Franchising and the Internet: Back to Basics
By Daniel P. Martin - President, IFX International Inc.

Let's face it, the franchise industry as a whole, has been a bit behind the times in terms of taking advantage of state-of-the-art communications technology. When it comes to applying technology to franchisor-franchisee relations, most franchise companies continue to live in the dark ages. Fortunately, a growing number of select companies have elected to leave their electric typewriters, monochrome computer screens and rotary dial telephones behind, opting to board the Concorde instead of the Titanic. Capitalizing on today's Internet technology, these companies have vastly improved the way they conduct business and communicate with their franchisees around the world. Ultimately, these companies are setting the standard which keeps them competitive and, in fact, ahead of the pack.

Franchise organizations wishing to make the jump to the Internet will likely find the rather oblique world of HTML, FTP and WWW remarkably confusing. Not to worry. Companies stepping into cyberspace need not conquer all at the onset. In fact, greater success and productivity can be achieved with simplicity. Appealing to the lowest common denominator, in this case, the franchise owner, prospective franchise owner or retail customer is ultimately the goal. In most cases, any web-based product developed by a franchise organization will ultimately be designed for one or all of these groups. Understanding the target groups leads to the development of web-based programs that people in the groups can easily access, understand and therefore actually use. What a novel concept.

Simplicity of design, combined with ease of access and use are critical to consider when developing web-based products, from your everyday commercial website to complex online databases. Companies that have excelled through the use of web-based products and systems, have done so by laying a foundation for ease-of-use primarily directed to the lowest common denominator of projected users. A commercial website that incorporates all the "bells and whistles" and does everything from "A to Z" will likely be too complex for the average intended user or customer. Laying the proper Internet foundation requires companies to back off of incorporating full-blown "A to Z" products in favor of products that may only incorporate features from "A to K" or "A to M". The key is to get people to actually use and/or access the web-based product. Not to overwhelm them thereby turning them off. Once a company lays the foundation and obtains a dedicated user base, the rest of the alphabet can be incorporated into the product, preferably one letter at a time.

Franchise organizations represent prime candidates for implementing simple, easy to use, web-based products and programs. Franchising's inherent structure groups hundreds or even thousands of independent operators scattered about the planet under one common system. This structure is ideally suited for the Internet. Still, the Internet is simply the medium that can be used to unify franchise owners worldwide. Several political, practical and marketing considerations must still be made prior to actually implementing a web-based product or system in order for it to be universally understood and accepted. It is critical to recognize that Internet technology is only part of the equation for Internet success. The balance of the formula lies in how a company utilizes the technology to accomplish the task of conveying their message or promoting an action or response.

Ultimately, such archaic concepts as identifying your customer base, conveying your message and evoking a call to action are as critical to the use and success of web-based products and systems as the technology itself. Communications and marketing standards that have worked for the past 50 years also work when it comes to promoting web-based products. The Internet revolution has caused many companies to discard the basic fundamentals of business success. However, the ability of the Internet as a universal medium to "level the playing field" for both small and large companies makes going back to the basic fundamentals of business even more critical. Franchise companies that maintain their focus on basic business fundamentals while utilizing the latest Internet technology stand to gain the most. In the end, the cream will rise to the top and those companies that rely solely on the Internet keep them competitive will likely sink to the bottom of the glass.