Why the traditional franchise model is a dead man walking

In the traditional model of selling a franchise, it’s all in the name. It’s about the brand. It’s about compliance.

Is your franchisee toeing the line in terms of how they are delivering their service under your brand name?

If not, they’re a bad franchisee. They need to be disciplined.

But what if you haven’t given them the proper training to deliver that service to the highest possible standard? What if you’ve simply let them trade under your name with no further support?

That’s the mistake traditional franchisors make. But it’s not the way things should be in a flexible modern franchise.

Innovating in business when times get tough

If 2020 has shown us anything it’s that the sky’s the limit in terms of the number of Netflix series that one person can watch.

But, more importantly from a professional point of view, the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown us that businesses need to be flexible if they want to succeed when times get uncertain.

Worried that you can’t open your doors because of restrictions? Concerned that your customers might be reticent about booking your services in a pandemic-hit marketplace?

Businesses and franchises which have remained successful throughout 2020 have shown the need to innovate your way out of tough times. They have demonstrated the need to be flexible with what you offer.

For a home services franchise like Fantastic Services, this has meant instituting contact-free or minimal-contact options. It has meant developing services like antiviral cleaning specifically for pandemic times.

Franchise flexibility in uncertain times

This same flexibility of thought and innovation of practice should apply to the way franchises work in every industry.

When circumstances change, the network and the way a given franchisor operates needs to adapt too.

There’s no sense blindly demanding compliance from your franchisees if you are not providing the support they need in order to survive and even flourish.

Make sure your franchisor supports you

If you are a franchisee or considering becoming one, this is something you need to bear in mind.

Is your franchisor going to be demanding compliance from you? Even when your situation is way outside of normal conditions you could be expected to cope with?

Or are they working with you and supporting you? Are they remaining flexible in tough times?

For Fantastic Services – and, no doubt, other franchisors who think as we do – it’s a no-brainer. The whole franchise network rises or falls together. We succeed or we fail like all of us in the network succeed or fail.

Supporting franchisees makes sense

It’s a losing proposition to be the kind of franchisor which sells you your franchise package and then disappears until it’s time to collect a franchise fee.

That is a terrible way to act on moral grounds. But franchisors of the future will need to come to terms with the fact that this is also the kind of short-term thinking which 2020 has amply demonstrated will lead to more and more failed brands.

Rigid traditional franchising where a franchisor essentially paints their franchisee fish in their chosen colours and throws it into the shark tank is no longer a way a smart franchisor should or can afford to operate.

Doing things differently

For Fantastic Services, this has meant taking what works from traditional franchising and throwing out the rest. The first we added in was to offer different types of franchise.

Even the most affordable type – what we call a Working Franchise – essentially automates a huge amount of the work you would normally need to do to operate your business.

It lets you, as a franchisee, concentrate on doing what you do best day-to-day. In return, Fantastic Services has the custom technology needed to handle the marketing, sales, and customer service – all things which new franchises traditionally struggle with – on your behalf.

What’s more, we don’t just let our franchisees flounder alone. We provide things like personalised field training and business coaching to teach our franchisees how to succeed.

It’s all driven by the clear recognition that giving every new franchisee the best possible chance at surviving and growing their own business is key. It is the best way for the network as a whole to grow and everyone in it to prosper.

Going beyond the day-to-day

This different approach to franchising is something Fantastic Services learned the hard way, growing from a tiny team to its current size without any outside funding.

It’s not something which stops at the Working Franchise level either. We also offer Area Development and Master Franchise. These options allow dedicated franchisees to bring the Fantastic Services brand to their local area or their entire country.

Crucially though, we still give these franchisees everything they need to set up properly and grow every single day. Proper training. Customer service support. Custom technology. Proven marketing to bring customers to their door.

The traditional franchise model might not yet be dead quite yet. But for franchisors like Fantastic Services, it represents a way of doing business which deserves to go the way of the dodo.

Do you think traditional franchising has still got life left in it? Or would you prefer a franchise which does things the Fantastic way?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

• Last update: February 15, 2021

Posted in Industry Insights