Grow Market Lead
Challenge
the pros
How does franchisee satisfaction
affect your referral program and
relate to your overall development
planning and process?
Stephen Dixon
VP, Franchise Development
Children’s Lighthouse Learning
Centers
Franchisee satisfaction is
a pillar of our business. It
is both a point of emphasis and a source of great
pride for our executive
team and support staff. We’ve created a
culture of compassion that encourages
empathizing with franchisee concerns
and providing solutions to challenges.
Plus, we have proactive training and open
dialogue to ensure our franchisees are
satisfied. In sum, this effort has resulted
in a zero percent failure rate and consistently positive feedback from our franchisees with regard to our support and
marketing programs.
Since the brand owns and operates
eight company units, we also have excellent business model credibility. Beyond
that, franchisee satisfaction results from
franchisor execution of three basic fundamentals: (1) comprehensive pre-opening
training and support, (2) unencumbered
two-way communication, and (3) effective business consulting for the life of
the franchise partnership. In addition to
the programs we have in place to guide
and reinforce franchisee efforts locally,
we continue to focus on our business
model and its track record of success. If
the model works and both parties execute
the fundamentals, then high franchisee
satisfaction will follow.
We annually survey our franchisees
anonymously through an independent
company. Our franchisees have given
us high marks in key areas such as initial
training, helpfulness of the field representative, and commitment to a positive,
long-term relationship. The survey is an
important benchmark that helps us en-
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sure we are serving our franchisees well.
As part of the franchise awarding
process, prospects make contact with
as many of our franchise owners as desired. Franchise owners generally do
not mind spending focused time with
qualified candidates… they recall asking similar questions when making the
decision themselves. As a franchisor, the
only thing we can do to ensure this goes
well is to provide strong support and a
business model that delivers results for
the franchisees. And we like to obtain
the franchise owner’s thoughts about
the candidate. Their opinions are very
important in our process.
Our franchise owners are active and
well-networked in their communities.
Should they recommend a prospective
franchisee to us who eventually signs a
franchise agreement we will grant the
referring franchise owner a substantial
referral fee. We truly appreciate the partnership with our franchisees in this area
as they usually pre-screen the candidate
before submitting them to us. The referral program is a substantial contributor to our growth. In any given year we
can expect 10 to 20 percent of our new
franchisees to emerge from this source.
When a franchisor develops a business
model through operating experience and
then executes well on training, support,
and communication, it will receive high
marks in franchisee satisfaction. Continuous improvement through annual,
independent survey analysis is important.
Asking for franchisee assistance and input
during the candidate learning process
helps everyone build a better franchise
system. Finally, a referral program that
rewards franchisees for their assistance if
one of their contacts becomes a franchisee should be an important part of any
development plan for growth.
Shawn Caric
Franchising Manager
Dunkin’ Brands
Franchisee satisfaction
leads to great validation.
Additionally, satisfied franchisees share their success
and experiences with family, friends, colleagues, and business partners. Traditionally, a greater percentage
of referral leads become franchisees than
any other lead source.
Your best franchisees provide the best
referrals. It may seem obvious, but a referral candidate often shares the same core
values, competencies, and past business
success as the franchisee who referred them.
Ironically, it doesn’t appear to me
that monetary incentives are as important to existing franchisees as you would
expect. The basis for most referrals is a
franchisee’s pride in their brand and joy
in sharing their story of success.
Also, don’t assume that your franchisee base can’t help launch new, faraway
markets. It’s a small world, so don’t be
surprised when a Philadelphia franchisee
refers a lead for Houston.
Finally, in franchise development, it’s
all about the validation. Nothing can shut
down development like poor validation
from existing franchisees. Therefore,
don’t spend a dime marketing your plan
for growth and franchise opportunities
if the validation isn’t there to support it.
Mike Mettler
Director, National Franchise Sales
American Dairy Queen
Franchisee satisfaction is
critical to the franchise
development process because it is directly related
to new franchisee validation and the ability for the brand to continue to develop new stores. One great
new store opening will lead to more new
store openings. It is that simple. At Dairy
Queen, we focus on making the new store
opening experience a positive one for the
franchisee and the brand.
Our impact on franchisee satisfaction
through the development process begins
with a thorough and rigorous evaluation
of every new store development “franchise
application.” We ask three basic questions.