Protecting the real essence of a brand is the key responsibility of a franchise and this can only be done once he designs the right business model as well as standardizes the franchise agreement. Don’t worry we can tell you more about this.

Brand, a constructive structure of any business thought, is made up of various elements like logo, graphics, tagline, shapes, colors, etc. Furthermore, this becomes a defined symbol that differentiates a company providing products and services from others. Nevertheless, this plays a vital role in creating a quick and emotional impact on customers’ minds, attracting them to the brand. In short, a franchisor puts in many years of hard work and efforts to make and successfully establish the brand, which can be easily acceptable by a wider consumer base.
Selecting a franchise model for expanding the business, comes with an expectation to grow and strengthen the brand across new and untapped markets. Though local partnerships bring along with them immense benefits to a company’s growth, it also has a risk of brand dilution. Thus, it is the responsibility of every franchisor to guard his brand against the risk of dilution though he wants to leverage it to sell as much as possible. But remember, the strategies used to pursue this end often bring the danger of tampering with the quality of the brand.
What is Brand Dilution?
No business model is perfect. Though this is also known as the weakening of a brand, this can also happen by overuse or because of ill-judged brand expansion, resulting in undue competition or price cutting, in turn, hampering the brand image. Thus, companies need to maintain uniformity throughout all their stores or network, be they company owned or franchised, to maintain the quality of the brand. This can be done, by SOPs (standardizing operating processes), uniformly keeping the store interiors, uniformity in HR or other company policies or not to forget even the accounting and reporting systems. This will thus protect the originality of the brand, which is the primary task of the franchisor.
How does a Franchisor protect his brand’s quality in Franchising?
Difficult to accept, but brand tarnishing is an unfortunate reality of franchised operations. Franchising means where a company expands its network and grows. This growth may sound good for the franchisor, but it also weakens its control over the systems which are in place. There may be instances when you must compromise on the quality of the product or service. This results in a loss of customers and gradual market share. A franchisee owner usually thinks about what he is going to do best to grow his business and, in such times, he may fail to adhere to the systems set in by the franchisor, which will eventually lead to damaging the brand image locally. To put a stop to this tarnishing, it is only the franchisor who can do as much as possible to save the reputation of his brand. And the best solution against brand dilution is the franchise agreement.
A franchise agreement can help franchisors to get over the risk of brand tarnishing. Before recruiting a franchisee, the franchisor must prepare a good quality legal agreement using the guidance of a knowledgeable person who knows both legal as well as commercial aspects of franchising. Using this tool makes it mandatory for the franchisee to operate the franchise strictly under the adherence and system laid out by the franchisor. However, as instructed by the franchisor, the franchisee should advertise and promote the brand. Emphasis on the use of a common brand name, logo, identity, and quality with a regular inspection plan of tours to the franchisee can also be laid out in this agreement.
Uniformity across the Franchise System
By uniformity, we mean using a common name, logo, identity, and color theme. But that’s not all that requires uniformity. The franchisor needs to ensure that the pricing of the products should also remain the same as discussed by the franchisor which would be standard across all the franchisees. When a customer comes to a particular brand franchisee, he expects to obtain the same look n feel, and comfort that he would have experienced at the original outlets. Keeping these aspects in place, would make the customer experience far better and keep them coming back to give you more business.
Key Takeaways
Protecting the brand quality is a step taken usually when you first develop your business. But in the case of a franchise model, it is harder because it is in the hands of the franchisee to keep the integrity of the national brand image at the local level. Thus, right from the time you have finalized your franchisee, it is imperative to reinforce the brand image continually before it becomes too difficult later. Continuous efforts from the franchisor’s end are thus an important point to protect brand dilution. Still confused? Don’t worry, sparkle★minds will help you gain clarity! Connect with us today.