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www.franchise.org
Maintaining brand consistency when
expanding abroad
Steve Tulk
Autosmart International
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Agenda
• Autosmart International• franchising overseas• the same, only different...• the essential role of the support team• in summary...
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• UK-based manufacturer of vehicle cleaning products
• mobile, B2B franchise
• franchising since 1978
• network turnover of £30m
About Autosmart
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• master franchise operations in Australia, France, Scandinavia, Netherlands and Belgium
• 30% of turnover comes from outside the UK
• over 200 ‘showrooms’ on the road
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• For the mature home-market franchise, international expansion is the next logical step
• Taking your brand international can be exciting, rewarding, challenging, frustrating and, if done well, can be very profitable
• One of the biggest challenges is maintaining brand consistency across all markets...
Franchising overseas
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• Remember, your organisation has lots of brand-specific experience that your overseas Masters and Franchisees don’t have
• Don’t expect them to sign up to your brand values without questions
• If they do, you should start to worry...
Franchising overseas
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• Europe is peculiar - lots of countries with very individual identities, value sets and cultures.
• What is important for one, may not be so important for another - be prepared to be surprised by the questions you get asked!
The same, only different...
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• our French franchisees insisted that all products must have French names.
however...
• our French-speaking Belgian franchisees then insisted that all products have English names.
The same, only different...
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• Dutch master franchisee insisted that white is not seen as a clean colour in the Netherlands
• Sweden wanting blue and yellow vehicles
• France insisting that red, white and blue is a very ‘British’ colour scheme...
The same, only different...
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• Every employee who supports your overseas operation is a brand ambassador
• This is especially so for your front line staff, e.g.:• recruiters
• trainers
• sales support team
• technical support team
How do you maintain brand consistency in a remote market?
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• Your support team must embody your brand values at all times
• For remote employees, this can be really difficult to implement
• Overcome this by always training remote staff in BOTH the home market (e.g. UK) and in their target market (e.g. Germany)
The essential role of the support team
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• Training staff in both markets allows you to be confident that your team :
• sees the brand in its original context
• knows what you are wanting to replicate overseas
• understands why ‘the company way’ is the key to success
The essential role of the support team
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• Not only do support staff need training in brand values, they also need the confidence to implement brand values
• train front line staff in ‘soft skills’, not just product knowledge
• give them the confidence to enforce your brand values
• make sure they know that you are behind them
The essential role of the support team
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• With only one staff member in a country, that person MUST maintain positive relationships with his/her franchisees
• sometimes they will have to deliver difficult messages
• train them to handle difficult situations and to end tough meetings with everyone’s dignity intact
• if delivering a difficult message means that the relationship could break down - send someone else
The essential role of the support team
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• You know why your brand is a success at home
• don’t expect that your masters/franchisees will immediately have the same level of understanding
• Employ only the best front-line staff
• make sure that they have the confidence and backing to be great brand ambassadors (and enforcers) for you
In summary
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• Be prepared for local adaptation
• small adaptations to your business are a part of being international
• Don’t be afraid to re-recruit
• the right master/franchisee will ultimately accept your brand values and become the local embodiment of them
• If you have the wrong master/franchisee, don’t be afraid to change them…
In summary
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• Remember
• International expansion is scary - you’ll invest more than you expect to, and growth will be slower than you expect it to be
• it can be incredibly rewarding - both financially and personally
• never forget your sense of humour…
In summary
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