If you are looking to franchise your business, or to increase the number of people interested in becoming a franchisee, it is important to consider what you are offering. While franchisees will look at which franchises will be profitable, they also look at what support will be provided to them, the scope for learning and development and franchises that make them feel part of a larger network. It seems like franchisees make good choices, with a recent survey by the Natwest demonstrating that over 90% of franchisees in the UK are happy with their franchisor, with one-third of franchisees going on to take out additional franchise units.
When you are a franchisor, you have the potential to greatly influence the success of your franchisees’ business. That is a lot of responsibility. However, the way you work with and support your franchisees can make all the difference to the profitability of your business as a whole, and to how many people which to take on a franchise under your brand name. In this post, we look at some of the ways you can become a franchisor franchisees want to work with to make your franchise one of the most attractive business opportunities in your sector.
Be communicative with franchisees
Keeping lines of communication open and speaking to franchisees regularly can make all the difference to the success of a franchisee’s business. This means more than sending a group email every so often or making a quarterly phone call. It is easy to contact franchisees by email, text message or messenger service to make it feel personal. You should also aim to visit franchisees to check in with them.
Creating a strong relationship can help franchisees to feel both motivated and supported.
Yes, visits are important
Taking the time to visit your franchises makes them feel valued, motivated and supported. However, it also gives you the opportunity to check that standards are being maintained and to offer support where they are falling below what is expected. You can speak to franchisees and their employees to uncover any issues at an early stage before they begin to affect the performance of the franchise. No one likes to feel like they are being watched or examined, so keeping a good and collaborative working relationship is vital.
Develop a good relationship
When franchising your business UK, should genuinely want your franchisees to succeed, and communicate with them honestly and openly about how to do so. The relationship should feel collaborative and you should strive to build mutual trust and respect. Where your franchisees trust that you want them to do well, they will be more engaged in the business and more likely to continue to run a profitable franchise.
Provide a high-quality training program
Many franchisees choose to invest in a franchise business because they do not have much experience in running a business. In most circumstances, they assume they will be provided with support and training to run their new business. As a result, a comprehensive training program is essential to attracting and retaining the best franchisees.
Initial training is important, so you should invest time and money into making sure it is as good as it can be. Get feedback from previous franchisees and continually improve the initial training program where you identify issues or weaknesses.
Furthermore, ongoing training is important too. Ongoing training ensures that your franchisees and their team members are fully informed and up-to-date with any changes to the business, products, the market you operate in or best practice. Highly-trained franchisees are exceptionally valuable to your business. They understand your business model, they live your business values and they can drive profitability as a result of an excellent understanding of your business goals. Training shouldn’t be seen as an overhead, but an investment. With a team of reliable and well-trained franchisees, you can focus on growing and developing your business.
Excellent marketing support
Most franchisors conduct national marketing campaigns – with some being more successful than others. National marketing campaigns raise awareness of the brand as a whole and are beneficial to the entire network of franchisees. The key benefits of national campaigns for franchisees is that they attract business at a level that a small, local business could not, and can create a steady stream of loyal customers for your franchisees.
In addition to national campaigns, you can also help your franchisees to market at a local level. You can create templates of successful campaigns for them to model and use in their local area, saving them time and allowing them to focus on running a business.
Ready to franchise your business UK?
If you are looking to franchise your business or find more franchisees, take a look around the Infinity Business Growth Network Franchise Consultants UK website today for more tips on franchising your business.
