Franchise systems need to have a franchisee communication and support plan that details what will happen and when. The franchisee support and communication plan should cover the multitude of elements relating to the franchise, like:
- Franchise conferences and regional meetings
- Field visits, ongoing training and business reviews
- Business and marketing planning and approval dates
- Audits, assessments and awards
- Franchise newsletters and updates
The communication and support plan needs to be sufficiently planned, and structured, but ideally, in advance (i.e., long term) for a number of reasons, not least:
- To ensure the Franchise Support Office has the resources necessary to execute the plan
- To enable franchisees to know what to expect, and plan appropriately
- To optimise required support for franchisees
- To help ensure a baseline of support is formalised
- To provide the franchisor with sufficient opportunity to strategically involve and influence franchisees, particularly regarding collaborating on needed franchise systemwide changes.
We suggest such a communication and support plan should go out at least one year, but ideally further, in advance. We also note that it needn\’t be set in stone; there should be some room for flexibility depending on the situation.
Relevant questions:
- Do your franchisees know what to expect, including the timing of field visits, assessments, business reviews, planning requirements, etc?
- Do your team, including field managers, think sufficiently strategically about the bigger picture, when executing individual elements of support and
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