Insight
Suzie McCafferty Managing director at Platinum Wave
“The lack of certainty over what is or isn’t going to happen has seen a fall in house sales, car sales and holiday sales, and fewer people moving jobs. “In uncertain times we become
more risk-averse and lots of people are, temporarily at least,
shelving any big plans. “But as the dust settles and the uncertainty clears, it’s likely that we’ll see another burst of interest from prospective franchisees. “Saying that, if you’re a franchisor just sitting on your hands waiting for the wind to change, then you’re missing a huge opportunity while it’s quiet to get your marketing beaten into shape for 2020 and beyond. “Here are some things to consider… “There’s a good chance that up to
50 per cent of all searches will be voice searches (Alexa, Siri, Google Home, etc), so you need to be looking at your site optimisation and getting some long-tail keywords in there. “Personalised marketing messages
are already pretty much the norm, so if you aren’t set up to use them, consumers are unlikely to notice you. “Facebook Messenger hosts 10billion-plus messages between brands and consumers every month – how can your franchise better use social media apps like Messenger and WhatsApp in 2020 and beyond? “When’s the last time you updated your video content? A good videographer can create a whole year’s worth of content from a single day filming with you. If you stand still, even your slowest-moving competitor will eventually pass you. If we’re to be optimistic and be ready for that surge in enquiries, you’ve got to start preparing now.”
Simon Mills
Franchise consultant at Franchise Intelligence
Mike Parker
Managing director at Minster Cleaning Services
“The commercial cleaning industry is robust enough to ride the waves of uncertainty, with a few franchisees commenting that it seems almost ‘recession-proof’. “But whether it’s the recruitment of cleaners or the acquisition of new customers, businesses must find ways to overcome any future challenges by being more efficient and delighting their customers, so they remain loyal. “One prediction I would make is that, increasingly, bright young graduates will wish to run their own business to be more in control of their future. Franchising needs to continue to position itself as a solution to that opportunity.”
“My predictions for the future of the industry are: • More senior care and home services franchise brands starting
• More acquisitions of franchisors from international companies due to a weak pound
• More franchisee acquisitions of their franchisors • Changing work patterns will likely attract the attention of Generation
Euan Fraser Founder of AMO Consulting
“Franchising will continue to grow internationally with more franchisors looking overseas – once the political uncertainty clears. The same difficulties will remain: expecting too much from partners and not embedding a company representative within the country in question. “In the UK, I expect to see more
multi-unit, multi-brand operators exploiting their skills and plugging in new brands to their organisation. “I also foresee an increasing number of franchisors becoming platform companies – operating a number of franchised brands. This has been pioneered by Franchise Brands and Neighbourly but I can see more franchisors recognising the synergies between systems and exploiting them.”
Z (those born after the mid-1990s), who tend to like the freedom of franchising
• More services on demand using mobile technology
• More weight put on the culture and values of a franchisor than ever before, as candidates do thorough research before engaging with the franchisor
“What I’d like to see for the
future would be more help for new and emerging franchisors in the second and third years of their journey.”
The Franchisor | 31
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