Franchising is a business agreement between a franchisor, the business owner, and a franchisee, a potential business owner. Franchisees pay a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to operate under the franchisor's brand and system. By entering into this contract, the franchisee gains the rights to sell the franchisor's products, goods, or services and utilise the brand's designs, marketing materials, and promotions. They also benefit from the franchisor’s quality control, training, advertising, promotions, accounting systems, and operating procedures. Franchisees help expand the brand's reach and market presence by supplying their own capital and efforts to open new locations, while the franchisor provides initial training and ongoing support.
Often, the franchisor supplies the goods or services for the franchisee. In businesses like hotels or travel agencies, the franchisee is also part of the franchisor’s worldwide reservation system. When done correctly, brand franchising creates win-win relationships. As your franchise system grows, everyone benefits from economies of scale, increased brand recognition, and continuous system improvements.
As a franchisor, you create new revenue streams from initial franchise fees, ongoing royalties, and other system-generated revenues. Brand franchising helps you scale and grow your business far beyond your current operations. It is one of three business strategies a company can employ to gain market share, along with using company-owned units or a mix of company-owned and franchised units.
Franchising is a strategy for acquiring and retaining customers, creating a strong image in the minds of current and future customers about the company’s products and services. It is also a method for distributing products and services that meet customer needs.
Franchising is a system of interconnected business partnerships that enables various individuals to utilise the same brand identity, a proven business model, and an effective marketing and distribution framework.
For individuals or investors keen to buy into a franchise, we highly recommend attending the WSQ Franchise & Business Ownership course. This course helps you understand the roles and responsibilities of franchisors and franchisees, perform investment appraisal techniques to assess the suitability of franchise investments and implement, oversee, and evaluate procedures for franchise setup and operational plans.