MODERN FRANCHISING
Put Your Franchise in
First Place
By Mark Fernandez
Position Yourself against
Your Competition
“How do you stand out in a crowded
Franchise market to get the best
Franchisees to consider your
Franchise system?”
Competitive athletes know that
checking out the competition is as
important as eating right, training
and assessing their own strengths
and weaknesses. Franchisors that
want to win have to get their head in
the game as well. Determining your
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
(SCA) starts with evaluating and
identifying your strengths and
weaknesses; what you are good at.
Comparing this to your competition
reduces risk, decreases speculative
investment spend, clarifies
necessary resources and saves you
valuable time.
Prospective franchisees’ demand
for quality systems and excellent
support runs high and sometimes
blurs the lines of competition.
Consider a franchise network that
has been operating for less than
two years, does this mean that the
systems, processes and support
offered by the Franchisor is of less
value than the franchise system that
has a 10 year operating model? It’s
all about perceived value, the value
offering over your competition.
Everyone is fighting to feed the
discerning appetite for information
buyers are looking at price, ease of
operation and above all ROI.
Before you analyse your
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January 2016
competition, clarify what your
business does and offers, it’s a
mistake to try and be too much
to too many people. If you don’t
believe me then ask some of your
current franchisees they will tell
you.
Some questions that you may ask:
• What industries is my business
in? – does this limit the pool of
potential franchisees?
• What products and services do
we offer? - why do our customers
come to us?
• How do we rate our field service
team?
• Is our royalty, marketing and
initial franchisee fee competitive?
• What is our USP- unique selling
proposition?
• Is our training world class?
• Are we getting the best margins
for our current franchisees?
It is very easy to become insular
against the realities of what is
actually happening within the
franchise system. The best way
of increasing franchisee numbers
is through having a strong and
vibrant culture. Having your
existing franchisees ‘close’ the
deal, cannot be underestimated.
The influence that one, two or a
small group of franchisees may
have on the bearing of an applicant
is invaluable. But, this