If you are the VP of Marketing, the Director of Marketing, or the marketing manager for a large franchise organization, let me just say that I know your pain. From my experience working with franchisor organizations, the biggest potential source of pain for internal marketing gurus like you also happens to be potentially your biggest leverage point for improving sales: the relationships you have with your franchisees.



The value of strong franchisor-franchisee relationships cannot be overemphasized. This is because the franchisees collectively hold in their hands a great portion of the responsibility for the success of the organization. In short, it is important to the health of the organization that they are well-supported!

Improving the relationship between franchisor marketing staff and the franchisees whom they support is not just a matter of having good people skills (although that doesn't hurt!). At its essence, it boils down to an issue of how smooth and efficient are the information and approval flows between you. The bottom line: your marketing staff holds not only information that the franchisee needs, but also the ability to say "go" on key initiatives and requests from the franchisees. And, I have found that there are certain tasks that are actually better to hand off to the decision-making authority of the franchisees (if done properly), resulting in less aggravation and better revenues for all involved.

Drawing upon the collective wisdom I have garnered from working directly with multiple franchisor consultants and heads of marketing at franchisor companies, here I offer you 5 tips for improving your relationships with your franchisees:

Tip #1: Standardize your message formatting, style and frequency:

Overwhelmed by e-mails and phone calls from frenzied franchisees? It may be time to streamline your communications with them. Here's how to get started: first, categorize the top 5-10 reasons franchisees regularly contact your team. Next, determine which of these could be reduced or avoided completely if you were to improve how you communicate with them. The more consistent you are with your message format (e.g., e-mails, letters), message style (i.e., the writing quality and style with which you present the information), and frequency (i.e., when and how often you send out certain types of messages), the more clear the information will become to franchisees - and the less often they will be contacting you with follow-up questions.

Tip #2: Use the KISS principle when creating and rolling out new marketing programs:

The KISS principle (Keep it Simple, Stupid) is a wonderful guideline for getting anything done, especially when it requires getting others motivated and on board! When rolling out new programs, make the rules, processes and procedures exceedingly clear. Minimize potentially confusing elements like unnecessarily complicated procedures, and write everything down in terms of what the franchisee should do (and by when). Charts and diagrams can also be a huge help! Your goal should be that 95% of franchisees will receive your communications and be fully-informed without needing to contact you again with questions.

Tip #3: Pre-approve all promotional materials for no-hassle administration and better brand control:

One of the biggest headaches that franchisor marketing managers grapple with is having to constantly approve a huge range of different promotional materials from different franchisees. Varying font sizes, different shades of red (or green or blue!), disparate offers and even different types of messaging. Approving and/or requesting changes to all of these materials, even if you have a solid style guide in effect, can be maddening and time-consuming for all involved. Instead, create a set of pre-approved materials (postcards, brochures, mailers, in-store displays, banners) and make them available for franchisees to order. If you do, you will eliminate completely the need to field even one more call or e-mail about approving new materials from overly "creative" franchisees.

Tip #4: Unify all branding and direct mail efforts by using a single ordering system:

Direct mail is one of the most powerful tools that franchisees have to promote their businesses. When executed correctly, direct mail is sent only to those prospects most likely to respond. However, putting together an effective mail campaign can prove to be too much for the average franchisee. Questions about how to source a good list, what type of customers to target, and what creative to use can be overwhelming for the typical franchisee. Instead, do everyone in your organization a favor and offer your users a single direct mail online ordering system. Franchisees can run live list counts, customize the creative with their own store address info and choice of offer, and place the order. No hassle, no headaches - and no calling the corporate marketing office for advice.

Tip #5: Help your franchisees analyze their marketing results to keep them abreast of program effectiveness:

One of the best value-added services that the corporate marketing office can offer franchisees in support of their marketing efforts is direct mail response analysis and other customer analytics programs. Most franchisees do not have the ability to accurately scan coupon barcodes, analyze data and then determine whether their recent marketing efforts were a boom or a bust. Also, by aggregating such analyses across multiple locations, your office can look for macro patterns and then share the results with all franchisees.

Franchisees can be your biggest source of pain - potentially your best friends. The secret to making it a successful relationship is to simplify your communication, make it easier for them to make good marketing decisions, and offer value-added services. If you do, everyone stands to benefit with a better quality of life at work - and better revenues for the organization!