The past couple of decades have proven eventful, given various banking crises; a worldwide pandemic; significant and continual global migration; cultural and economic shifts and, of course, not forgetting the various wars and skirmishes that have broken out from Europe to the Middle East.
Adding to that has been the recent re-election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Not only has that sowed economic confusion throughout the G20 it has also raised fears among European leaders about the plausible prospect of being left defenceless across Europe.
Yet change and apprehension can also create fertile ground for innovation and invention and certainly we’ve seen investment in new products and services and created more energy in the marketplace; plus, we’ve also seen a growing ‘sophistication’ of the customer.
On a much more ‘micro’ level, customers no longer defer to the supplier. They are more knowledgeable, more demanding and consequently expect a higher level of service, greater professionalism and more strategic input from the supplier and even greater value for money.
Adapting to change
Going forward, change will be more prevalent, and the pandemic – in particular – heightened the requirement of companies and individuals to be more adaptable and flexible.
Change, of course, has also seen the displacement and redundancy of employees as manufacturing finds a cheaper cost base and technology develops at a pace most of us can’t keep up with.
Fortunately, franchising offers the ideal vehicle for large numbers of individuals who might have been made redundant from disrupted industries and is the perfect home for people who want to work for themselves, as well as creating personal wealth that is directly related to the effort they put into their business while still having the support of an established brand.
Franchising also provides a route for those who are just seeking a career change.
Furthermore, it offers people the opportunity to be in control; to get rewarded directly for their own efforts and to create a level of security not available when working for others.
The theory of franchising is rooted in an ideal business ‘partnership’ which offers substantial benefits to all involved.
Why franchising? And should we demand more of it?
Franchising is a marriage of the skills, work ethic and ambition of the franchisee with the system, tools and structure of the franchisor that makes franchising the success it is.
The industry is worth more than £17billion per annum and employs more people than the UK armed forces combined!
Yet franchising could be even more successful, employ more people and help establish even more businesses.
My frustration with franchising isn’t that it only accounts for circa 9%-10% of retail sales in the UK compared to 45%-50% in the US. Nor is it that we still see some failures in UK franchising; or even the word ‘franchising’ being used to describe everything from a rail network to a football club.
No, my frustration is that franchising isn’t the first port of call for universities and colleges teaching business and management courses – the exception being Lancaster University Management School.
In particular, my frustration is heightened by the lack of government acknowledgement of the value of franchising (local or national and the lack of self-promotion within the franchise community of franchising in the wider business market).
Educating people in the fundamentals
We lecture students about how to start up their own business – on taking responsibility for researching their market, investing in their brand, planning their go-to-market campaigns, designing collateral and marketing programmes – and yet, most educational establishments effectively ignore a system that covers all these things for the entrepreneur – or as I prefer to call them ‘Enterprisers’.
There is little recognition in academia for franchising (with the notable exception of Lancaster University) and frankly little ‘outside the box’ thinking when it comes to demonstrating the value of franchising in educating people in the art (or science) of running their own business.
Academia may be stuck in traditional tramlines but surely I hear you ask should government not promote franchising as a genuine means of regenerating towns and cities?
Can government see the logic? I grow more sceptical
It will take sustained effort by both MPs and, more importantly, influential members of the franchise community to get the Business Secretary to become significantly interested. That said, I look forward to a day when a government reshuffle creates a new post: ‘Minister of State for Franchising’. I may be too old to appreciate the appointment when it comes!
It is still my fervent belief that there is nothing to match good franchising for creating businesses, creating jobs and ultimately for creating wealth. Academia, local councils and national government are hamstrung by their narrow, tramline view on business and business development – they simply do not grasp the scale of the opportunity available.
That said, ultimately, of course, it is down to the franchising community to better promote itself and to make the case for franchising. Franchising has come a long way in the UK. We have many well-established, well-respected brands on the high street, regularly and competently servicing millions of satisfied customers.
You just feel we could do a lot more!
