Marie Dubernais Country Manager Canada
Franchisees and franchisors alike have an often under-exploited resource at their disposal: a network of knowledge and practices. Joining a banner is not just about having the necessary resources (market, "how-to", products, know-how, sales and marketing resources, brand name, etc.) to keep risks to a minimum. In fact, the major advantage of a commercial network is that it can benefit from the banner's best practices, which it can then reproduce in its own outlets to improve overall performance.
Franchisors, do you know your network's best practices?
There are many different sources of information collection and storage within the same banner. Cash register (POS) and accounting systems may be multiple, information transfer methods incomplete or manual (Excel), or comparison elements unidentified.
In order to understand whether we know best practice, do you have the answers to these simple questions: What percentage of costs do salaries represent in a high-performance outlet? What impact does the concept or province have on sales? What are the best practices in terms of seasonality? Does compliance with the operations manual have an impact on sales?
1. The best practice management process involves identifying information sources and flows (transfers). Setting up a knowledge map can help identify knowledge hubs and key players in knowledge management.
2. Identify key performance indicators at department level (customer satisfaction, retention rate, margin, sales, etc.).
3. Implement software to centralize all network data (CRM, document database, finance, operations, audits, etc.).
4. Create reports within the software, enabling individual or consolidated indicators to be tracked, and information to be distributed to the various players. These analyses must be based on comparative elements (type of concept, size, location, etc.), enabling us to benchmark similar outlets, and thus identify the differences between one successful outlet and another.
My tools are now in place to enable me to identify best practices according to the characteristics of the outlet and share them with the members of the franchised network with the aim of providing them with new insights.
Franchisees, how do you compare with your network?
I've noticed that certain indicators (sales, margins, cash flow, average invoice, revenue per head) have improved or deteriorated from one year to the next, but am I performing better than the network I'm part of?
Many franchisees are reluctant to share their figures and practices with the rest of the network for fear of internal competition, whether from franchisees or the franchisor. Despite popular belief, this is rarely the case, as zones of exclusivity prevent internal competition. Trust is also a key factor in the success of a franchise, since it is based on "give and take". A customer who lives in Ottawa and is satisfied with the franchisee in his or her city will be loyal and, when moving, will go to a franchisee of the same banner rather than to an external competitor.
Sharing information and building a community of practice benefits everyone. A more efficient network improves brand image by guaranteeing the same experience and quality of service from one outlet to the next. A high-performance network attracts new franchise candidates, improving the catchment area and scope of the banner.
As a franchisee, it's useful to have easy access to my performance, whether financial or operational, so that I can improve from one year to the next and understand which strategies work best. I also need to be able to access an anonymized benchmark of franchisees similar to me, to compare my management and discover areas for improvement. The more information I have readily available on my outlet and that of a comparable panel, the more efficient my management becomes and the more proactive I can be.
Marie Dubernais
Country manager Canada
