Recently, I've had the pleasure of being named a Preferred Partner to a very successful franchise. This gave me opportunity to engage in a "discovery day" to learn a little more about the franchise the way a potential owner would see it. Later, I was able to be trained on their systems and get a bit more of this insight on how the processes work. It made me start thinking about the benefits of joining a franchise instead of opening/starting an operation on your own.
I guess the most obvious benefit would be name recognition or branding. Typically a franchise owners share the cost of advertising, promoting and branding the "company" name. This particular company provides style guides on brand usage to ensure that the national brand is preserved. This is a very important aspect of business when there are owners in many different parts of the national who may be lobbying for national client accounts. Most national companies are very careful about their brand and would likely want to work with someone who feels the same way, especially in the industry in which they are promoting – promotional products and printing.
Another amazing resource for franchise owners is typically the marketing mechanisms that are available. Closely related to branding marketing campaigns are important parts of business growth. They are given websites complete with verbiage to use in reaching their client or prospect. They are also given templates for other marketing materials such as brochures and postcards.
There is a processing center that helps them process all the orders, and requests – evening billing and invoicing more efficiently. Franchises can prove to be an excellent way to start that business on your own with an extensive level of support that a solo effort can't provide.
