When franchisees join a franchise network, they expect guidance and support to navigate the waters of their new venture.
One of the best ways a franchisor can ensure that their franchisee finds a firm footing and succeeds is to ensure there is an engaged and strong support system in place.
A robust support system in a franchise is built not just to ensure that the franchisee gets the guidance they need. It also helps strengthen the franchisor’s business too. However, the primary objective of it is to assure franchises that they have good support and aren’t functioning in isolation. This is also why a prospective franchisee needs to pay close attention to the Franchise Disclosure Document, have detailed discussions with the prospective franchisee as well as with other franchisees in the network.
This will give them a clearer idea of the kind of support they can expect from their franchisor. While the idea of being part of a successful franchise can be quite exhilarating, you need to ensure that the company actually has a solid support system in place for their franchisees. It’s also crucial to know how the franchise is investing its resources and which areas it’s emphasising on.
It’s important to keep in view that the size and type of franchise company has a lot to do with the level of support you, as the franchisee receives. However, here are some of the basic things that should be in place:
The franchisor needs to provide training in every aspect of the business. There should be a comprehensive training programme that includes aspects such as business and finance-related systems, guidance on techniques that can be used in advertising and marketing, and staff management and recruitment. These programs can span a few days to a few weeks and could include theoretical instruction and/or on-the-job training.
Location has a lot to do with the success of a franchise. This makes it important for the franchisor to work closely with you to help you select a site that would be most suitable for your business. They should also be able to guide you in regards to lease negotiations.
As a franchisee, you are required to contribute to the funds used for advertising and marketing. This is why the franchisor needs to provide a detailed plan that includes everything from marketing for the grand opening, to all the promotional & brand building campaigns. You need to ensure that the franchisor would provide marketing initiatives that cover regional as well as local plans. In addition, the franchisor should provide a range of professional marketing materials including banners, flyers, brochures, posters and more.
As a franchisee, you need get a detailed operations manual that includes every aspect of how you need to run the business.
Most well-established franchise companies will have a properly structured support system. There will be field service consultants as well as specialised personnel at the head office that will touch base with the franchises and assist with all types of technology, training, and marketing as required. You should have access to the head office any time you need concerns addressed or queries answered.
In addition to all the support you get from the franchisor, you should be sure that you will receive support from other franchisees within the system. It’s a great way to gain a better understanding of the business and also exchange ideas with peers.
If you want to know more about franchising, feel free to get in touch with us at The Franchise Institute. You can call us on 1300 855 435 or fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as we can.
Thanks for reading,
The Franchise Institute Team
1300 855 435
