It’s been said that the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. In the world of franchising, communication needs to be in your DNA. If you feel your communication skills are broken, here are some warning signs:

Franchise Communication Sin #1: NOT SHARING KNOWLEDGE

A real franchise leader understands the importance of equipping franchisees with the right knowledge, at the right time. Do your franchisees have visibility of what marketing campaigns are in the pipe for the first quarter - and are they on board? Do your franchisees know what’s expected of them, performance wise, and compliance wise? How are you making it clear? There is no such thing as under-communicating – the key is how, and with what tools you communicate. Multi-unit franchise networks can only be consistently performing and successful if the know-how is shared top-down and a across. Fact is, that 9 out of 10 franchises that fail, do so because of a lack of access to knowledge about job procedures and mandatory business practices. As the franchise owner, you are the knowledge bank. Share what you’ve got.

Franchise Communication Sin #2: NOT HAVING A COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM

So you collected all your know-how? Now you need a way to deliver that know-how to the right person, at the right time. This is where the franchise intranet will come in handy. With all your relevant content stored in the cloud, it provides your network with a powerful knowledge management tool, with instant access to the information needed to do a good job.

Franchise Communication Sin #3: NEGLECTING THE FRANCHISE MANUAL

A successful franchise can only deliver a fully consistent experience to its customers if there are clear guidelines, processes and job instructions to follow. Yes, we’re talking about the franchise manual – one of the most significant headaches for any franchisor. But here’s a tip. Many franchisors are abandoning the traditional franchise manual and moving to a cloud based solution – it provides your teams with a more powerful way to look things up quickly, and easier getting a view of what’s required to do a good job.

Franchise Communication Sin #4: NOT UNDERSTANDING THE NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF POOR COMMUNICATIONS

If you don’t have a franchise manual, or if it’s mismanaged, you’re putting your business at risk on a daily basis. A proper franchise manual will allow you to own and copyright your concept, know-how and trade secrets. If furthermore cements the contractual obligations you task each franchisee to uphold. The manual not only reinforces the terms of the franchise agreement – it also enables you to secure quality standards, enforce what’s mandatory and drive consistency across your network.  It also provides you with a tool for upcoming audits, continuous monitoring and control

Franchise Communication Sin #5: NOT COLLABORATING

Between 50 to 70 percent of food and beverage outlets, close doors within the first three years of operation. Lack of innovativeness whether it is in the handling of day-to-day problems or coming up with fresh ideas to improve the business is a major cause of failure. A restaurant’s employees are an important but mostly untapped source of obtaining new perspectives on running the business. By implementing a franchise intranet, a restaurant franchise can create an online community for staff to share innovative ideas, best practises and give feedback on what aspects of the restaurant need to be changed for better customer experience.

Franchise Communication Sin #6: NOT SETTING EXPECTATIONS

Whether you are looking for your franchisees to fulfil their contractual obligations, set clear quality standards, or impose conformity across the network – the franchise manual is the only place that allows you to truly establish a benchmark for your business. Done right, a well-documented Franchise Manual will help you to achieve:

• Improved efficiency
• Greater level of customer satisfaction
• Customer loyalty
• Stronger bond between you, your franchisees and your customers
• Role based help and advice from your head office
• A reduction in the number of unnecessary enquiries

Franchise Communication Sin #7: NOT COMMUNICATING YOUR MARKETING PROGRAMS

A successful franchise business will provide a range of supporting programs, including promotions, media planning, marketing assets and tools for creating brand compliant marketing materials. You don’t want to give your new franchise-partners too much flexibility in tinkering with the brand you’ve worked so hard to establish – instead give them the right programs from the start, so that they can be successful in driving your business vision profitably. In conclusion - Working in isolation never helped anyone in the long run. If your franchisees are operating independently with very little visibility of what’s going on across the organization, there is no shared learning, no distribution of ideas, and no sense of community. Ultimately you are not building a team – you’re just operating in parallel universes. What good is that? Get your franchisees mobilized on a franchise intranet and start the conversation! Share the knowledge! Learn from experiences! Collaborating online means your organization will learn EXPONENTIALLY. A super powered franchise Intranet that equips all job functions across your franchise with the right knowledge, at the right time, can help bridge the gap.

Find out how a Franchise Intranet by Chainformation can help you overcome theese issues

Chainformation has helped lots of businesses overcome these issues. Here is a great overview of what franchise software can do for your business – from collaborative communications, to better operations manuals.