Franchise Quality Begins at the Top
Franchise Quality Begins at the Top
Mark Siebert, in an article titled “The Quality Control Myth” (Entrepreneur.com) states, “Time and again, prospective franchisors say that the only thing holding them back from franchising their business is the fear that franchisees won’t sustain the quality standards they’ve established. A typical lament is, ‘I’ve worked too long and too hard building this brand to let someone else screw it up.’”
“Frankly, I’m always heartened when I hear these words, because that tells me the prospective franchisor is focusing on the right things. Maintaining quality in your franchise system should be a key focus for a franchisor. This is what differentiates great franchise brands from those that don’t succeed.”
I could not agree more with Mr. Siebert, and would reinforce that high-quality franchising requires high standards throughout the system. Leadership for these standards starts with the senior management team, and plays a key role in the resulting satisfaction levels of the system’s franchisees. In our 2012 World-Class Franchise Compilation Report, 95% of the franchisees surveyed gave a positive response (“Strongly Agree” or “Agree”) to the statement, “My franchisor encourages high standards of quality performance throughout the organization.”
Don Fox, CEO of Firehouse of America, believes that, “Leadership is a fundamental ingredient for the success of a franchise concept. When franchisees invest in a brand, they are casting a vote of confidence in the leadership team. After all, if the franchisees don’t believe in the leadership team, why would they put their financial resources at risk with the brand?” At the Franchise Research Institute and FranSurvey.com, we are fond of saying, “It’s not just about the hamburger.” In other words, anyone considering an investment in a franchise opportunity MUST look beyond the quality of the franchise’s product (or service), and thoroughly investigate the quality of all aspects of the company’s internal performance and relationship with its franchisees, from the top down, from CEO to the newest recruit. Quality counts…not just in end product, but in every aspect of the process that creates it!
More details can be found at: www.WorldClassFranchise.com
To be certified as World-Class, franchise companies must meet the following research requirements:
1. Access to every franchisee is permitted (including franchises “sold but not open”).
2. All survey responses must be confidential (no false positive responses out of a desire to gain favor or fear of retribution).
3. A minimum of 70% of their franchisees must complete the confidential survey.
In the world of franchising there are many, many stories of dissatisfaction, disputes, and litigation between ‘zors and ‘zees. This report provides empirical evidence that these World-Class Franchise® companies are, in the eyes of their franchisees, “doing it right.” 1: The combined score to this question encompasses all “Strongly Agree,” or “Agree” responses but does not include “Disagree” or “Strongly Disagree” ratings. Remember there is no such thing as “above average Franchisee satisfaction”, but there is World-Class.
