Put Your Franchise into 1st Place - 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.

Perspective 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 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 does not happen overnight. To gain the respect and trust of the franchisees, requires a
commitment to excellence, a never ending appetite for success and a partnership mindset.

It’s the 1%ers …..doing the little things, like returning calls on time, every time; being prepared for meetings and not rushing around looking for their application/ forms or
paperwork, its all about being in control and remembering that you are always on show! You only get one chance to make a lasting first impression – so make it a positive one!!!

Determining your SCA, in only one of the many ways that a franchise system can go about being that little bit extra in front of the pack. Analyzing the situation gives you a leg up on the competition and you can use the information to make sure you’re the obvious choice to potential franchisees.

If you would like to discuss your competitive position further or would like help with implementing any of the ideas in this article, please contact:

Mark Fernandez
Director
Business Development Alliance
www.bda-online.com.au