Working together as one is the key to a successful franchise.
Franchising is first and foremost a means of doing business – a means of getting products and services to market.
BUT it is also more than that.
Franchising is also about relationship between people and relationships between the individual and the corporate.
The franchise model allows people to enter a new business and acquire its established knowledge/skills base. When this is coupled with the energy, diligence and dedication of the franchisee, the outcome should be an excellent return on investment and an appropriate reward for the time and effort invested.
Franchising success critically hinges on the synergy between people. It works best when franchisees and franchisors understand and accept their respective roles.
Franchisor responsibilities
The franchisor is accountable for the development and management of operating systems. They need to ensure that changes in the marketplace are anticipated, taking action to safeguard the market share and earning capacity of franchisees.
The franchisor is also responsible for delivering a proven business system, brand identity, trademarks and a support package.
Starting your own business, you would be responsible for every aspect that business.
The franchisor however, provides experience, knowhow, sales training, technical guidelines, procurement support and creates the marketing assets and tools for the franchisees.
Franchisee responsibilities
In turn, the franchisee is entrusted with building and nurturing relationships with customers. Using the system, methods and training provided by the franchisor they carve, capture and maintain a loyal and satisfied customer base. It is the franchisee who provides the end user with value and thereby justifies the existence of the whole system.
Partnership approach
It is important to recognise that without an effective partnership between the franchisor and franchisee the model can fall apart. Neither party will benefit, and customers and staff will suffer. To this end franchising is truly a ‘marriage’.
A franchisee who finds it difficult to accept the core ethos of franchising will never derive the full benefits. For example, a prospect who prefers to go their own way, a person who likes to start from scratch or shuns teamwork will find that the model is not for them.
Mavericks have their place in business and entrepreneurs are critical to a country’s commercial development and to driving GDP growth.
However, in franchising mavericks are like fish out of water.
Success through relationships
The strength of the relationship comes to the fore when a franchisor builds and develops a business format which franchisees can use to great effect over the long term.
Ongoing success can be realised when the body of franchisees achieve strong results in their individual businesses and the franchisor provides overall vision and direction, drawing on input from the franchisees.
Successful franchising requires interdependence between franchisor and franchisee. It allows the franchisor to retain – with the full blessing of franchisees – total and complete responsibility for the system.
The franchisor has to take the longer-term view and take ownership for the combined interests of all its franchisees. A franchise relationship can develop into a big family, with all the associated characteristics: sometimes frustrating, sometimes totally rewarding – but always with a common goal.