Tweet

FranchisorFranchisee Relationship

Written by: Sebastien Page

Article Overview: Because entering into a franchise is investing in a very real, very serious relationship, you want to make sure that you're on the road to establishing a healthy franchisor/franchisee relationship.

FranchisorFranchisee Relationship

Because entering into a franchise is investing in a very real, very serious relationship, you want to make sure that you're on the road to establishing a healthy franchisor/franchisee relationship.

In an ideal franchisor/franchisee relationship, each party holds up its end of the bargain via active communication, mutual respect and common goals. As in a marriage, contracts are a necessary evil: if you have to refer back to the contract, you know your relationship has gone awry. So as to avoid pulling out the agreement, both franchisor and franchisee need to understand and honor the roles given them by the franchise agreement.

This relationship is greatly facilitated by the franchisor and the franchisee sharing a vision, maintaining professionalism, support, training and open communication. The majority of franchisor/franchisee relationships fail as a result of either the franchisee misunderstanding the franchising model or the franchisor failing to set expectations.

One of the more common mistakes is that franchisees tend to view their positions as entrepreneurial, and, while franchising does provide the opportunity for business ownership, that ownership is under the confines of an established brand name and hence under existing operating standards. Franchisees should not expect to have the creative autonomy to make changes to how business is conducted. Occasionally franchisors mistakenly view franchisees as customers rather than as partners with a common goal – namely, brand loyalty.

To avoid these kinds of pitfalls, franchisees and franchisors should ask the right questions to each other at the outset. For instance, franchisors should ask franchisees about their desire and ability to conform to the franchisor's business model/operating system, and franchisees should review the franchisor's finances and business plan as well as discuss satisfaction levels with current and former franchisees.

Related Articles
  3 Easy Ways To Having A Meaningful Relationship
  Business Friendships
  Stress-Free Selling® - The Fastest Way to Build a Relationship
  Be the Person you Seek!
  3 Easy Ways to Shape-up Your Relationship This New Year

Article Tags: active communication, autonomy, brand loyalty, business model, business ownership, common goal, confines, franchise agreement, franchisee, franchisees, franchisor, marriage contracts, misunderstanding, mutual respect, necessary evil, open communication, outset, pitfalls, satisfaction levels, serious relationship



Related Forum Posts
Removal of Director paperwork - Hello I have to remove a director from my company, does anyone know where I can find director termination paperwork, and paperwork to terminate officer status in a corporation. Also, I am looking for information on the legality of diluting existing shareholders shares when I have the controlling block. Relationship with business partner went sour. Regards, Peter
Post subject: Too successful for a mate? - That was an interesting article, Shri! Most of the women I know who continue to be single have some type of self limiting behavior which interferes with them either meeting or attracting the perfect mate for them. They are incredible and talented women, they just haven't set themselves up for relationship success. I know there are men who may be intimidated, but there are also men who aren't. Some men are attracted to smart women! My advice to these women would be to focus on creating the right environment for a relationship to happen. This would be a great time to hire a Life Coach or Relationship Coach. Taking action to get ready for a relationship doesn't mean having to be aggressive in finding a man. It's more subtle. If you don't make room for a man in your life, you might just squeeze out the opportunity before he gets to you. As well, you may be sending off all the wrong signals without realizing it. Seriously, I don't think successful women are off the proverbial "good wife material list". However, if you think yourself off of it then don't be surprised if you fulfill your own prophecy.
Re: Approaching Social Marketing from the right angle - Well David from my experience having your friends around you on a social network can really benefit your business as long as you ensure that a few simple rules are observed 1. under no circumstances should you direct promote a particular site or product simultaneously with your friends IE all submit the same link numerous times between your circle,(spam) again use your signatures to do the selling. 2. ensure the topic of any discussion is suitable to include the rest of the community and especially those that connect with you. 3.if commenting on a member of your circles article or post keep the comment honest don't say it is a good post if you really believe it to be rubbish, this may upset your friend who created the post but will show the rest of those viewing that your being open and up front in how you treat people and are not showing favoritism - you are prepared to treat them as equals. Relationship/Social Marketing works best when you can create an environment where visitors to your group get a sense of family and a warm welcoming oasis in a sea of unknown people, most of the time you won't need to promote your product or opportunity because once new people start to relax their natural curiosity will cause them to ask about your online endeavors. You can mix business and social friends successfully on a social network providing you ensure the social rates higher than business.
Different types of funding - Business Relationship Funding This is another source of funds that can be overlooked. It may be possible to introduce potential alliances to add value to both parties. It may produce an ultimate exit route in the medium to long term. Joint Ventures: Requires a legal agreement embodying the deal and another company Partnerships: Two companies collaborate with possible funding. Joint working relationships: These are an informal partnership which may be more project specific where the parties can share resources. Agencies: These can be geographical or product specific and generally incorporates a payment for the right to the agency. Distributors: Very like an agency but may not necessarily involve up front payment. Alliances: These do not require a separate company and can be embodied by a legal agreement to work together. Trade investors: Otherwise known as Corporate Partnering. This can be a good way to involve a much larger company in the business with a view to possible trade sale further down the line. Associates: This can be a loose arrangement with no fundamental commitments either way, rather like a preferred supplier. Equity Swop: Two companies exchange shares to a similar value to develop both businesses. Franchises: This can allow the business to grow without further direct investment. Licensing: This involves licensing a product or service to enable others to sell it. This requires you to own the intellectual property.
Local Chamber of commerce - I would suggest something that has been under the radar for about 6 months now that I've been using for about a year and there is nothing like it.. Success On Contact it is referred to as a Permission Based Relationship Marketing Software. It has all the basics like list management, contact management, campaign management and such, but also integrates with inbound and outbound VoIP like Vonage, Skype and J2 Communications ( will actually automatically attach voicemails to contact record with play button), or create a new contact record if it does not recognise the inbound number calling. It also integrates with just a few clicks with web based voicebroadcasting services. Let's see what else...oh, internal email and newsletter client, newsletter and pdf post card and sales campaign creation. It also automatically pulls leads from your websites into your contact manager without you lifting a finger and notifies you within 60 seconds to your desktop that you have a lead and it is automatically databased according to advertisement, product/ service campaign so you can track seamlessly where your leads are coming from. This is my favorite feature, because thru out the day, my recontact due icon pops up to let me know I have a new lead, I just click on the new name in the recontact due and pops up the full record all filled in (no wasted time entering data), I click on the Skype button (I use Skype..but it could be your land line..etc.) and presto, I'm talking to my prospective client in less than 2 minutes from the time they opted for more information. and many times while they are on my site. Typing notes in the contact record along the way and engaging them immediately in my sales process.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

The Pure FUN of Learning & Using NLP

Attracting Passionate Employees

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.