Franchisors and Franchisees Rely on Each Other for Success
What is the difference between a franchisor vs. franchisee? At the most basic level, the franchisee invests in the franchise, while the franchisor provides the working system, training manuals, and support to the franchisee in order to get products and services to the public.
They rely upon each other in order to form a successful business. The ideal franchisee-franchisor relationship includes collaboration, being community-driven, and having a growth mindset. Their relationship should go beyond just business and should grow into a family-like unit with care on both sides. Both the franchisor and franchisee have different responsibilities.
FRANCHISOR RESPONSIBILITIES
Set Up a Proven Business Model
For any franchise to succeed, the franchisor must provide the franchisee with the proper training manuals, logos and branding, website, social media, operating system, and whatever else is necessary to make the business run. The franchisee must follow these instructions in order to ensure maximum efficiency and success.
Provide the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
The FDD is a legal document that contains 23 sections with information about the franchise, any fees that will be charged, and information about the legal relationship between the franchisee and franchisor. Franchisors must give prospective franchise owners this document at least 14 days before they invest in the franchise.
Training and Ongoing Support
To ensure a smoothly-run franchise business, all staff members must be trained to know how to make sure it operates properly. Franchisors provide initial training at their corporate headquarters before the grand opening of a location. Franchisees must follow the instructions provided to them by the franchisor and train their employees accordingly.
Establish Branding and the Trademark
The franchisor is responsible for creating the look and feel for the brand, which includes the logo, colors and corporate identity.
Identifying and Establishing Exclusive Suppliers/Proprietary Materials
What makes a brand its own is the exclusivity of its suppliers and products. No other company distributes 7-Eleven coffee and products besides 7-Eleven. That’s what makes the brand special. To make the brand stand out from the rest, the franchisor works with suppliers to create proprietary products and services.
Provide Leadership, Especially During Times of Crisis
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that a crisis can strike at any time. It is the responsibility of a good franchisor to be present and support franchisees during times of crisis.
Branding and Marketing on a National Level
If nobody hears about the business, nobody will patronize it. This is where social media and marketing come in. The franchisor is responsible for branding and marketing on a national level and providing marketing materials and campaigns to the franchisee to promote the business locally.
Creating a Corporate Culture
A friendly and open corporate working environment is essential in any franchise system. To form this working environment, the franchisor can host annual conferences, provide opportunities to bring franchisees together, and more. This will make franchisees feel welcomed and a part of a “franchise family.”
Having Various Financial Responsibilities
Franchisors have many financial responsibilities when it comes to the franchise business. Franchisors are responsible for collecting franchise fees from the franchise owners in the system. These funds are used to grow the franchise business. Training, marketing tools, and other startup costs are covered by the total franchise cost, which is one of the benefits of owning a franchise.
Being an Effective Communicator
If there are changes to any part of the franchise business, such as a different product line up, or just a standard meeting, the franchisor will communicate that information to the franchisees in the system.
FRANCHISEE RESPONSIBILITIES
Follow the Proven System
A mistake that franchisees make is not following the franchisor’s proven system. It wouldn’t make sense for Planet Fitness to offer massages at one location and pasta at another, for example. Franchisees must stick to what the franchise is meant to do.
Be an Ambassador for the Brand and Uphold its Reputation
The reputation of a brand is only as good as the franchisees who operate under its name. If a brand is known for a low-quality product and bad service, nobody will want to go to that business. One wayward franchisee can create a bad reputation system-wide.
Find, Build and Lease a Location
Location is critical for the success of any business. A franchisee should do market research to see if there is demand for the business and find a territory where that demand is greatest.
Pay Royalty Fees
Owning a franchise can be a huge investment financially. A franchisee has to pay a significant franchise fee and ongoing royalties in order to have the rights to operate the franchise.
Hire, Lead and Manage a Team and Ensure They Follow a System
Leadership is critical to the success of any franchise. Employees must be trained in the franchisor’s operating system to ensure continuity. A brand is known for its similarities in all locations and franchisees need to uphold that continuity.
Advertise and Market the Business Locally
Word of mouth is one of the most effective tools at the disposal of a franchisee. If customers don’t come, the business fails. The franchise has to reach out to the community to ensure the business has regular customers that keep coming back for more.
Manage the Success and Growth of the Business
Franchisees are responsible for the daily operations of the business. The franchisee must keep financial records, hire staff, order inventory, and ensure the function of the day-to-day and long-term success of the business.
Financially Support the Business
The franchisee is responsible for providing the capital to buy and run the business. They have a vested interest in seeing the business grow and succeed. Many franchisees put their entire life’s savings into the business.
Communicate with Other Franchise Owners
One of the benefits of owning a franchise is that you can communicate with your franchisor and other franchise owners in the system whenever you need to. A great way to meet with other franchisees to discuss the best practices in the industry is to attend annual retreats and conferences. During these events, franchisees, franchisors, consultants and vendors can meet in a casual environment to discuss trends in the industry and how to make the franchise business even better.
It will benefit all franchise owners to attend these events because they will be up-to-date on what’s going on in the industry, which will help them run the franchise business better.
Be Involved in the Community
Being a franchise owner is more than just running a business. To make your franchise business stand out from the rest, you have to actively be part of the community. While it is important to produce a great product and be known for quality customer service, giving back to the community is worth more than any sale. For example, if you run a child related educational franchise business, you can donate a portion of your sales to charities that raise funds for hungry or disadvantaged children. As a franchise owner, you can make a decent living and do good things for the community at the same time.
Knowing the difference between franchisee v. franchisor is important for all entrepreneurs who want to open a franchise to know. They have different roles and responsibilities but need each other in order for the franchise business to succeed. This relationship is one of the benefits of owning a franchise in the first place. Entrepreneurs who start a business from scratch do not have the benefit of having corporate support and a number to call when they need assistance.
An entrepreneur who wants to open a franchise must strive to have a great relationship with their franchisor and other franchise owners in the system.