With the term of a franchise agreement being five years, it is music to a franchisor’s ears when their most committed, passionate and successful franchisees sign on the dotted line to extend their relationship and continue driving their business and shared brand forwards. And with the UK’s top-rated hybrid estate agency, EweMove, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the franchise brand has epitomised what an ambitious, progressive franchisor can achieve when the feeling is reciprocated and projected across its network. Here, the Managing Director of EweMove, Nick Neill, discusses the growth and resilience of a brand that has refused to quit, even in some of the most uncertain times for the property market in recent history.
10 years of EweMove! That’s 10 years of helping thousands of people move home and 10 years of helping ambitious entrepreneurs set up and run their own local estate and letting agency businesses. It feels surreal to be celebrating such an impressive feat on the back of the pandemic, the recession and some of the highest peaks and deepest troughs for the property market in history. While providing a great service is at the heart of what we do, there are so many things that have contributed to EweMove’s successes over the last decade. And thanks to the growth and development of the franchise model in a progressive, evergreen industry, we have certainly learned a thing or two as we have welcomed over 190 driven, creative and enthusiastic entrepreneurs to our network.
The first, and possibly the most important lesson we have learned over the last decade is how much embracing technology has contributed to our business. We are all consumers that live and breathe technology in our daily lives. And as franchisors, we have embraced the responsibility to integrate tech for our network’s benefit. So, with technology quite literally at our customers’ fingertips, June 2013 saw a dozen pilot franchisees set about testing the EweMove approach to see how people engaged with a new style of hybrid agent. By being the first brand in the UK to combine the best of traditional high street agencies with the new and exciting opportunities emerging from online agencies, we became trailblazers in an industry crying out for a new approach. Fast forward 10 years, four of our pilots are still in the business today, three of them are top-performing franchisees and the other is our Head of Recruitment – Hannah Pepper.
The second lesson we have learned, as a franchise that has been designed to get the best out of our people and those they serve, is that the modern franchise industry thrives off individuality. We are all aware of economic uncertainty looming over the franchise industry, which is making prospects second guess the viability of a franchise investment. But through nurturing what we do have control over – the people that make our business special – EweMove is remaining relevant and buoyant so customers and franchisees alike can continue benefitting from an industry leading business model.
Individuality and personality is vital in today’s saturated property market. Since launching, our franchisees have always had the incredible opportunity to add value to the franchise network through customer service, local area marketing, community engagement and more. And as we all know, launching a franchise is one thing, but franchisees that truly take control and drive a their business forward is what separates successful franchises from unsuccessful ones.
To develop a successful franchise, franchisors must be responsive, perceptive, intuitive, ambitious and always be prepared to go against the grain. And with house prices in the last decade increasing by an average 53%1, customers have naturally become more cautious when it comes to choosing the right property agency to buy, sell and rent with. Even since launching the pilot phase, EweMove has consistently highlighted that customers don’t just want, they need forward-thinking hybrid agents who can break the mould and redefine an industry.
And isn’t that what we love about franchising? That cutting-edge, fearless – but equally calculated and organised – approach to business is what has made our industry one that anyone would be proud to work in today. An unwavering commitment to technology and innovation while nurturing and celebrating the personalities that contribute to our success have been and will continue to be vital elements to defining, redefining and trailblazing in the franchise and property industries.
1Gov UK, 2023, UK House Price Index
