Tips for great franchising – part 4

Award-winning advisors Franchize Consultants launched their Franchising Best Practice 500 three issues ago, and are now well into the project. Here’s a summary of ten more best practices – you can find them in full, along with all the previous tips, at franchize.co.nz.

19. Technology plan

Technology has the power to inform, innovate, improve or disrupt a business. Having a technology plan is vital for sustainable franchising – assisting decisions, roadmaps, and change management plans (including franchisee engagement and collaboration).

20. Measure and manage customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is critical for business and franchise networks. Measuring customer satisfaction should be high-priority for franchisors and franchisees.  

21. Clear field visit objectives

Each field visit needs to have clear objectives to maximise its potential and drive impactful outcomes. If you have multiple field managers, objectives harness efficiencies and help deliver coordinated support.

22. Field managers as business consultants

Field managers need to wear many hats. They need help, training and data to transition towards adding a business consultant’s role, capable of engaging with and influencing franchisees at a ‘business’ level.

23. Franchise support office structure 

The franchise support office structure needs to be aligned with your situation and strategy to ensure you have the capacity and capability to provide great franchisee support and complete all the necessary functions.

24. Work with valid data

“Garbage in, garbage out” is a phrase from computer science. Best practice franchisors ensure data collected for use in decision-making and franchisee benchmarking is valid.

25. Communication and support

Franchise systems need to have a long-term franchisee communication and support plan that details what will happen when and includes areas like conferences and meetings, field visits, ongoing training, business planning, assessments, awards, news and updates.

26. Being detailed and specific – leadership

A franchisor leader needs to take care to be sufficiently detailed and specific in their communications with franchisees, whether by email, face-to-face discussion, presentation, agreements or follow-up.

27. Updated franchisee profile

Our experiences show that recruiting ‘great’ rather than just ‘good’ franchisees creates substantially better outcomes for franchisors and franchisees alike. Selecting to a regularly-updated franchisee profile is crucial. 

28. Clear field visit purpose

The underlying purpose for field visits (in general) needs to be clear for franchisees, field managers, and franchisors. Are visits for sales management, compliance, training or improving franchisee profit, or all of these and more? This impacts many decisions. 

29. Maintaining franchising focus

Franchisors operate in two business arenas: the original (finding and satisfying customers) and the business of franchising itself. This introduces different factors that need to be understood, configured, and executed. A focus needs to be maintained on both as business and franchising environments change.

More detail

Dr Callum Floyd, managing director of Franchize Consultants, says, ‘Great franchises develop over time by paying attention to all these details. For more detail on these best practice insights, go to our website.’

Contact details for Franchize Consultants

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