Buying a franchise means investing in a business with existing systems to help you run it effectively. And that’s one of the things that make franchising so attractive. But aside from a working business model, what else can you expect from your franchisor? Continue reading to find out.
When Does the Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship Begin?
Before diving into what to anticipate, let’s discuss when you can start expecting things from your franchisor. The relationship between you and your franchisor begins when you pay the upfront franchise fee. This fee makes you a member of that company.
And as a member of a franchise, there are some things you can expect the franchisor to provide, especially when you consider that you will be paying monthly royalties…for the entire duration of your franchise contract.
Below are three important things you can expect from your franchise company:
1. Good Support
What do we mean when we say good support? Let’s give you an example.
Franchisee: “Hello, this is Adams Taylor in Newark. My POS terminal is not responding, and I’m running a huge promotion in my local area today. How can you help me?
Franchise representative: “Oh! We are sorry to hear that. Let me connect you with one of our IT technicians immediately.”
Franchisee: “I will be waiting. Thank you.”
IT staff member: “Hello, Adams. I was told your POS terminal has refused to respond. Let’s see if I will be able to fix the issue for you straight away.”
Franchisee: Thank you. Please, I need this done today.”
The issue was fixed a few minutes later. That’s the kind of support you should expect to get from your franchisor.
Note: In an ideal world, that is how your franchisor should act and support you if you’re facing any issues in your business.
But remember that we are not in a perfect world. So, you may have to exercise patience until a solution can be found in a situation like the one we described above. You also need to note that some issues are complicated and will take a longer time to fix.
In essence, support from your parent franchise company should be as good and as quick as possible
2. Innovation
Your franchisor should constantly be looking for ways to improve its offerings and create new ones. This will help freshen things up and provide new profit opportunities for franchisees under their umbrella.
McDonald’s is a good example of an innovative franchise brand when you look at the number of new products they have produced through the years.
Although not all McDonald’s innovations have been a hit for their franchisees, many of them have, such as the double drive-thru concept. Another example of a franchisor’s innovation that is likely to be a game changer is Taco Bell’s latest restaurant design, which includes four drive-up windows.
Lastly, when researching franchise opportunities to invest in, make sure to ask the executives of each company you are interested in what they have coming up. This will give you an idea of how innovative they are and help you know the products or services your franchise may be offering in the future.
3. Top-notch Technology
You should also expect the franchisor to provide you with cutting-edge technology. This is because you need access to great technology to keep up with your competitors.
Let’s assume that you are a restaurant franchise owner. Your online food ordering system has to be fast, simple to use, and able to handle a lot of customers, especially at those times when orders usually peak.
Bear in mind that today’s consumers don’t like to wait. A few minutes of delay, no matter the cause, can make a customer exit your application or website in no time and order in another restaurant.
Aside from your online ordering system, the marketing technology used by your franchise business has to be fetching you money.
For instance, does your franchise company provide technology to collect customer phone numbers and email addresses that can be used for future promotions and follow-up? We hope that they do because your competitors have it.
In summary, before buying your dream franchise, there are many things you need to find out regarding what a franchisor provides to its franchisees.
