The Brand is King - Are You a Worthy Subject?

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency - when your customers arrive at your franchised business, it is likely consistency that drew them there. Franchising is a successful and growing enterprise model because it builds loyalty to a brand, not just loyalty to one location. This means a customer eating his or her favourite dish at one franchised bistro can come to yours and order it from you, too. Possibly someone's aunt in British Columbia found a great toy at a franchised sell store - she should be able to find that same toy at your local franchise in Nova Scotia.

For franchisees, a well-maintained franchise in other city (or even country) can admittedly impact their own business. Here's the downside: should a customer have a bad experience at person else's location, he or she will likely avoid yours, too. Franchisors know this, so many have developed detailed standards franchisees are expected to follow. These can cover whatever from normal cleanliness and food establishment to customer aid protocols. They can also mandate aid of a distinct speed, or even "touchpoints" the employees must cover in the course of a customer interaction. For a bistro franchise, this may mean asking each customer if he or she would like to purchase a combo, rather than a hamburger alone; for a sell store, it may mean asking if the customer has a allowance card - and if not, would he or she like to buy one?

Food And Dessert

How are these things measured? Both franchisors and franchisees have found ways to do it, but too often, they rely solely on methods that part customer feedback. Now, it is all the time good to gauge your customer's opinions, and doing so is often quite cheap. However, cheaper is not all the time better; there are many ways your franchise can deviate from the required proper without customers having any idea. Rest assured, your franchisor will be far more aware. The most important customer data for you to monitor is that connected to your brand standards, and there are some ways to do this.

Internal Auditing

This coming is exactly what it sounds like - a behind-the-scenes evaluation of every aspect of your operation. It is coarse for a franchisor to send an inspector to its locations, sometimes unannounced. This individual, often an area manager, will rate your franchise agreeing to a predetermined checklist, though you will admittedly be aware of it requirements long beforehand. The purpose of an internal audit is to ensure your enterprise is upholding the level of aid expected of its brand. An internal audit can evaluate, even measure, a wide range of products, services, and practices. Does your establishment have a properly stocked first aid kit? Does your franchised bistro keep the climatic characteristic of the grease too high in the deep fryer? Possibly there is too exiguous syrup poured from the pop machine, too much heat in the refrigerator or too exiguous signage in your sell space.

An auditor can check all these things and rate you agreeing to how closely you align with your franchisor expectations. For example, an auditor will recognize if your franchised pub has failed to update its bar menu to offer the new items head office popular ,favorite last year - something a customer would not consideration if he or she only frequented your location.

Auditors not only understand your franchisors needs, they are also well-known with the needs of the law. That is, the evaluators know exactly what to look for, both in terms of what is important to the brand and what is legally required of your location. A proper health and protection inspection can clear up any problems before a mandatory government inspection is due. Do your fire extinguishers work (and are they overdue to be checked)? Do your employees wear hairnets or safely shoes? Do you have a workplace protection poster displayed clearly for their use? Internal audits can even address protection issues - are the washrooms properly lit? Are the doors opened and concluded at the right times? Are the staff turn rooms clearly marked?

Internal audits need not be your franchisors responsibility alone - you can do them, too. Many franchisees take the initiative and escort their own audits, hoping to be more prepared for the franchisors inspection, or just as a means of keeping tabs on their enterprise and its employees. Others feel more comfortable hiring an objective, third-party auditor to witness on their behalf. The cost of contracting an surface enterprise varies widely - anywhere from 0 to 00. Higher priced audits ordinarily involve more detail, e.g. 1000 questions instead of just 100 or 200. Audits may also be more expensive if the evaluation requires an auditor with specialized training, such as person with background in fire safely, food handling or first aid. For most audits, the questions could be asked by anyone. Auditors paid by the hour, with the audit itself taking three or four hours, plus other two hours for the results to be written up.

Mystery Shopping

Hiring "Mystery Shoppers" - third-party evaluators who pose as customers within your franchised enterprise - can tell you many things about how your enterprise admittedly runs, especially as it relates to employees.

Mystery Shoppers rate your enterprise based on the definite criteria and standards set by you or your brand; whether it be the courtesy with which customers are greeted, the selling techniques of personnel or simply the cleanliness of the space. The advantage of mystery Shopping is that it evaluates your enterprise from the customer perspective. With no distinct indication that an evaluation is taking place, your employees with act as they ordinarily do, allowing you to make decisions based on how your enterprise admittedly operates. While one might argue they furnish merely a "snapshot" of the enterprise on a particular day, its unlikely a mystery Shopper's experience will be totally atypical.

This type of evaluation is most useful when evaluating specific, often confidential, brand standards. For example, it can help resolve if your staff is "upselling," e.g. If a customer orders a small popcorn, does your laborer ask if the customer would like a medium for 25 cents more? other technique mystery Shopping can rate is "suggestive selling," which requires an laborer to mention a product the customer has not even considered. bistro examples consist of "would you like fries with that?" and "care for dessert, too?" In clothing retail, an laborer might say, "Sir, for nine dollars more, we can sell you a silk tie with that shirt."

These types of evaluation furnish useful data to both the franchisee and the franchisor and mystery Shopping clubs are often hired at both levels. Commonly mystery Shops for a sell store or bistro cost 0 to 5 per visit.

Half-Way There?

For some franchisees - and more commonly, franchisors - a focus group is an productive way to secure information. Focus groups bring together population felt to be typical of the franchise's current demographic (or the demographic the franchisor wishes it could reach). This group is then presented with a new product or aid and their reactions to it are recorded and analyzed.

Depending on the questions asked, a focus group can function whether like an elaborate customer witness card or a fairly detailed evaluation of brand standards (though likely not for your franchised location alone). Their downside is expense. Focus groups often require a moderator, who needs to be paid. The participants are often paid as well, since the focus groups may take some hours.
Most focus groups are franchisor-driven, because they often consider company- wide issues, such as the start of a new product. Some franchisees form their own "advisory boards" to gauge issues among their own customers but that is rare.

If the focus group or advisory board has a good moderator who asks relevant questions, you can get perfect feedback. However, the occasion to make an easy 0 (plus gift certificates, perhaps) may attract population who are more curious in their own gain than the good of the company. Selecting good participants is key.

Interviews, in-person or over the telephone, are a cheaper way to get some of the same information. Unfortunately, they can be very irritating for participants, especially if they're delivered via an unsolicited phone call.

The customer Point of View

The simplest, cheapest way for a franchisee or franchisor to rate a enterprise is straight through customer comment cards. Today's comment cards need not be "cards" at all - they can also be done online, allowing for even greater cost savings. There is nothing wrong with gaining voluntary customer feedback, but it is a mistake to rely on such feedback alone. Though it sounds counter- intuitive, a satisfied customer is not all the time indicative of a well-run business.

"Extreme" Feedback

Due to exiguous time or easy disinterest, most of your customers will not share in a voluntary feedback system. Those that do will often feel particularly motivated, whether because they've had a very good experience or a very bad one. The data you'll secure can therefore be very skewed and poorly characterize your average customer.

Lack of Brand-Orientation

The biggest concern with these easy feedback systems is their inability to secure statistical data about brand standards. Bob in Halifax and Chris in Edmonton may both have had great experiences at franchised hardware stores of the same brand. What they can't tell you, however, is that these two patrons had thoroughly different experiences, with only one meeting the franchisor's expectations.

As a recipe of data collection, customer comment cards are not terribly information oriented. For example, they may tell you that your customer feels he or she received a drink in a reasonable time, but they will not tell you the drinks were received 15 seconds later than the franchisor's proper of one minute. An online witness can indicate your aid staff is manufacture proper and helpful suggestions in terms of menu choices (perhaps the customer will score them a "five out of five"). However, hiring "Mystery Shoppers" to rate your aid based on definite brand standards would tell you your staff is only suggesting appetizers and wine to customers about 20 per cent of the time.

Nevertheless, focus groups, interviews, comment cards and online surveys are all the time helpful, if only for the good will they originate by allowing your customers to feel their input is valued.

No One recipe Tells All

When franchisees are not "on the same page" with their franchisers, consistency is compromised and customers may make a judgment about your location before ever setting foot inside. However, there's no need for doom and gloom - poor patterns of services or product establishment can be corrected with a exiguous endeavor and reasonable expense. As long as you know that no one evaluation recipe can tell you everything, it's just a matter of spending accordingly.

The Brand is King - Are You a Worthy Subject?