Why attend the IFA? I first attended the International Franchising Convention in the USA in 1996 when there were four Australians among the thousands there.
This year there were 50 of us, mingling with 4,000+ delegates and 400+ exhibitors. This represents growth during almost a quarter-century of two additional Australian attendees per year which, given the presence of well more than 1000 franchise systems in Australia, I find odd.
Which begs the question, it is worthwhile? It’s a huge financial investment, let’s call it $5,000-10,000 per person, dependent on how you choose to do it and then there’s the time and distraction.
Attend IFA with an open mind
On the other hand I attribute a great measure of Poolwerx’ success to the tips I have picked up at IFA Conventions.
Every year, I attend with my mind and ears wide open. You never know what gems might drop from the sky and time and again they have. But these days, I also show up with very specific questions in mind, and every year I get a lot more than $10K worth of answers.
Because nowadays (in US measurement) I choose one or two inch-wide categories and go for the miles of depth available over a few days in that one place.
Say I am curious about something like techniques in social media. Or maybe something even more niche like text marketing. Poolwerx has marketing and IT departments and PR and advertising agencies responsible for knowing about and fitting these elements into our mix.
But as CEO I’m still finding my feet in areas dominated by young minds hell-bent on whatever disruption they can cause. I have these people in our support offices, but ultimately decisions re investment and weight of attention fall at my own feet, so I need to get a grip.
Attend IFA to share what works
The remarkable thing about the IFA event is that you have all these systems sharing information surprisingly willingly. I suppose this is because franchising is a way of doing business rather than about the competitive mechanics or trade secrets of any particular retail/service operation.
Fred from The Burger Shed is not going to reveal his secret herbs and spices but will happily share what makes his franchise community work. So there is little direct threat of losing IP at a consumer coalface level. It’s a lot less about what you actually do than the way you systemise it.
Attend IFA to spot trends
And the scale is huge. In Australia our systems might have 20 or 50 or even 100-or-more franchise partners but some of these folks in the US have thousands. If there’s a trend, problem or opportunity, it’s a fair bet they have come across it and they’re happy to share their experiences.
So say I have a yarn about digital presence with a fellow CEO and they says, ‘Oh I know very little about that; let me introduce you to our marketing manager,’ who introduces me to the digital manager, who introduces me to the content manager, who might introduce me to a couple of favoured suppliers re the tech. And drilling down like this eventually gets you to that ‘got it’ moment.
I am not ever going to be doing any of these jobs but the understanding I gain means I am less likely to be wrong-footed when it comes time for me to assess and approve direction, process and budget.
The IFA Convention is a great example of a sector creating standards and selflessly sharing experiences so that all of us can become strong links in the chain. It’s in our mutual interest (and in the interests of the thousands of small business people who depend upon us).
Might I encourage emerging, and for that matter, emerged, Australian franchisors to make the IFA convention a must-attend in 2020?
It’s scale – incredible scale. And you won’t believe what genius is shared, free of charge.