How the Internet has changed the Shape of Franchise Recruitment

by Dugan Aylen

One of our clients is a mature franchise brand that has been around in the UK for nearly 15 years. In the early stages of their development, franchisee recruitment was done purely through a major franchise magazine. Handling these leads entailed a simple call and email process that would ‘reach’ between 65-80% of all enquiries made.

Advertising: Print vs. Internet...

In the past 3-5 years there has been a distinctive downward fall in the volume of leads produced by this particular publication. So 2 years ago our client made a decision to start advertising on the internet. This has created a good lead flow of between 150-200 leads per month and a sign up rate of just over 2 a month for a sizeable franchise investment.

The major problem in using a franchise magazine as a sole means of advertising was that the 'reach' rate dropped dramatically to a mere 40-50%. The reason for this lies in the nature of the lead itself. The traditional leads were not very educated about the opportunity. Ultimately the franchise seeker relied on close contact with the sales person to find out more about the franchise. This compares considerably to the franchise seeker who now uses the internet to source an abundance of information on the franchise before making an enquiry.

Informed Franchise Seekers...

Internet leads are much more educated when it comes to both the franchise opportunity and how franchising works in general. They are able to access vast amounts of information online, and therefore they are much more in control of the sales process and this is where the problem lies.

Franchise recruitment must be perceived by the franchise seekers as a 2-way process as early as possible. All too often we come across people who believe they have a right to pick and choose the franchise brand they desire.

Due to the changing nature of leads, sales people must be trained as to the best way to handle different types of leads. Handling is key to maximizing the potential of recruiting a new franchisee.

Handle with Care...

Research suggests that many of the Leads that enquire via various internet sources are 6-8 weeks away from taking things any further and should therefore be fed details on the franchise slowly. These leads are content in surfing the net and gathering information on franchises without much intrusion. If they are directly contacted too many times before they are ready they may actually decide to cross your opportunity off their list!

These type of franchise seekers will often initiate contact when they feel they have gathered enough information on your franchise. The upside of this approach is that when they do contact you, they are often ready and willing to move swiftly through the recruitment process. Internet researchers say this is “typical internet buyer behavior” and unless brands recognise this they will not realise the potential of their leads.

The Future of Lead Handling...

We have implemented a lead handling strategy for the particular client we have mentioned in this article. This is already showing very encouraging results at an early stage.

By Dugan Aylen, Director of Franchise Recruitment Services (FRS) Ltd