Investing in a franchise demands enthusiasm, commitment and business nous. But is a talent for design part of the necessary skill base in the printing, photography or signage industries?
One of the biggest misconceptions about operating a printing or sign franchise is that the franchisee will spend their day creating artwork masterpieces on their computer, says Lisa Bailey of Quick Colourprint. “The reality, as with most businesses, is that the operator will spend the majority of their time out on the coal face prospecting for business and building rapport with clients. This can prove to be a humbling experience if you can’t take rejection!”
So franchisees with personality and humility are in high demand. “We prefer our operators to have little or no previous graphics experience. Our training takes the novice, who may have tinkered with Publisher or Paint at home, and teaches them step-by-step every stage they need to create the artwork for the products that we offer.
“We don’t teach our franchisees how to become graphic designers in three weeks. However, they leave our training program with the skills to perfectly layout any print job from a simple business card to a 60 page book, from initial concept to press-ready artwork.
“Our system provides our franchisees with the graphic resources, software, libraries and tools to enable them to create beautiful designs in minutes.
“We have a regimented program of sales activity that our franchisees perform daily. A typical day will involve telemarketing, cold-calling and letter cycles. We focus strongly on personal client contact and this has proven to be the most effective sales driver. All of our franchisees are members of networking groups such as BNI and some have even started their own chapters with huge success.”
Steve Southwell of Snap Printing sees design capability as crucial to the business. “Design is an integral ingredient for success in the print industry. In a predominately commoditised market, design is one component that is unique. How a print provider interprets a concept or brief to create a design is one of the only services that can not be commoditised.
“At Snap, we find that centres that invest and focus on design services are achieving higher sales and profit. Providing design services is very subjective and therefore, an excellent relationship is a must. Excellent relationship equals client retention.”
For Mark Drury’s Breeze Photos business, franchisees require an interest in design and imagery but no more. “It comes with practice,” Drury says. “You start off dizzy with what you need to learn but a week’s training covers what you need to know. We’ve spent five years developing this to make it easy to pick up and run with. It’s bulletproof. The business side is not huge because this is a home based opportunity and we do low key marketing.”
Existing franchisees have come from school, vetinary and recruiting backgrounds.
Business focus
Jeff Campbell, regional vice president of Minuteman Press, agrees. “Our business is about marketing and management. Franchisees need to focus on this, they consult to the business community. We don’t want our franchisees to focus on design.
“Under guidance franchisees employ staff. Over a period of time they gain an understanding of what’s required but initially we make recommendations. We have full time technical support people and one of their roles is recruitment of quality staff who can perform really technical work. We certainly get franchisees involved in the choice over personality, and the owner has the final decision.”
Ten years in the system, says Campbell, will produce confidence and ability in franchisees to make these decisions themselves, and some do. But, he adds, “our most successful franchisees always get us in as a second opinion”.
The key skills for a Worldwide Online franchisee are sales and accountant management abilities, explains David Shimell.
“We tend to look for professional sales people who have worked in business to business situations. We’re totally different from retail. We’ve found that retail experience, standing behind a counter, doesn’t work, you have to be proactive.”
It’s no different in the sign industry. Despite its retail presence Signwave sources most business direct with business, very little is accounted for by walk-in customers. According to the general manager of Signwave, Andrew McKay, the ideal franchisee is energetic, focused on running and growing a business, wants to interact with other people and relishes a different daily routine.
“Certainly people skills and motivation top the list,” says McKay. “We put a lot of effort in the corporation in marketing programs and tools to facilitate business growth. We purchase lists and provide tools that help franchisees contact people directly. This is more sophisticated than door knocking and always for a line of inquiry. I’m confident we do more than most.
“Generally people are looking for service and reliability. Reliability is huge, from the initial visit for a quote through to production in the timeline promised. This is paramount.”
Communication skills
Graham England, franchise sales manager at Kwik Kopy is on the hunt for business skills with a focus on communication and selling; he wants franchisees extruding confidence.
Design knowledge is not required because franchisees employ qualified graphic designers. And their skills naturally tend towards the creative rather than communication. The franchisee is the conduit between the product and the client.
And while the franchisees may not be doing the design work, they do need to be hands-on and driving the business.
“Franchisees work in the business, we have no absentee owners, the centres wouldn’t generate the business,” England says.
Business to business accounts for more than 95 per cent of business, primarily from SMEs. “Big business is usually too demanding on price and margins are too tight,” says England. What sells the brand are ideas and service, he says.
“We did some research a couple of years ago that showed the major printing brands’ main weakness was advice. So we’re really pushing the ideas and advice, giving them options on how to improve the marketing material for instance. We ask questions, and then the price becomes irrelevant, we’re like a marketing consultant.”
Opting for a consultative role is taking Kwik Kopy into previously unexplored territory. The 121 Creative centres, of which there are now 12 in Australia, are 18 months old, and these are design centres within Kwik Kopy franchises which provide creative campaigns much like any ad agency.
“The market perception is that, because of our name, we only do photocopying. Big companies assume we can’t handle the work. So we go in with an ad agency brand, a creative business card and pitch. At the 121 Creative there is a high level account manager in the graphics department who prepares the proposals.
“We’ve got State Rail in Victoria, and the Perth Wildcats,” adds England. It’s paying off. The average job value increases from $600 to several thousand.
“Yes there is more homework for preparation but this business entrenches the centres with these customers and gives it a consultancy focus,” says England.
Richard Baker, creative director, explains the creative centres are developing the business to more strategic levels. The consultative element really dovetails quite well with design, he says.
“We’ve had some great examples creating work which clients wouldn’t expect. Culturally it’s quite a shift; by its nature Kwik Kopy attracts reactive short term work but design is planned over a longer period.”
Franchisees passionate about design have been early adopters of the new design opportunity and the second sales channel. At Southport for instance the Kwik Kopy franchise which was sold to a neighbouring graphic designer who is converting his business into a 121 Creative.
Just a small number of accounts will support up to three creative staff, says Baker.
Kwik Kopy has a target of 15 stores open by Christmas. “We’re not looking to try and saturate the market, we want to build the strength of the model,” says Baker.