“Franchising has come a long way in India. There are about 4500 odd franchisors and 2 lakh potential franchisees in the Indian market.” says session moderator Payal Gulati, Senior Editor Franchise India & Retailer Media. Franchising is considered a very easy way to succeed with a great potential market in India. S. K. Rathor, Founder & CMD, Sanfort Group of Schools states, “A name becomes a brand only when you have a success story behind it. You need to carry a good reputation to start franchising.” Proper training and background education are required to be given to the franchisee for business to happen.
Maintain a balance between franchisor-franchisee relation:
The company should be system oriented. A good franchisor investment costs should be taken over by them as well. You must be emotionally connected with a brand you are connecting with. Be careful about the reputation of your brand. Ensure that your franchisee follows all your set rules and regulations without which the franchise will fall. Akshay Chopra, Co-founder, Body Mechanics says, “You have to deal with Indians the way they are, but ensure that the franchisor’s quality must not fall.”
Need to educate customers:
With various new concepts coming up, educating your customers is of utmost importance. This may be time-consuming but important to get your business rolling. As for example, refurbishing business is a comparatively new concept in India. Therefore, to get business in this sector growing the owner needs to explain the concept and every minute details to their customer to gain business.
Setting yourself apart:
Saurabh Dayal, Co-founder, Clear Dekho cites their example, “In the eyewear segment, we try to deliver the product to the customers within 48 hours which others deliver in as long as 10 days time.” With so many competitions coming up it is necessary to keep yourself apart to keep the business going. Customers want different, they no longer want things to be mundane. Hence always have a USP which sets you apart from the rest of the competition in the market.
