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also serves to strengthen relations between franchisor and their franchise operators. Says Tim: “The Annual Conference and Awards dinner, which all franchisees are invited to attend with their employees and partners to discuss the marketplace and the challenges and opportunities that we face in the coming year, also presents an opportunity for those franchisees to not only forge stronger relationships within the network with their fellow franchisees, but also see our teams at head office face-to-face. “ “Also, key suppliers – call-handling services,


direct marketing and PR agencies, insurance providers and technical or product suppliers – are in attendance, enabling all franchisees to enhance their relationships with them.” Conferences also provide pro-active


franchisees with an arena to make suggestions on how products, services and operations might be improved, developed, enhanced – or even suggesting something entirely new. The McDonald’s breakfast menu, for instance, came about after a franchisee created a customised eggs Benedict which later became the Egg McMuffin. This sort of input is taken seriously by many franchisors and, indeed, is increasingly lauded as a means by which franchisees can


make a valuable contribution for the benefit of the network as a whole, and regular meetings will provide the opportunity for this contribution. (See below for other examples of franchisee’s bright ideas.) If it is all so easy, logical, sensible and


constructive, why don’t all franchisors do it? Why do some shy away from the idea and others positively discourage such a gathering? Some of the answers are obvious. Fledgling franchisors usually find it more fruitful to deal with most of their franchisees on a one-to-one basis regularly and frequently. Some franchisors, however, are simply unnerved by the idea – possibly as a result of insecurity or their apprehension may be for genuine reasons. The fear is simply that if all a company’s franchisees are under one roof they may begin to swap war stories or start complaining about the franchisor. Some of them may even form pressure groups and gain strength from their numbers; something that their franchisor may understandably feel they can do without at a particular stage of development. On the whole and almost without exception,


it has been my experience that franchisee conferences are a positive force within any


Bright SparkS


The first McDonald’s Egg McMuffin was a one-off sandwich cooked by a franchisee on their premises and later became a huge-selling breakfast item. Other companies have also found that franchisee’s innovations have significant benefits


Subway Trevor Haynes, area development manager for Subway, UK and Ireland, says: “One of the major strengths of Subway is that franchisees get the opportunity to directly influence the direction of their business. Many new ideas have come directly from franchisees and have subsequently been launched across stores nationwide. Two examples of these are Sub of the Day and the £3 lunch offer, which have both run nationally.” He adds that Subway, “seeks ambitious franchisees who embrace the entrepreneurial spirit”.


Domino’s Scotland-based franchisee Sam Geddes came up with the idea of taking Domino’s pizza to festival and event goers by means of a mobile pizza van. He says: “In the summer months, our customers


14 | www.franchisornews.co.uk


are typically making the most of the weather at various events across the country. We wanted to develop a way to continue serving their need for delicious Domino’s pizzas and worked with Domino’s head office to create a mobile unit that could bring the store to our customers, wherever they are.”


LawnHopper Stephanie Boyd, head of franchising at LawnHopper says: “After our national franchise conference a few years ago our franchisees expressed that they would like us to work on our website. We then had a complete overhaul and have had fantastic feedback from the whole network of franchisees.” Other digital innovations also came from


a franchisee: “One also suggested that we make use of the QR code; I didn’t know much about them back then, but now they’re on all of our literature because of his suggestion.”


EstatesDirect.com Commercial director, Ben Grove, says: “As a franchisee building the business I had the pleasure of valuing a £960,000 home. The vendor thought that there had to be a catch as we were, in his eyes, too cheap. We then created the Prestige brand which gives the higher end of the market a larger packet of products to accelerate the chances of finding a buyer. Another plus is that it doubles your earnings as a franchisee.”


Riverford Organic Andy and Haley Dwyer found that their average customer spend increased whenever they sent out personalised newsletters describing extras such as in-season produce. Riverford recommended the personal message approach to the rest of its franchisees. Haley comments: “Riverford promote novel


and innovative thinking from franchisees and will help, support and trial it with you.”


franchised network. They help to create an esprit de corps, encourage the commercially ambitious to reach their potential, fire up those franchisees who may be in the doldrums and motivate those who are under-performing. Franchisee conferences can be a very important tool in managing a franchised network and, as with everything else, if they are well planned and executed, can benefit all concerned. Franchisors who eschew meetings with


franchisees should be aware that they may be storing up trouble in the future and that unless they provide some forum for franchisees to air their views in an atmosphere conducive to producing a constructive outcome, they will become disgruntled and will form their own discussion groups and set their own agenda, whatever the franchisor’s view on the matter. n


AuThOr’s nOTE


Manzoor Ishani is a senior consultant solicitor with Sherrards (Solicitors), a commercial practice advising franchisors and franchisees in the UK and internationally. Tel: 01727 832 830 or email: mgi@sherrards.com


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