Thinking like a Franchisee drives Franchisor Success.

If you regularly take time to think like your clients, to anticipate what they need and how they need it, then you are laying the basis of an agile, successful business.

It’s exactly the same if you are running a franchise brand. You need to think like your clients – your franchisees - to understand exactly what you need to provide to help them build ongoing success.

As the Franchisor of Listen To Your Body, I frequently mentally step into the shoes of my franchises and ask “What do I need and how do I wanted to be treated as a franchisee?”

My answers as a Franchisee are:

1. I would like support anytime I need it. I want to know that I have great support one phone call or one meeting away and that I can get fast access to the people who provide that support.
2. I want to know the Franchisor is always striving to do things better and improve the system. I want to know that the brand is continually making advances.
3. I want to be able to share opinions that I believe can make the system better. We are all in this together and we have some very smart people to learn off so a collaborative approach works best. I don’t want to be part of a dictatorship.
4. I want to be treated well with the same level of respect and follow up that I received when we first meet - when we purchased the franchise. I want a consistently high level of support throughout the term or terms of our relationship.
5. As a franchisee, I want access to systems that make my life easy and that I wouldn’t otherwise get if I was an independent business.

My answers as a Franchisor are:

1. Yes, the number one strength of our offering is the support. We love being asked for help and deliver it quickly, providing our franchisees with the benefit of our experience.
2. As a brand we are continuously aiming to improve and are looking for better ways to do things. In fact recently, we launched an innovative new workshop to a team of six trainers that we will roll out to 45 trainers in the coming month.
3. We encourage collaboration and host multiple information sharing sessions at our conference and throughout the year.
4. In regards to treating our franchisees well, this is a non-negotiable. If someone is not treated well, that destroys culture which can destroy a company. It is an unwritten rule to be a good person and treat everyone with respect.
5. We are always aiming to create better, bigger, more efficient systems and ways of making the system easier and cost effective. We are continuously launching new platforms, software systems and ways to nail best practice.

In summary, whatever business you are in, thinking like your customer gives you the best chance of creating an exceptional service and generating loyal fans – which in turn, leads to a healthy business.