Put the ‘I’ in Franchising

When you get into franchising, you will quickly realize that there are less choices for customization in franchising than there is if you’d open your own small business. That’s one of the drawbacks that most franchisees agree with in order to adopt a system that has been created ahead of time to make business ownership easier on their part. Yet, most franchisees still want to add a bit of their personal touch to the franchise or business that they own. They don’t want to be just another location for brand. They want to be Johnny’s version of brand. While there are limitations to what you can do to personalize your franchise, there are still ways you can make it your own.

Add the Local Touch

Many franchisors will actually love that you add a local flavor to their franchise as it not only personalizes the location to you, but also to your local demographic. Franchisors will rarely know the places they’re franchising as well as their franchisees will because franchisees usually pick places they’ve grown up in or have lived in before. With the knowledge as a citizen there, you can usually recommend certain products or decorations around certain holidays that have a meaning for that area.

Personal Customer Service in Franchising

This is something that is almost 100% in your control as long as it meets the franchise’s set standards. You can take your customer service to infinity and beyond when you’re doing franchising or inspire specific greetings so long as it meets the franchise’s operation manual standards. You are the face of the company in that city, district, or block, so it’s important to keep the franchisor’s brand in mind, but do it your way.

Campaigning in Your Business

There’s one thing that your franchisor can’t do in your district and that’s campaigning in the community. To add a personal touch that could never be done by someone not located in your area, consider getting involved with the community to run a large campaign either through an event with other business owners or a marketing campaign that intertwines your business as part of the community because it is part of the community.

At the end of the day, as you’re part of franchising, you will always need your franchisor’s ‘okay’ before you go through with any chances to the franchise, but so long as it doesn’t challenge the franchisor’s brand image, most are inclined to say yes.