Franchise Management

Franchise Management & Support
For Your Franchisees

Value Of Your Franchise

After marketing a franchise system successfully, a good franchisor will provide meaningful support and guidance to the new franchise partners on a consistent basis. The value of a franchise model should add up to much more than just the collection of a franchise fee. There should be substantial value 6 months, 2 years and even 10 years into the franchise relationship. Like any marketing or sales model, it is much more efficient and profitable for a franchisor to retain happy, profitable franchisees than to continue going out and looking for new ones! The most important point we can stress to clients new to the franchise business is to never look at a franchise candidate for the value of the franchise fee, when and if that becomes your priority you will most likely have a short lifespan in the franchise marketplace.

Managing a franchise system requires skillful technique and a great deal of carefully thought out planning.

 The most effective franchise models utilize the following elements of business:

Technology

In today’s business marketplace, it is essential that a franchisor embrace the tools and systems available to them from a technology standpoint. With ever-increasing technological capabilities and standards, great technology is available at a fraction of the price for most Franchisors. Franchise Genesis has an array of partners and referrals for literally every element of franchise-related technology.

Professionalism

Having spent a great deal of time working with entrepreneurs and working with literally hundreds of small business owners, we have seen our fair share of unprofessional business acumen. It is understandable that most small business people live life on their own terms and have a great deal of pride in what they have accomplished. The tricky element of franchising is that now the business owner will need to be polished, professional and always have their best foot forward when dealing with franchisees. Franchise owners do not have the personality or the conviction that most entrepreneurs do, if they see a crack, they will assume the foundation is crumbling. As a Franchisor, you cannot overlook the “small stuff”.

Creativity

A franchisee is continually reassessing their involvement in a franchise model. It is the never ending question of, “why am I paying for this?” As a franchisor, it is our responsibility to continually answer that question with new ideas, insightful business strategy and a helping hand when needed. The most effective franchise models are ones that are not a “one trick pony”. The business is well developed, has a solid management team, is forward-thinking and provides and unending stream of innovative and out of the box ideas to help the franchisees improve their bottom line and make their daily lives more efficient. McDonald’s is a wonderful example of this being done the right way.

Partnerships

Everyone loves a discount and a “Friend in the Business”. It is a franchisor’s responsibility to find what needs the franchisees have on a regular basis, and then research what resources there are to assist with those needs. This comes by way of strategic partnerships and alliances with outside vendors and companies. If a franchise system is utilizing a large amount of printed materials, the franchisor better find a quality printing partner for example. These partnerships and alliances are great ways to continually add value to the franchisee’s business and will undoubtedly harbor happy and secure franchisees.

Communication

As a big powerful franchisor, it can sometimes be easy to forget about the other side of the coin. A franchisee typically will have a much different perspective on things than the franchisor does. Good franchise management requires looking at scenarios and situations from all angles and taking those into account when making impactful decisions. Good Franchisors are on the phone with their franchisees and have a relationship with them outside of the legal bindings of the UFDD. Never assume that a franchisee is going to be “good to go” for the life of the term because their signature is on the agreement. Picking up the phone is a great way to manage relationships with franchisees.

10 Tips for Effective Franchise Management

Being a great Franchisor is not just about lending your brand to new business owners. You are now the center of company culture and can grow your brand by properly supporting each franchisee's new business under your brand design. By providing guidance, support, centralized business services, and the benefits of an established business model, each franchisee strengthens you and your brand network.

Communicate Effectively & Lead by Example

Communication is the key to collaboration in franchise management. If franchisees are to duplicate  your initial success, they need to know the secret sauce. That means open communication and strategy sharing as each new franchise location spins up. Establish a culture of open communication, and you will have an easier time managing a network of franchises and encouraging all locations to help each other.



Introductory and Annual Training

Provide training to your franchisees on how to recreate your brand experience. You are the franchise core and the source of the success that each new franchisee wants to build on. Teach them your processes and best practices, and how to apply those in the daily operations of their franchise. 
Online recorded and live virtual training make this even easier, with fewer days spent training on-site and in-person.



Make Use of Technology

Technology for franchise management has evolved significantly in the last decade. Franchisors can now manage and guide their network of franchisees through responsive dashboards, communication platforms, and supplier chains. Using the right software stack can simplify operations and provide optimal tools for franchise management.

The right technology can help you handle everything from legal documents to supply orders across your franchisee network.



Provide Support

Unfortunate things can happen to a franchisee, like natural disasters, market shifts, or supply chain interruptions. Be prepared to handle these situations when they occur. Set aside funds and prepare policies that can help your franchisees in times of trouble. A disaster fund, business loan programs, or reserve supplies can make a real difference when the need arises and strengthen your network overall.



State Clear Goals

Make sure every franchise is in the loop and knows what the overall goals are. Clearly break down the roles of franchisor and franchisee. If your brand is leaning toward green, share incentives to make eco-friendly site improvements, and publish the results. If you plan a product release, every franchisee should be prepared to roll out their local ad campaign. Good franchise management involves stating goals that align the team to move in unison, even though many different private franchise owners manage them.



Reward Performance and Innovation

Once your goals are stated, begin recognizing great work from your franchisees. Reward high performance and provide recognition for franchisees that have mastered or even improved on the business model. Also, constantly keep your eye out for innovation. Invite franchisees to share on-the-ground ideas about how to improve the model locally or globally and any cool tricks they came up with along the way.
Consider developing an annual awards ceremony for best-performing franchises, milestones, the most valuable team members, and much more to ensure your best performers and Innovators know they are valued.



Conduct Transparent Audits

Audit your franchises regularly to ensure they are operating smoothly, that there are no uncaught or unreported problems, and that the franchisees are brand-aligned. Help your franchisees break stereotypes and see audits as a tool to promote cross-brand success. Audits aren't "gotcha" hunting but an opportunity to showcase great performance and promote local innovations.



Conduct Market Trials with Your Franchise Network

Market trials are a great tool, and franchises make them easy to implement. Use your entire franchisee network to stagger product releases, try out different ad campaigns in separate communities, and conduct other market trials with simple coordination. Most franchisees will enjoy participating in the trial and would like to see the results.



Invite and Implement Feedback

Good franchise management runs on improvements based on feedback from the network. Feedback is a welcome and integral part of your franchise company culture. Ask for feedback, invite it once or several times a year, and then act on it. Your franchisees are seeing how your business model functions across several neighborhoods and marketplaces and are working with your internal tools daily. Feedback is essential to guarantee that your business is improving and growing every year.

Not only is feedback useful, but your franchisees will feel more invested when they see their feedback implemented.



Create a Culture of Innovation

Lastly, always be innovative. Look for the latest tech attuned to your needs and watch for opportunities to upgrade your franchise business model in every operation. Franchisees are an excellent resource for innovation because each multiplies the number of people implementing, thinking about, and shopping with your brand as each new location opens for business.


How Can Our Team Help You?

Franchise Genesis provides guidance and hands-on franchise management services. With over ten years experience working with franchisees directly and managing networks, the Franchise Genesis team provides intuitive and effective franchise management assistance.


Franchise Genesis is a group of franchise marketing specialists who understand and have experience marketing and selling business opportunities to qualified franchise or license partners.

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