Are you buying a business or a brand? – Sally Anne Butters writes for Making Money Magazine, January 2012

A brand is so much more than just a name and logo, for many people it’s a personality, a feeling that they get whenever they come across, purchase or interact with that company, product or service. That is why a strong brand is essential for anyone buying a franchise; any new business is a risk but the comfort of knowing what you are really getting into will set aside some of those start-up nerves.

Ask your Franchisor about how they manage their brand; all franchise opportunities should have brand guidelines to help with promotional literature, point of sale displays and so on but it is important that there is at least one person at head office assigned as a Brand Guardian.

In the best businesses, you can go to any branch of the company and get the same positive experience and this is where the brand buy-in is so strong that there isn’t just one Brand Guardian but every single member of staff takes on this role. This is so comforting to a prospective franchisee that it can prompt a decision to purchase and David Baker who purchased Driver Hire Kingston couldn’t agree more:

“Driver Hire seemed to be a rock steady brand and a well-established big business and that really gave me confidence. I also liked the idea of buying a business that was already up and running and part of network of around 100 offices. Everyone in the head office team was really enthusiastic and from this point on, Driver Hire were the only franchise in the running.”

Franchising gives companies the option to build their brand on a global level. Franchises such as The Athena Network, Cafe2U and FASTSIGNS are all global leaders in their marketplace. The Athena Network launched in Singapore this year after a strong few years in the UK whilst Cafe2U’s successful 10 years in Australia and 5 years in the UK prompted a launch in the USA this Summer as Australia’s Cafe2U MD, Derek Black explains:

“Consumers have been very welcoming of the mobile Cafe2U concept with one of our new American customers quoting: It’s even better than Starbucks!”

There is no doubt that Starbucks is a hugely successful and recognisable brand across the globe so how does a mobile coffee franchise like Cafe2U compete? They set themselves apart and make themselves memorable with brand differentiators – new locations, barista qualities, and an airhorn on their van playing the tune from the Godfather!

So what should you be looking for in a franchise when it comes to buying a brand that is well-established and support you to success or a younger franchise that has the potential to develop into a strong brand?

No.1 on your list is that you must be able to 100% agree with and emanate the company’s brand and ethos and the best way that you can get a feel for this is to spend some time with other franchisees and the head office team; a great way to do this is on a discovery day if the franchisor offers these.

Brands are also built on trust and just as a business’s customers need to trust them, so must someone buying a franchise. Trust fosters loyalty and a franchisor should always be open, communicative and ready to provide the information you require; being transparent starts off a strong relationship and will bring the right franchisees into the business which means you get off to the best start with your franchise and your franchisor.

In general, consumers value brands more than they are influenced by price because of the trust they have in the quality or standard of service so you should consider what is offered by the franchise opportunities that you are looking at in terms of their products and/or services. You can easily find out what their consumers think by searching online for Facebook pages, conversations on blogs or on trade websites.

Consumers are risk-averse and, of course, franchise searchers are too! Consumers will look for recommendations from friends, work colleagues or even strangers online before engaging with a new brand and you should do the same when researching a franchise purchase. There are also experts such as MatchPoint who can help match you to a franchise brand that most suits your skills and attributes if you want a free helping hand.

Finally, it is really important that you choose a brand that is ready to innovate as the marketplace changes and new technology comes along. Not all franchises will suit internet sales but all will benefit from an online presence for communicating with potential customers. Some will naturally have new product lines constantly in development like Mac Tools and others will have occasional updates as new design software makes work processes easier like the printing process at a FASTSIGNS franchise. What is imperative is that a franchisor can demonstrate to you that they have the flexibility to adapt and the skills to innovate to keep the business fresh, the turnover growing and the brand strong.

 

MatchPoint: Double Redundancy Calls for a Matchmaker!

Steve Almond, 48, has spent most of his career in the pharmaceutical industry but after taking voluntary redundancy twice he decided to take a step outside of his comfort zone into the world of franchising, and hasn’t looked back since.

“I started in research and development at AstraZeneca and after a few years I moved on to operations and latterly spent 10 years as a project manager. I enjoyed this corporate role, and project management in particular, but during a major oprations re-organisation, AstraZenica offered a voluntary redundancy package to their staff that was simply too good to turn down! “At the time, the idea of franchising hadn’t really popped up and I took another project management position in the same sector. SSL International, well-known its brands Durex and Scholl, was taken over by Reckitt Benckiser just 12 months ago and I was given the option of relocating from Cheshire to either Hull or Slough. My wife’s family all live locally and my eldest son was soon to take his GCSEs, so relocating just wasn’t a sensible option. I guess that’s how I found myself taking voluntary redundancy for the second time! “I met up with an old AstraZeneca colleague and, over a coffee, we chatted about what I could do next. She suggested I spoke with Andrew Pendleton at MatchPoint. Having worked with Andrew herself, when she was considering buying a franchise, she thought that the MatchPoint process of matching people to franchises could help me figure out my next step.

“I first met Andrew for an informal chat where he explained the MatchPoint suitability profiling process; he was very patient and took the time to understand what I was looking for. Our second meeting started the profiling activities and our subsequent meetings talked through the franchise opportunities that had been matched to my skills and attributes. The process is well worthwhile as not only do they offer a suitable franchise to someone like me but it means that once you are introduced to the franchisor, they are happy and confident that you are a suitable candidate for them.

Tutor Doctor was one of the first three options brought to me by Andrew. After some initial screening, I was allowed to talk to existing franchisees and each of them explained without prompting: “we work really hard but we make a difference to people’s education every day” and this simple statement ultimately sold it to me.”

Tutor Doctor provides the highest quality private tutors in the UK. The franchisee manages a network of tutors and visits each new student to assess their needs before allocating the best possible tutor.

“I launched the East Cheshire franchise of Tutor Doctor in May this year and have grown from nothing to a business now requiring 30 tutors to cover the tutoring demand. The business model seems to be stacking-up nicely as, even over the quiet summer holiday, we are on target for around 75 students at the end of year 1.

“Tutor Doctor is set apart from agencies because we know all of out tutors personally and we can find a tutor for almost every need. We have students from 5 to 75 years old and we could have renamed ourselves ‘University Rescue’ for the number of students we’ve helped over the past couple of months with subjects such as economics and aviation to geology and law!

Using the Match Point service was just what the doctor ordered for Steve:

“It does what it says on the logo! It took the pain out of the franchise search. Just like Tutor Doctor, they fully assess the need and provide the most appropriate solution.”

You can find out more about MatchPoint by calling 0843 289 2645 or visit: www.matchpointnetworkuk.co.uk