For the past six months, I’ve featured a regular series of podcast episodes on Social Geek Radio about The Culture of Franchising. At in-person events organized by Franchise Update Media, MFV Expositions, and National Event Management, I have asked many franchisors, franchisees, and industry suppliers about the culture inside their organizations as well as the overall culture of franchising.
Why is the culture in this industry, or among companies with this business model, so compelling? What is it about franchising that keeps so many of us coming back? Nearly all interviewees mentioned one or two of the following common threads:
Helpful
Almost all of the two dozen franchise professionals interviewed used the word helpful in describing the culture of the industry. We heard many stories of those who were shocked at how helpful people from other brands are, and how willing other franchisors are to take a call and give advice. In a space where brands in completely different sectors can be considered competing for candidates, the wiser executives realize that today’s competitor could be tomorrow’s co-worker, employer, or business partner.
This is clearly the most networking-friendly industry in which most of us have ever worked. Those who will succeed in this space see that providing value to others is the first step in developing a robust professional network.
Sharing
A cultural trait related to being helpful that appeared several times in our Social Geek culture interviews is the amount of sharing that we see on a regular basis. This includes a great deal of valuable content shared at industry conferences and digital content from suppliers in the form of white papers, webinars, videos, and podcasts. All questions from potential franchisees, current franchisees, or franchisors are answered regularly in these places.
Family
So many of our interviewees compared franchising to a large family. Can you think of another industry where executives, workers, and associates promote their colleagues as the “family”? I cannot! I have never seen this in any space where I have worked. Search #franchisefamily and #franfam on any social-media channel and you’ll see what I mean.
– Jack Monson
Jack Monson is the host of the Social Geek Radio Network, home of the number one podcasts in Franchising including The Franchise News Podcast and The Facebook Franchise Podcast. Monson is also the Chief Revenue Officer at Social Joey and has been working with franchisees and small businesses in social media marketing for 13 years. For more information, visit socialgeekradio.com, or email jack@socialgeekradio.com.