The Ethics of Franchising
By
VendorSeek
Engaging in a franchise opportunity can be a terrific and exciting business venture. The process accentuates all of the positive aspects of working and virtually eliminates all of the negatives. One can be the boss and make money through an already pre-established, successful business with a name that the general public recognizes. A business insight to remember is that internal relations should be as smooth and agreeable as external relations with existing and potential customers.
Besides the customers (which are the livelihood of the business) there are other players in the game that need to be focused upon. Regional representatives, vendors, other franchisees, and especially the franchisor are all people that a franchisee needs to foster an excellent rapport with. Though owning a franchise means that you have branched out and have become your own boss, it is not encouraged to attempt to keep as little ties as possible to the franchise. There is a great deal of information and experience that the franchisor will have under their belt which can only help your own business.
Directors Directors are usually used in the system to work as a liaison between the franchisors and the franchisees. They can work at a local, regional, or state level depending on how popular or spread out the franchise is. These people most likely will have heard and dealt with any problem that may arise in your own sector of the franchise. Conversely, directors would also like to hear feedback because it will only aid in promoting the success and functioning of the franchise as a whole and at all levels.
Recommending you for promotional or product testing is an advantageous aspect of keeping good relations with a director. If the director feels that you are a team player and heavily involved in the business, they can mention you when the franchisor is ready to develop a plan for testing new products or offering new promotions. The process usually involves the money to be invested by the franchise, so it will not cost a franchisee anything in being a host to the process. Even if the project fails, new customers will have been generated, media attention would have been drawn to your store/s, and literature would have been released. All of those factors contributing to free publicity for your business.
It is noted that over fifty-percent of new products fail, but the failure is the franchises not yours alone. A failed product would ruin for an entrepreneur starting out on their own. Being a part of a franchise means that there is room for experimentation without complete liability tied to a failure.
Franchisor Most of the time there is a rift in the relationship between 'big' businesspeople and 'smaller' businesspeople. It is almost as if they do not speak the same language due to the different ways in which their businesses are conducted. A franchise system aligns big and small businesspeople. The franchisor depends on the franchisee to be a part of the whole business and vice versa. There are many reasons why both parties would like to have a positive, ongoing relationship. Though you, as the franchisee, are separate from the franchisor, you both are virtually on the same team. Having a good relationship creates a win-win situation for you both. They may ask for your help on certain projects that would cost them more money if they had to outsource for the project. You want to tap into their experience and learn what to do and what not to do to make your stores and the franchise as a whole more successful.
Other Affiliates There are vendors, office staff, and other consultants affiliated with the franchise needed to be treated with respect as well. These people are all a part of the system and having a good relationship with them will only serve to your benefit.
Office workers have the ability to make things go very expediently for you if they want. There may be a plethora of agendas going on at the same time, but if you are on good terms with them, they may take the extra minute to get your signature, make the fax, etc. There will be a lot of franchisees calling in to headquarters with concerns whose time is worth that of yours, but if you are on good terms with the office staff, your life will be less stressful. Vendors are usually looking to serve a high volume, so highly personalized service from them may not be a reality. This does not mean that there should not be a relationship initiated with them. Invite them into your store or talk to them about pertinent business aspects. They may have some insightful tips for you and being exposed to your store may help them better serve you and the system as a whole.
Consultants work on billable hours and are looking for information to relay to the franchise headquarters. These people are outlets to the franchisor so you want to be truthful and respectful to them. Since these are businesspeople that most likely are being paid a high fee per hour, it is in your best interest to be a team player to the franchise system and work with them as efficiently as possible. A wealth of franchise information can be found on the web with a little searching. Franchise.com is a nice site that provides a robust directory of franchises. You can easily request information from specific franchises at franchisefetch.com.
Show Team Spirit Depending on the size of the franchise, you may or may not have the opportunity of direct contact with the original franchisor. This does not mean that it is not good work ethic to show some team spirit. There are many things that you can do to show some initiative and that you enjoy being a part of a larger system. The following are little and large ways to employ some spirit:
- Sponsor a local sports team
- Create website devoted to helping other franchisees (relaying tips and success stories)
- Look into other areas of expansion and relate the information to the head office
- Visit other franchisees and give feedback and relate positive experiences back to the head office
- Start informal to formal meetings with other area franchisees
- Offer to help when other franchisees may be short staffed or on vacation
- Make referrals to vendors and other people in the system alerting them of other franchisees
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