By Terri Benson posted October 12, 2020

Greg Nathan and the FRI team conducted a Franchisor Excellence Masterclass for 100 C-Level franchisor executives throughout South East Asia. As well the big brands such as McDonald's, 7-Eleven and BNI, leaders of a number of healthy, growing networks participated.  As part of the program, we put the following question to them: "If you were to ask your franchisees what they most want from you now, in order of priority, what do you think they'd say?" You can read their responses below. Based on our research asking franchisees this question directly, we think they are spot on.

Here are 10 strategies that franchisors in our recent Franchisor Excellence Masterclass came up with, when asked to reflect in small groups on what their franchisees most want from them at the moment. 

# 1. Help me reduce my business expenses.  This would include negotiating with them or on their behalf with landlords and suppliers to get the best deals.

# 2. Give me training to improve my management skills. While franchisees may be good operators, many need help to develop their leadership and HR skills.

# 3. Show me what KPIs are most important. While sales are easy to track, there are more important KPIs that, if measured, will lead to higher, more profitable sales.

# 4. Give me constructive feedback.  Rather than focusing on what they're doing wrong, franchisees will respond more positively to what they're doing well and how they can improve.

# 5. Tell me the future direction of our group. Franchisees are always keen to hear what you are working on, and the group's goals and plans for the future.

# 6. Give me useful benchmarking data.  Franchisees love to hear how they are tracking against their peers in key performance areas.

# 7. Recognise me for doing the right things. While you could argue it's in a franchisee's interest to follow brand standards, awards and recognition are always appreciated.

# 8. Show me how to attract more customers.  While you may have great local area marketing tools, franchisees often need coaching in how to apply these. You may want to also remind them it costs 8 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.

# 9. Give us good management systems.  Any system that improves productivity, or reduces waste and frees up time, will be greatly valued. Just make sure it works!

# 10. Support me if I'm in financial trouble.  Despite their best efforts, some franchisees will find themselves in financial trouble through no fault of their own. Remember franchising is a long-term relationship. Show loyalty to your loyal franchisees, and this is sure to be returned in the future.

What is the hottest issue that's keeping franchisors awake at night? We recently asked 38 franchisor CEOs what their biggest challenge is at the present time. The biggest response was "Instilling confidence in our franchisees." (By the way this will be a major focus in our Franchisor Excellence Masterclass). What percentage of franchisees in Australia operate more than one franchise unit? The number is 33%, up from 23% ten years ago. And we predict this number will grow. Why? Because stronger franchisees will be partnering with or buying out, struggling franchisees who haven't been able to navigate their way through the current maze of business challenges.

In response to your requests for affordable professional development that is suitable for the current times, we have transitioned our popular face-to-face programs into convenient, interactive virtual forums. All participants in our recent virtual programs rated their experience as excellent. Now is the perfect time to book your place in a Workshop suitable for your role. Numbers are limited to maintain quality interaction.

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