In franchising a strong brand is essential for the success of the franchise system, ensuring the brand remains consistent and aligned at all times across all franchise locations.
The importance of brand in a franchise
The good news is that a lot of the leg work is already done for you when joining a franchise brand. Franchise businesses such as Home Instead have long-standing, proven business models and systems in place for its franchisees to tap into. Not only this, but unlike start-up SME businesses which require a lot of groundwork to be put in place to build a brand, franchising gives you the opportunity to join and benefit from an existing, often well-known name, presence and a solid reputation from which to grow your own business.
However, it’s important to check before joining a franchise brand what they provide in order to help you grow your business. For example, what documentation exists for the brand, covering strategy, positioning, audience profiling, marketing plans? How is brand awareness measured? How is the brand protected by the national office i.e. what is in place to prevent dilution by local offices? Now in its 20th year of business in the UK, franchises such as Home Instead support its franchise network with a 70 strong national office team, providing consistent support and guidance.
Maintaining and building brand identity
Also, is there already a robust marketing strategy in place helping you to stay on brand when it comes to promoting your business? Is the franchise itself proactive in raising awareness of the brand? This will give an indication of potential growth moving forward. It’s vital that potential franchisees consider the full marketing mix in place before making any decisions as areas such as advertising, local PR and partnerships are essential when it comes to building brand identity. There are so many franchise brands out there that are now synonymous with their branding that you would know who they are even with their name removed, further demonstrating the value of a strong brand in franchising.
The consistency of a strong brand enables franchisees to replicate a successful business model, one that has been tried and tested before them. With existing strategies in place reflecting the brand’s identity, potential franchisees can rest assured that they will feel supported in their business, not having to start from scratch.
In the world of franchising a strong brand also helps to strengthen the franchise network. Being part of the ethos of a company, maintaining brand values and working synergistically alongside their peers, franchisees have ongoing guidance and training to ensure they and the rest of the network follow standards and procedures that will ensure the quality of the service provided remains consistent.
Home Instead’s bold rebrand
An instantly recognisable identity creates consistency and builds trust amongst customers. With a strong brand helping franchise businesses stand out amongst its competitors. It’s important for businesses to consistently monitor where their brand sits within the market. In a growing market with rising demand for home care, Home Instead is continuously looking for new ways to evolve and innovate its brand in order to stand out amongst competitors. Most recently this was demonstrated through a rebrand.
With extensive market research playing a valuable role in shaping the new brand identity, Home Instead recognised that its previous branding didn’t always fully convey the strength of its current offering and therefore took bold steps to redefine its visual identity, creating something distinctive, recognisable, and memorable.
The refreshed look, including a new green colour palette, not only reflects Home Instead’s core values but also helps them to stand out in a growing industry.
Home Instead’s Director of Brand & Marketing, Lee Chapman commented: “Brand is a crucial part of any business, it’s the set of associations in the mind of your customer. This rebrand marks an exciting chapter for new and existing franchisees representing a valuable opportunity to those who want to build a successful, sustainable and meaningful business, supporting ageing adults and their families”.
This article comes courtesy of Home Instead, the UK’s largest home care company.
