Last updated on Jul 30, 2024

How can you align your franchise model with your social mission?

Franchising is a popular way to scale up a business and reach new markets, but it can also pose some challenges for social enterprises that want to maintain their social mission and impact. How can you align your franchise model with your social goals and ensure that your franchisees share your vision and values? Here are some tips to help you design and manage a franchise system that supports your social purpose.

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1 Define your social mission

The first step is to clearly define your social mission and how it relates to your core business activities. What is the problem you are trying to solve, who are your beneficiaries, and how do you measure your social value? Your social mission should be concise, compelling, and consistent across your franchise network. It should also be embedded in your franchise agreement, manuals, training, and marketing materials, so that your franchisees understand and embrace it.

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Peter Ptashko

FRSA, FHEA, Social Business Coach | Sustainability, ESG & Change Leader | Enterprise Educator | Social Entrepreneur in Residence
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There should be a core social mission, that is consistent and has buy-in within the co-founding team / board but there should be some freedom given as to how this is ultimately flexibly communicated and delivered through franchise partners to ensure that they can map their work to local partners and communities in their own contexts successfully. There is no “one size fits all” approach that works here.

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Aditya Amar

Founder @ Nirvana Organic & President @OCS Foundation | Transcendental Meditation Teacher
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Aligning a franchise model with a social mission involves careful planning. Clearly define your social impact goals and integrate them into the franchisee selection process. Develop training programs emphasizing the social mission. Create incentives for franchisees to exceed social impact targets. Measure and report social performance alongside financial metrics. Collaborate with franchisees on community initiatives. Build a strong brand identity around social responsibility to attract socially conscious customers and franchisees.

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2 Select your franchisees

The next step is to select your franchisees carefully and make sure they are aligned with your social mission. You want to look for franchisees who have not only the business skills and experience, but also the passion and commitment to your social cause. You can use various criteria and tools to assess their suitability, such as interviews, surveys, references, and tests. You can also offer incentives and rewards for franchisees who demonstrate social performance and impact.

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3 Support your franchisees

Once you have your franchisees on board, you need to provide them with ongoing support and guidance to help them implement your social mission in their local context. You can do this by offering regular training, coaching, mentoring, and feedback on their social activities and outcomes. You can also create a culture of collaboration and learning among your franchisees, by facilitating peer-to-peer exchanges, best practices, and innovation. You can also leverage technology and data to monitor and improve your social impact across your franchise network.

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4 Communicate your social impact

Another important step is to communicate your social impact to your stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, investors, regulators, and the public. You can use various methods and channels to showcase your social achievements and stories, such as reports, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media. You can also involve your franchisees in your communication strategy, by encouraging them to share their own social impact stories and testimonials. By communicating your social impact, you can enhance your reputation, credibility, and loyalty among your stakeholders.

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Heather Payne

CEO of Toast91: You're not alone, support is a click away || Fractional CTO/CIO || #ai #aiforgood
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Think about some straplines and themes that everyone can get behind and then create social media content involving them. It's good to pick at least one hashtag that you use consistently and guidelines about the types of pictures or videos so those not so used to sharing have easy prompts to get them going

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5 Review and refine your franchise model

The final step is to review and refine your franchise model regularly and ensure that it remains aligned with your social mission and adapts to changing needs and opportunities. You can do this by collecting and analyzing feedback and data from your franchisees, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders, and identifying areas of improvement and innovation. You can also engage your franchisees in the review and refinement process, by soliciting their input, suggestions, and feedback. By reviewing and refining your franchise model, you can ensure that it delivers both financial and social value for your social enterprise.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you align your franchise model with your social mission?

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1 Define your social mission

2 Select your franchisees

3 Support your franchisees

4 Communicate your social impact

5 Review and refine your franchise model

6 Here’s what else to consider

Social Enterprise

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