In order to keep data fresh and eligible for FBR’s franchisee satisfaction awards, we recommend an annual survey of your entire franchise system, including all 33 of our industry benchmark questions.
With an annual survey, you can identify trends year over year and benchmark your progress, and when you use the data to make improvements in your system, you can actually see where your efforts are making a difference. You’ll be able to tie your strategic initiatives around franchisee satisfaction directly to ROI. For example, if you rolled out a new training program, you’ll be able to see if your investment paid off by looking at how your franchisees rated you in training and support.
Some brands survey twice a year to keep a closer eye on the progress being made and review strategy mid-year. This second survey can be another benchmarking survey or what we call a pulse survey, a shorter survey with questions focused more on specific strategy and operations points.
It all depends on what you need to measure and how proactive you want to be in catching issues and improving franchisee performance.
Either way, establishing a formal process for gathering feedback on a consistent basis sets the expectation with your franchisees that you’re invested for the long haul, builds a culture of trust, and ensures their continual involvement. Not only that, the data you gather is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal for improving operations and growing your brand.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it shows your franchisees that you value their input, which means your franchisees will be more satisfied, more engaged, and will validate well….all of which means you’ll sell more franchises.