Business relations are crucial regardless of the kind of business you have or the type of industry you are in. If you want to achieve success, you have to form strong relationships with customers and business partners alike. According to a study conducted by Harvard University among individuals applying for a job, great people skills resulted in a success rate of 85%. Well, this can also be applied to entrepreneurs who are looking for potential partners in business.
Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship
As a business owner, you need to find ways to grow your franchise or your brand. You need to find potential business partners to help you build your brand in other locations. One way to do this is to find franchisees.
Your franchisees should then understand the importance of maintaining the good reputation you have built for your business. They should learn how to deliver consistent and high-quality products and services to customers. To ensure that your brand will not be compromised, you need to develop a strong bond with your franchisees. Here are a few tips to achieve this.
- Establish your brand – If you want to grow your business, you need to establish the identity of your brand first. Define the values and ethics of your business. Let people know what your brand offers. Whenever someone hears the name of your brand, for instance, they should automatically associate it with a positive term, say, fast delivery or delicious food. After defining your identity, share it with franchisees so that they would know how to run the business properly.
- Keep communication lines open – Make sure that communication lines stay open between you and your franchisees. Every now and then, check up on them and see how their business is doing. Always offer support, especially when they are having trouble with attracting customers or increasing sales. Also, allow them to contact you whenever they need assistance. This will not only allow you to strengthen your bond but also help build trust and respect towards each other.
- Encourage collaboration – Be open to suggestions. After running the business for some time, your franchisees might have some great ideas to improve operations. Do not be afraid to try new strategies, especially if they will help you improve your brand and grow your business.
- Demonstrate leadership – Stay focused on being an exceptional business leader. Be a great example for franchisees. This way, they will want to follow your footsteps and also aim to become successful entrepreneurs in their own right. Franchisors and franchisees should share the same goal so that they can both progress towards business success.
Make your franchisees experience how to become business leaders using your brand. Let them make their franchised business successful in their own ways, but ensure that they do not stray from your brand’s culture and identity. Guide every franchisee so that they, too, can achieve success like you. The key is to help one another find solutions to attract more customers and achieve business success, no matter where the franchise is located.