Franchisee Satisfaction Data as Business Intelligence

3 Ways to Minimize Risk to Your Franchise System

Business intelligence is all about using data to make informed decisions for your organization. It applies data analysis to glean actionable insights, identify risks and opportunities, and guide strategic plans.

If you’re not collecting franchisee satisfaction data, you’re missing a critical piece of business intelligence. And that means you’re putting your entire system at risk.

At the very LEAST you risk poor validation, decreased revenue, and franchisee disengagement. And worst case scenario, you also risk brand degradation, losing candidates, franchisees wanting to exit the system, and possibly litigation.

So how do you avoid these potential risks, and gain intelligence about your business?

Survey! Take the time to ask franchisees what they think. Your franchisees are invested in the system and they should have the opportunity to provide feedback about the current state and the future of the business.

Establishing a formal process for gathering feedback on a consistent basis sets the expectation with your franchisees that you’re invested in their long-term success, builds a culture of trust, and keeps them engaged. The most enlightened franchisors survey their franchisees consistently, and share the results – and how they’re using the data to make improvements – with franchisees.

So, how do you actually use the survey results to make data-driven decisions that will minimize risk to your brand and accelerate growth, revenue, and franchise sales?

1. Look at year over year trends. By making the evaluation an annual process you can look at data to see if and where your scores are higher than the previous year.

2. Benchmark against other brands. Seeing how your system compares against other franchise systems in key areas can help you gain perspective on what areas need to be addressed immediately to minimize risk. This is especially important in areas like training and support, leadership, and financial opportunity, which are crucial to the success of your franchisees’ businesses.

3. Make franchisee satisfaction a KPI. This shows both your team, and franchisees, that your focus is on strong relationships with franchisees. At the International Franchise Association’s 2016 convention, Catherine Monson, CEO of FASTSIGNS International, shared her strategies for revitalizing the brand and improving franchisee profitability during her keynote address. She included the KPIs she focuses on with her team, which include the FBR survey to measure and increase franchisee satisfaction and engagement.

Research shows that happier franchisees generate more revenue, validate well, and are more likely to buy in to new policies. 

Stop creating unnecessary risk and start using franchisee satisfaction data to gather valuable business intelligence to drive your organization forward.

Franchise Business Review makes it easy for you to collect and measure franchisee satisfaction, and provides you with data and reports that can help you immediately identify where there are risks in your system- and where to focus your efforts. Contact us for more details.