MAKING THE FRANCHISE ENGINE WORK

How to achieve the basic and most obvious goal of a franchise: To make the relationship beneficial to both the franchiser and the franchisee

Fanchising can be likened to having a car after a trip to the car dealer. Once we are done with choosing a franchise or deciding to franchise our bussiness, we would need to address this crucial question: In the same way that we need to get the car out of the dealer's premises after paying for it, how do we make the franchise work once it's in our hand?
Much has been written on how to franchise a business or to choose one, but this particular phase of franchising is simply the tip of iceberg, so to peak. It is making the franchise work--making it succeed and grow into a viable and vibrant business--thats really the heart of the matter, and i must say that this is a challenge that is bound to test the maturity of both the franchiser and the franchisee.
The basic and the most obvious goal of a franchise is , of course, to make the relationship beneficial to both parties, but even then, we must recognize that our actions in going into a franchise relationship may not necessarily be motivated by the material benefits that we can derive from it. It could be that the benefits we expect are primarily social--"I want to own or belong to a successful team." "I can prove my business has execellent potential."--or psychological--"I just would love to do what franchise concept calls for." "By franchising, I can now expand my business." "I wont be alone but have other entrpreneur managing similar branches." Still, the bottom line will ultimately be the financial benefits that both parties can derive from the franchise relationship. Indeed, franchising may be distinct from other means of expanding a business, but the expectation of a good financial return will always be at the root of it.
As in driving a good racing car to peak speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour, you can make the franchise engine work at peak effeciency only of all its all components are working smoothly and harmoniously. Franchise are like vested cars in races--they have to be very well maintained and their parts must always be kept in tip-top condition.
So, to pursue the analogy further, if your franchise were a car, how would you make it work so you derive the maximum benefit from it and harness its full potential?

THE OPERATIONAL MANUAL
The first thing to do is to make the franchise Operations Manual work for you. Oops! Dont make the mistake of keeping the manual in a secure and safe place or, even worse, keeping it under lock and key. The Operation Manual is meant to be understood and regularly referred to as you operate your franchise. You must read and fully understand what it says in much the same way that a good and conscientious car owner makes it a point to read and fully understand the operating manual of the car. Why? Its because the that car manual identifies all the parts of the car, explains how they functions and show the user how to maintain them. In the same token, the franchise Operations manual contains all the infirmation you need to make the franchise functional, whether you are the franchiser or the franchisee. Because its prescribes in detail the standards of the business model, the Franchise Operation Manual is what will enable the franchise system to achive uniformity and consistency in its implementation.
The franchisee should use the Operation Manual as the primary guide for running his or her franchised business, but it need not to remain a static and inflexible set of rules. The franchiser should regularly update and improve it to enable the franchise system that doesnt regularly update its Operation Manual headed toward disaster sometime soon.

THE COMMUNICATION FUEL
Tons of articles have been written about the important of communication not only in franchising but also in life in general. To go back to the car analogy, what will keep the car running to our desired destination is fuel. In a franchise system, the equivalent of cars fuel is communication. It is communication that will enable the major participants in the franchise system--the franchiser and the franchisee--to achive unity of vision and objectives and to agree on how to achieve them. When there is a basic acceptance of the importance of open dialogue between franchiser and franchisee, the franchise system is greatly enrich and grows much faster.
When the unity of mind betwwen the franchiser and the franchisee is the goal, the communication dynamics in the franchise system becomes more challenging and exciting. On one hand, no longer will you have a franchiser who thinks his or her franchisees are just headaches and insufferable burdens to him; on other hand, no longer will there be franchisees that think the franchiser is just there to collect fees and not to provide support. In such a situation, even if the initial atmosphere may be stiff and uncomfortable, atleast the franchiser and the franchisee can now sit down in a spirit of openness and dialogue.
The franchiser often has to make the first move by going back to the basics, particularly on why there is franchise in the first place and why he or she decided to franchise the business. Then the franchise can begin to verbalize his or her reason for choosing the particular franchise among all his other choices. The dialogue can continue and move on the identification of present concerns of both the franchiser and the franchisee. They need to view this present concerns from the perspective of initial goals and objectives, and when they do, they will find that their goals are not contraindicatory but actually the same, thus leading to a mutual desire to continue with their franchise relationship. Agreements can then be sealed with a handshake and both parties can leave the room in high spirits and on positive note on how to further grow the franchise system together.

PRESERVING THE BRAND AND TRADEMARK
In the past, brands and trademarks were not given an actuarial value; however, the values of companies goes far beyond their actual physical assets due to the value of their brands and trademarks. The likes of such giant global brands as Colgate, Coca Cola, and Mc Donalds, for instance, are such immense actuarial value. For this reason, preserving the brand in a franchise system benefits not only the franchiser but its franchises as well.
So important is the franchise trademark or brand that some franchisers even take pains in preparing a corporate identity standards manual to give precise specifications for its use down to how a brand should be rendered in pantone colors. It is therefore extremely important for all parties in the franchise system to work closely together in communicating a consistent trademark or brand to the market and to its various other publics.

CONSTANT MAINTENANCE
The productive life of a car greatly depends on the constant care and maintenance it receives, and some classic cars are even known to outlive the life of its owners. What lesson can we derive from this analogy? It is that the franchise system's engine could be expected to continue producing energy for growth only when the franchiser and the franchisee are one in making sure the system undergoes constant improvement. Indeed, while improvement in the franchise operations manual are a must, the entire system itself also needs to undergo periodically.
The big question to be asked are these: Is the franchise model still relevant to the changing market? Can the franchise application process be improved to screen applicants even better? When was the last time franchisers and franchisees sat down together to review the franchise agreement? Do franchisees regularly analyze their local market and their position? Is there a sustained effort to promote and market the brand? Are franchisees consistent in doing local store marketing?
Are changes needed in the format of meetings and conferences so that both franchisers and franchisees actually look forward to attending them? Are initial franchise fees and royalties reviewed regularly? Are there comparative studuies conducted to check the financial performance of both the franchisers and the franchisees?
These are some questions that need be answered if the franchise system is to outlive the life of its founder. Making the franchise engine work will always be a challenge to both the franchiser and franchisee, but when both parties keep their focus on the mutuality of benefits, the task need not be an adversarial and unpleasant one.


Source: Entrepreneur Magazine
By: Armando Bartolome