When you’re considering a franchise, it’s important to see a natural fit between the business and your skills and talents. But you must also feel confident that you’re joining a network where the franchisor has your interests at heart and, that when the going gets tough, they’re on your side. Therefore, we want to share some of the actions we took to support our franchisees during the coronavirus pandemic. The problem facing us We distribute printed magazines through school book bags. The pandemic saw all schools closed within days. We decided that our summer editions would be digital E-Zines instead. We have been a multichannel business for many years so this was not a challenge. Usually our franchisees print one summer edition of Raring2go! but thanks to their vision, it became clear we could produce two summer digital magazines. This meant we could keep our audience on board and our advertisers. Because our magazines are unique in that they are truly local to our readers – families with young children – they would be up to date with what was happening (and what was not happening) in their local area. Collaboration – the heart of our franchisee network We work in a collaborative manner with our franchisees and have excellent channels of communication. In conjunction with our franchisee council - a group of franchisees who sit with us on a consultative panel making strategic decisions together - we set about producing our ‘plan’. Within four days of lockdown we had an action plan we were all agreed upon. Monthly Licence Fees We reduced our monthly licence fee by just under 40% of the usual fixed amount, from April 2020 to March 2021. Suppliers’ Costs We reduced the cost of print by reinstating pricing from 2017. This made a significant difference to our franchisees and was a real testament to the relationships we have built with suppliers. Communications with our franchisee network We established a weekly ‘drop in’ Zoom call for all franchisees. We had been using Zoom for some time but during this crisis it became a lifeline. We were mindful that some franchisees now had young children at home. So, we recorded Zoom calls and uploaded them to our franchisee system backing up each one with a detailed email, so no-one missed out. Franchisee council Weekly franchisee council Zoom meetings became a must so we could discuss any issues arising from our weekly network Zoom call. Many inspired decisions have been taken at these lively and positive sessions. It became evident during this time that our franchisee network respected the fact that everything planned was discussed and agreed by a representation of their peers before being implemented. Supporting advertisers and schools We issued guidance at the beginning of the lockdown on how our franchisees should work with their advertisers many of whom had been badly impacted by the lockdown. We decided to offer spring advertisers free space in our summer online editions. We knew how important this small gesture would be to the businesses that had supported our print magazines with regular advertisements. We provided guidance to franchisees on how best to support advertisers feeling the financial pinch of lockdown. We provided guidance to franchisees on how they could support the primary schools in their areas. We work closely with these schools and have built great relationships with them. We offered to promote the schools’ messaging to families. The positive reactions from advertisers, schools, and parents alike to these initiatives has been tremendously rewarding. When the chips were down, we all pulled in the same direction for the greater good. ‘Within days of lockdown we had an action plan we were all agreed upon.’ How we supported our franchisees during the Coronavirus pandemic 14
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