Franchisor Finalist Focus: HSBC Franchisee Support

Continuing the in-depth look at the finalists in the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards, supported by Express Newspapers, it’s time to see what made four companies stand out in the HSBC Franchisee Support category.

This highly sought-after award recognises the excellent initiatives that franchisors have in place to provide the best possible levels of support for their franchisees, helping maximise their potential. All ethical franchisors offer extensive support to their network, so it’s about going that one step further to stand out from an excellent field in this always difficult-to-judge category.

Barking Mad
Working with beloved canine friends on a daily basis, Barking Mad is the type of franchise that seeks, and attracts, people with a real passion for what they do – which means high-quality support is essential to help with the business side of things. A number of key initiatives put in place in the last year or so have added to the assistance that franchisees receive and made a real difference to their businesses.

In particular, Barking Mad have embraced technology as a driving factor for their mobile franchisees. They’ve created FIDO, the Franchisee Intranet Data Operator, as a comprehensive online business management system; it’s also a single point-of-contact for franchisees to interact with each other across the network, from anywhere in the world. Designed to be used with equal success by both technophiles and relative technophobes in the network, the bespoke system is so good at helping franchisees that it’s also been sold to other franchisors!

On top of this have come developments in IT support, CRM software and online marketing & communications. But there’s still also a focus on traditional support, not least with the addition of an in-house customer support centre, allowing franchisees to divert calls to a dedicated head office team when they’re unavailable. It’s taken over 30,000 calls since launch in February 2011.

Programmes designed specifically for new franchisees; a club recognising and rewarding the top performers in the network; workshops for franchisees’ staff; a centre of excellence showcasing the best of the network; the list of support goes on. And it’s all created, piloted and operated with constant contact from franchisees through an advisory group and regular contact from head office.

All in all, Barking Mad’s franchisee support achieves something that’s very difficult to do: professionalising a lifestyle business.

Belvoir Lettings
Belvoir has grown to more than 150 UK offices, a substantial network that requires significant head office support. Rapid growth has come with challenges that are being successfully met with innovation as the franchise continues to adapt to the fast-paced, growing marketplace in which it operates.

Last year Belvoir became the first letting agency to list on the AIM stock exchange, bringing with it both opportunity and challenges and making the company responsible to its shareholders as well as its franchisees – many of whom are both. Network fee income reached a new record level and grew year-on-year by 9.5%.

The flotation has allowed the franchise to offer substantial acquisitions support to its network in buying up portfolios or whole businesses from other local lettings agents. Fourteen franchisees have been helped so far – financial, administrative, sourcing, and incorporating help are on offer – adding up to £275,000 to their turnover, with more imminent and, not surprisingly, more enquiries coming in consistently across the network.

Keeping the team busy, there’s been a rebrand and new office designs to roll out across the network. There’s also dedicated support for new offices, lower-performing offices, bank reconciliations, and sourcing suppliers, alongside regular network meetings on a regional and national level.

In response to concerns about the lack of regulation in the growing lettings industry, Belvoir have decided to take matters into their own hands, launching their own Training Academy and developing BTEC qualifications for their franchisees to help them stand out in terms of knowledge and ethos. Every Belvoir franchisee is also a member of The Property Ombudsman (voluntarily) and the franchise’s new website includes information for both landlords and tenants on their rights and expectations.

Having achieved all their pre-flotation targets, it’s clear that Belvoir’s ability to support and sustain a growing nationwide network is key to the company’s success in recent years.

Monkey Music
In 2010 Monkey Music were finalists for this same award; when they didn’t win that year, founder Angie Coates and her senior team set out to find out why and discover what else they could do for their network. The results of their ongoing five-year business plan, centred around franchisee support, have been exceptional.

They spoke with other bfa franchisors, most of whom had much larger budgets, and decided they needed to adapt and modernise the support they offered, tailoring it to their specific franchisees and business model. Innovation became the mantra; new technology, new website, new seminars, new services, new products, new marketing, an emphasis on social media.

The keys were a focus on what was needed by the network, not what was expected, and a more holistic approach that took lessons on board from the best performing franchisees and distributed them through the network. Franchisee involvement was at the heart of everything they put in place.

Creating new CPD courses for their franchisees, the Monkey Music team made them free or heavily subsidised; 95% of the network has attended. Underperforming franchisees receive specialist coaching and advice. Setting KPIs, adding more specialists at head office and regular meetings with franchisees have become standard aspects of their franchise offering.

Resulting business performance for franchisees is nothing short of remarkable. Without altering their core business model, Monkey Music has seen average franchisee turnover increase by 24%; a 10% increase in customer numbers across the network; increased ‘year 1’ turnover figures for newcomers; and spring figures show these trends all continuing to increase. All whilst in a recession which could easily see this kind of business marginalised by its customers in tough economic times.

O2
One of franchising’s best kept secrets? Not for long. O2 franchising is set to grow enormously based on results that the global giant cannot ignore. By the end of the year, it’s expected that 43% of the entire UK estate will be franchised after 82 shops convert to the business model. It’s a bold and significant move for a brand of this size to implement a change as fundamental as that to its stores.
Simply put, the numbers don’t lie: the company’s franchise shops have consistently outperformed their company-owned outlets; proof, as if it were needed, that franchisees invested in the success of their business, within the wider brand, can have an enormous impact on a company – even one as established and recognisable as O2.

That success has been made possible by an exceptional level of support provided from a small team within the O2 central office. There’s a multitude of areas for franchisees to get help on, from initial sourcing of a suitable location, designing and fitting it out, and preparations for opening a store; to a Retail Academy, and dedicated learning and development training (both on the job and workshop-based) on every aspect of maximising the potential of their own, unique store.

Of course, being part of a brand as large as O2 comes with numerous benefits right off the bat – instantly recognisable branding, national television campaigns, sponsorships, loyalty programmes and the like – but it’s the company’s impressive attention to detail on tailored local marketing, developed in conjunction with franchisees, that really helps them stand out. Individualised marketing campaigns, collateral and in-depth customer data are provided at no extra cost to franchisees.

With around 85% of the newly-converted stores set to be owned by existing franchisees, this is a happy and growing network. And when the national franchisee conference, a group of only around 30 people, is regularly attended by several senior figures within O2 in the UK, it’s clear that this is a franchise whose support has translated into a serious business proposition.