Franchising

Franchising depends on creating a consistent customer experience. The success of the brand relies on delivering on it's promise to the customer every time. The customer expects the same products and the same service wherever and whenever they shop.

The brand is what franchisees are buying, and they need to know that their investment is protected. As a franchisor you need to have a compliance program to ensure the brand keeps its value.

The Brand as an Asset

Franchisees are buying a brand name and expect an appreciating asset. They need to know that the brand will still be valuable next year and into the future.

Its important for franchisees to know that they are in a franchise system that insists on compliance.They need to be sure that standards are begin kept up throughout the franchise. They want to make sure that the brand, and their investment in it, is not devalued by a few poor operators.

Free Spirits

Franchisees come on board looking forward to growing their business. They are buying the methods, products and support of an already-successful business, and hope that by duplicating the operations they will also be successful.

They expect the franchisor to protect them against the devaluation of their investment by others using the brand but not keeping up the standards. A few 'free spirits' who do things their own way can give the brand a bad name. Franchisees know that this affects them and they have no control over this happening. They need to know that the franchisor actively protects them with an effective compliance program.

Monitoring

Visits to a location by operations or area managers have a dual role: support and assistance for the franchisee but also ensuring that operations and standards are in line with the brand. The roles of mentor / business coach and inspector must be combined to maximise effectiveness. Objectifying the role of inspector makes the duality of the situation more confortable for the area manager and the franchisee. By having a formalised process to check compliance the audit can be a standardised, objective process, leaving the area manager free to mentor and coach on an individual basis.

Growth

Franchises start as successful businesses where a small team can know everything about the business. While the franchise is small they can keep an eye on individual franchisees, but as the franchise expands it becomes unmanageable. The area manager is spread too thinly, spending lots of time on the road, seeing franchisees, solving problems, gathering lots of data. But what happens to that information? When is it used? When is it analysed to see what is happening and how to makes things better?

Spreadsheet and paper-based systems start to break down. There is a lot of data, and a lot of time and effort is spent collecting it, but its just not usable. Putting more managers on simply adds to the problem: more data but less information.

Compliance System

A computer system to automate the collection and analysis of data is the solution, but many franchises don't wish to invest in expensive systems, IT equipment and staff. They want a system without any of the hassles.

Luckily, with broadband you can now use systems hosted and managed externally. 'Software as a Service' in IT terms. All the advantages of a powerful system but none of the disadvantages.

Shadow QC

With Shadow QC you don't need to buy or install software. You simply need an Internet connection. Shadow QC runs on our servers, at a world class data centre, and we manage it for you. Your information is store securely and you have 24/7 access.

You don't need IT people, you don't need to set up an expensive and time consuming IT projects. Shadow QC is already there, and you can 'try before you buy'. There are no upfront costs, a low monthly payment covers everything - hosting, support, management. And you can be up and running in just a few weeks.

Adding Value

Shadow QC adds value to your brand. It is accessed through your own website or Intranet, and appears as part of that. Staff and franchisees can move seamlessly between your website and QC with everything branded in your franchise logos and colors. It increases the support services you can offer to franchisees, who can see how they are performing and what they have to do to improve.

A strong, valuable brand is crucially important and essential for franchise success. Franchisors need a compliance program to make sure that their business value is not weakened. Compliance with brand standards benefits both franshisees and franchisors by ensuring the consistency of customer experience.

If you have a winning formula and its replicated perfectly when customers visit your business they know they will have the experience they want every time.

The Compliance Challenge

Read the article from Franchising magazine discussing the problems franchisors face, and how to manage them. Find out how Shadow QC helps the rapidly-expanding Sumo Salad manage compliance with their standards. To read, click here.