FRANCHISE ADVICE
What makes a good franchisor
Alan Wilkinson on how to identify a strong and ethical business that goes beyond skin deep
O
ver the past few months of lockdown, we have seen some truly amazing efforts from
franchisors in supporting their franchisee networks and head office teams. It is true to say that the effect of the pandemic on business has been sector- specific, however the best franchisors, no matter what industry they are in, have gone above and beyond what they might normally have done. And they have done so in order to make the most of the situation. As an example, a tutoring
franchise, that had previously been purely face to face, in the home, has adapted its processes, and now offers all tutoring online. The franchise was hit badly when this year's GCSE and A Level exams were cancelled. In response, head office implemented weekly video meetings with every franchisee and worked hard on providing support for the network. The company is now in a position where over the summer period, when traditionally business would have been quiet, it is about to have the best billing months for this time of year on record.
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In addition, whereas new franchisees would typically have had to find their own tutors locally to them, this new way of working will allow a new franchisee to tap into the existing pool of tutors, as location, when working online, is no longer relevant. Another great initiative that
we have seen is a franchisor, who’s health and fitness business has been totally closed through lockdown, started a weekly coffee morning on zoom for his whole network of franchisees. There were only two rules. They must have coffee, and they could not talk about business. This hugely improved relationships in the business, with franchisees and the franchisor getting to know each other much better than they did before. We did something similar
at The Franchising Centre, replacing our usual quarterly face-to-face meeting with a weekly ‘Catch Up Tuesday’ video conference. We too set a balance between talking about personal issues, what we had been doing at the weekend etc, as well as keeping up to date with clients and business. Clearly there are many
businesses, both franchised and
non-franchised that have had to make changes, develop new Covid Secure working practices, and adapt their offerings in order to survive. The franchisors and the businesses that will bounce back the best, are those that have been putting in the extra effort to adapt systems, and offer far more support than previously to their networks. My experience has shown that
those franchisors who already had good systems and good relationships with their network have maintained and improved support structures. The businesses that come out of this the strongest will be the ones who adapt, learn and share best practice, whilst maintaining excellent communication with their networks. Franchising has always
provided a robust, proven and stable platform upon which to build a sustainable future and grow a business. So what should you consider
when looking at franchising? When we look at a business that wants to franchise, or indeed when a prospective franchisee looks at a franchise concept they are interested in, we should consider what we call ‘Five Star Franchising’.
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