franchise broker shaking hands to close deal with franchise buyer
Published May 17, 2018

What Your Franchise Broker Needs to Know About Franchisee Satisfaction

How You Can Make Your Brand Stand Out from the Crowd

Franchise brokers can be an important part of your franchise recruitment strategy. Many franchisors find the time savings in prequalification and a high close rate justify the cost of working with a brokerage network.

However, franchise brokers are working with a hundred or more brands. So how do you make sure your broker is recommending your brand over others when talking with potential leads? Give them your franchisee satisfaction data to share with potential buyers.

All franchise buyers do varying degrees of due diligence before investing in a brand. MOST are looking for reviews, data and experience from others to help in the decision making process. Providing them with a summary of your franchisee satisfaction data – especially when it comes from an independent source – does the legwork for the franchisee (and the broker). And, of course, it demonstrates that your brand cares about your franchisees’ satisfaction and feedback.

FBR provides clients with a Summary Report of their franchisee satisfaction that you can give to your broker to share with their clients. Because your broker is likely representing a huge stable of brands, it will take some education on your part to help your broker understand how to use the data.

6 Tips for Working With Franchise Brokers

These tips can help your broker better understand how they can use your franchisee satisfaction to give your brand a competitive edge with potential buyers:

  1. Share the FBR Summary Report to demonstrate a culture of transparency. For example, “This brand is showing you the good AND the bad so you have all the information you need to decide if this is the right fit for you.”  
  2. Differentiate your brand from competitors. For example, “Look at how current franchisees rate this brand. That’s what makes the company stand out from the others.”
  3. Discuss any new initiatives added or improvements – training programs, technology, field support changes, etc. – that your brand has made based on franchisee feedback from the last survey.
  4. Include a printed copy of the Summary Report in the franchise information kit provided to potential buyers.
  5. Use quotes from the Feedback Report as testimonials. (Be sure to check with any franchisees who shared their names, first, before sharing with a broker.)
  6. Brands with the highest satisfaction are named to FBR’s annual awards list of Top Franchises, which is based exclusively on franchisee ratings and feedback. If you are an award-winner, make sure your broker is promoting your award winning status – in conversation and in literature packets they provide.

If you are not currently surveying with Franchise Business Review, and would like to have Summary Reports to help your development team (and your brokers) close more deals, we can launch a survey for you within 48 hours and get reports back to you within 4-6 weeks. Learn more about how to get started and view our sample reports.

 

About the Author: Ali Forman

As the Marketing Director, Ali’s role is to educate franchise companies about and inspire them to participate in FBR’s research in order to grow and improve their brands. Ali's previous experience includes senior marketing communications roles in the employee benefits, data privacy, and publishing sectors. She lives in Maine with her husband and two sons.
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