topicaladvice
Alison Ledger
Alison is editor of Franchisor News and Business Franchise, both official magazines of the British Franchise Association.
Alan Wilkinson Alan Wilkinson is International Franchise Consultant with The International Franchising Centre.
We are revamping our PR campaign; what are the benefits of using a PR agency in comparison to doing it on my own?
By considering a revamp, this implies that something may be wrong with the existing PR approach taken by a franchisor. It could be that they have been unsuccessful in securing publication of previous press releases, that writing them has proved too time-consuming, or that they simply lack confidence in their own PR abilities.
There are no particular rules to follow when it comes to whether franchisors should call in outside PR help. But people should consider external PR support – and this can be either from a freelance PR expert or an agency – if they lack confidence, if they expect to face controversial or sensitive issues, if they are part of an industry that is often in the media spotlight, or if the production of PR themselves is too expensive and distracting.
Assuming you decide to outsource PR, who should you use? Well, most experts agree that an agency should be employed if your annual PR budget is greater than about £10,000, while freelancers can be brought in for smaller one-off projects. Hourly and daily rates vary. Just like any other outsourcing project, you will want to create a clear brief and explore bids from several sources, weighing up their respective strengths and experience levels, their understanding of the business you’re in, as well as their different costs. And be wary of people or agencies who think that PR is the answer to everything; PR should be seen as a complement to marketing and advertising efforts, not their replacement.
I’m getting enquiries about my franchise from oversees, what should I do?
Many franchisors like the idea of having an international network, and will rush into a relationship with an international franchisee, either with a direct unit franchisee, or via a master franchise agreement. The question is, is this always the best thing for their business? The first step should be to develop an international strategy. This should include a study of the resources required to launch an international expansion programme, together with a list of target markets, ie, which countries will you pro-actively market, which countries will you react to if an enquiry comes your way, and which countries you should not consider at all.
There are a whole host of factors to consider in this development stage, many of which can be overlooked by the inexperienced international franchisor. These include, but are by no means limited to, the legal requirements of market entry, disclosure laws, cultural differences which may make the concept more, or less viable, issues regarding re-patriation of funds, supply of goods and products, language and translation barriers, etc.
This is where the services of a qualified international franchise consultant can be invaluable. International expansion can be a lucrative business if done right, but can also be an expensive mistake if not handled well. Experience suggests that launching an international network will take longer than you think, and cost more than you budgeted for, but for the right concept following the right advice, it can provide a good return on investment. n
If you would like to ask our experts a question please email
fnews@vmgl.com
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