The core job of a Franchisor is providing personal support and advice. They are a mentor and business coach to each Franchisee, dealing with individual problems and helping the Franchisee overcome weaknesses and set goals for improvement. Over the years and with regular Franchisee surveys, we have found several elements that provide the biggest help to Franchisees in the minimum time. The key elements of support are:

Regular meetings, at least eight per year (or five in Regional areas). Meetings should be relevant to Franchisee needs, with outside speakers at times and as engaging as possible. Attendance is not in practice compulsory, but a competent Franchisor should attract a majority of Franchisees to each meeting.

Fast and effective response to Franchisee questions, at the very least within 24 hours of the request – ideally straight away.

Regular pro-active calls. Even when a Franchisee calls the Franchisor often, a Franchisor should phone or visit each Franchisee at least monthly and ideally weekly. This is an effective call with real help in business building. Our surveys have shown that regular pro-active calls are the single most important factor in determining Franchisee satisfaction and growth in the Region.

Complaints. Every customer complaint is paged to the Franchisor as it is paged to the Franchisee. The Franchisor’s role is to phone the Franchisee as soon as possible and discuss the complaint. In some cases it is clearly not the Franchisee’s fault. The Franchisee may be reassured and the complaint even cancelled. More normally, the Franchisor’s role is to counsel the Franchisee on avoiding such complaints in future. Poor customer service hurts the Franchisee’s business and may eventually cost them their business.

Franchisors can also conduct face-to-face business reviews with Franchisees, especially those who are having serious problems, and can also spend time out on the road with them. But the most time-effective support will generally be the four items above.