The Keys To Franchisee Engagement

In most of the franchise businesses, the franchisee is very much in touch with the franchisor but gradually their engagement decreases over time. It can be seen as a natural course of things or it can be seen as something undesirable for both the parties. There are many benefits of promoting a culture of high engagement with all the franchisees associated with the business.

Lack of engagement within a franchise business results in lower attendance during yearly congregations, lack of response to emails or other communications, reduced participation in surveys, and so on. In fact, the low engagement between the stakeholders of a business becomes a culture in some organizations.

The engagement of franchisees with the franchisor and amongst themselves is a must. If there is no engagement, there will be no common understanding of the vision of the company. If the franchises do not have a vision in mind, they can hardly be expected to be clear about their own role within the business in order to follow that vision. Thus, it is very important to keep the franchisees engaged with the business.

Dialogue:

The most important factor that decides the level of engagement is the level of dialogue between the franchisor, franchisees, and management teams. The franchisor should have a clear communication strategy. More often than not, there is no communication strategy outlined in the business. There has to be a clear and efficient communication strategy that coordinates all the departments. Everyone associated with the business must have a good understanding of the objectives of the strategy too. People tend to make a greater effort for something when they understand the value of it and related consequences. Apart from regular instructions or updates regarding day to day business, there should be communication regarding other subjects also.

The dialogue has to be two way and to make it happen a franchise has to demonstrate that he listens to his franchisees. He can demonstrate it by responding in the right way. A lot of issues can actually be solved by devoting time to listen. There can be no immediate response to strategic issues but prompt action can and should be taken on practical complaints.

Once a fair dialogue is initiated, the effort to continue it at a regular frequency should be made. This communication strategy has to be clear with the management team too and they should know that clear, responsible and timely communication is expected from them too.

Motivation:

Motivation can and has moved mountains. But a lack of motivation slows down the entire system. Most of the franchisees feel that there is nothing for them in maintaining a regular exchange with the franchisor. Though we cannot point at anything tangible and say that this is the motivation, there are ways to create intangibles that can motivate. For eg: When there is participation in a survey, you can ensure that each of the participants is thanked for their time and even the survey results can be shared with them. This will also lead to introspection about one’s own role, situation, and expectations.

Once, there is motivation, the ways of participation will open up and you should be proactive in scaling up the dialogue in a useful direction.

Rewards:

While motivation is essential, many people feel motivated only by tangible results. In order to address such people, there should be public recognitions and rewards for different aspects of running the business including engagement with the brand. This will keep the one receiving a reward motivated and also encourage others to be more active and responsive.

Freedom with responsibility:

Franchise business is opted for by new entrepreneurs who want to play safe. Over time, the entrepreneurial spirit inside them starts feeling choked by prescribed formats to adhere to all the time. Depending on the situation, there can be limited freedom to experiment on the suggested ways of doing business. It can be like an experiment to improve the functioning of the business. The timeframe and terms and conditions for it can be strict. If there is a success, there should be efforts at incorporating the suggestion on a larger scale of business. This is one of the ways a business model can be kept up to date with the market requirements of the day.

Participation: polls, advisory councils:

To increase the participation of franchisees on a higher level, franchisors themselves should take the lead to form advisory councils to administrate forums on different topics related to the business. They can put in their inputs regarding marketing, training, and other relevant subjects. There can be opinion polls on a regular basis too that can highlight the preferences and problems that franchisees have in general.

Timing:

The timings of communication should tap on important events or days coming up. There should be enough time for the franchisees to respond to the communication

Too much email is not a good way of communication because the mails will be ignored if there is frequent unimportant communication.

Events:

National conferences where all franchisees meet each other and interact with the franchisor and his team are important. These conferences should actually have enough value so as to encourage participation. Rewards for outstanding performances and other motivational practices can be employed on this platform.

Apart from conferences, let there be online events too such as webinars and online training that have interactions built in the pedagogy of the training modules. Simple celebrations and get-togethers can also play a vital role in building empathy within the community by generating a space where different franchisees from the region discuss their problems and approaches to solve them. This greater understanding also gives way to an in-depth understanding of all aspects of business leading to a reduction in dissatisfaction with the franchise.

A culture of high engagement cannot be built overnight and franchisors have to be very patient and consistent until results start showing up. Keep those that are engaged, motivated to continue the approach by recognition and motivate those who are not engaged by regular dialogue.

Slowly most of the franchisees will start sensing value in it. Once they start responding to your communication, keep up the momentum and leverage it to achieve your business goals. A high degree of interaction will help to solve many problems. New franchisees will also find enough guidance from the existing franchisees.

Inputs from franchisees from wider backgrounds and locations will help to innovate, design new products and services, and increase the location-specific connection with the customer base. These are the very factors that help in continual improvement and ensuring that the business does not suddenly face the danger of becoming irrelevant.

A healthy exchange with franchisees over all regions will inform you about new trends and changing markets much in advance. You will have the time to address these changes with a change in your product or marketing. Such responsiveness to consumer demands will ensure that you do not lose brand value and retain customers over a long time.

You are the franchisor that conceptualized the business and built it from scratch but it is the franchisees that bring growth to a business. Learn to respect their opinions and feedback. It is your idea but it is only wise to take advantage of the ideas and learning of all stakeholders.