTyme recently contracted with FranSurvey, a company specializing in measuring franchisee satisfaction in various industries, to complete its first ever in-depth survey. 78% of ColorTyme franchisees participated in the survey.

In addition to a successful convention, ColorTyme franchisees raised over $30,000 for the company's adopted charity, Kids Across America. Among the items auctioned for charity were two jerseys signed by "The hit king" Pete Rose, shown here on stage with ColorTyme president Bob Bloom.

According to FranSurvey, the single greatest predictor of a franchisees success is the quality of the relationship with the franchisor. The more effective a franchise is at sharing its expertise, the greater the possibility an individual franchisee will be successful. FranSurvey was designed to give a fair and unbiased evaluation of how effectively a company supports its franchisees.

Because FranSurvey operates across industry lines, ColorTyme was able to compare its performance to other industries. Bloom said ColorTyme scored in the top 10% of all franchise companies ever tested by FranSurvey. "We did very well," said Bloom. "But the purpose of the survey was to identify areas for improvement." Franchisees spent four hours Saturday reviewing survey results and giving more specific feedback. As a result, ColorTyme identified ten specific initiatives, some of which explained Bloom, will be implemented immediately.

One surprising result of the survey was that 80% of franchisees are happy with the company's marketing. Bloom said this is a credit to Amy Woods, ColorTyme's Director of Marketing. "That is a phenomenal score," said Bloom. He added that, according to Jeff Johnson, owner of FranSurvey, 80% is "off the map relative to other franchisors."

What is the most important thing ColorTyme does to insure the success of its franchisees? "Getting all the franchisees together to talk about the business," said Bloom. Franchisees agree. Ken Schimpf, 2006 Franchisee of the year, said in his remarks during the convention's general session "The ability to meet with other owners and share ideas is priceless."

Listen to RTO Online's podcast interview with ColorTyme President Bob Bloom from the 2007 ColorTyme National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.