In my view, the single most important commercial objective that should be stated in the Strategic Plan of every Franchise operation should be to increase/ improve the level of unity/ solidarity that exists between Franchisees.

The more that Franchisees can be influenced to work in the same common direction doing the same/ similar things, the greater will be the commercial impact of the franchise brand in the public arena. I have proven this to be a fact many times over in a range of industries to date.

To achieve this objective in relation to a national jeweller franchise that I was the CEO for, the Board of Directors and myself managed to strike a good balance between having Franchisees work in accordance with what we termed “Minimum Participation Standards” and Franchisees performing practices of their own discretion/ liking at a local level.

If a Franchise operation is to have any hope of achieving the status of being a well-recognized well-regarded brand (i.e. achieve a commendable level of brand awareness) then it must require each Franchisee to do certain things. For example:

  • Use the company brand strictly in accordance with published ‘Corporate Livery Identity Protocols’.
  • Commit to practicing proven effective marketing activities.
  • Attend company conferences.
  • Use company training resources.
  • Participate in regional/ national marketing activities.
  • Use key electronic platforms as a part of their marketing mix.
  • Attend regional meetings – to exchange ideas with colleagues.

National/ Regional Marketing Annual Activity Schedules must be aligned with the Annual Marketing Activity Schedules of individual Franchise businesses, to achieve a situation where local level marketing activity is reinforcing (and is not at odds with) regional/ national marketing initiatives.

The more unified a Franchise operation is in representing the franchise brand and brand experience in the market, the greater will be the level of success in the brand penetrating and being recalled in the minds of customers (prospective and existing alike). Remember – a key goal of any marketing strategy is to achieve a level of brand awareness among as a wide a base (i.e. as big a population) of customers as possible.