Is This the Best Franchise for Me? 8 Questions to Ask the Franchisor

Meeting a franchisor face-to-face during a Discovery Day is one of the best ways to determine if a specific brand is the best franchise for you. Discovery Day gives you the opportunity to have detailed conversations with the team you’ll potentially work with, learning about the company culture, their way of interacting with each other, and how they treat their franchisees.

Coming prepared with a list of detailed questions is essential if you want to use the opportunity of Discovery Day to the fullest. While you’ll have already reviewed the FDD thoroughly by this point, this document may both answer some of your most pressing questions and cause new ones to arise. 

You can find out a lot about what you can expect from working with the brand when you have the franchisor answer these questions. Their responses can give you a much clearer understanding of whether you should consider this brand as the best franchise to own.

8 Questions to Ask About the Best Franchise to Own

To help you start brainstorming before you meet with potential franchise partners, we’ve created a list of essential questions that may not have crossed your mind, but will definitely help give you insight into the franchise business and whether it’s right for you.

1. Who are your competitors, both nationwide and in my specific territory?

Gathering information now about how a franchise brand deals with its competitors will help you understand the preparations the brand is making to overtake the competition and the kind of support you’ll have at the local level.

2. Do you have any changes planned for the brand, whether in terms of business operations, marketing, or another area?

Brands should constantly be adapting to the changing marketplace by making tweaks in how they approach everything from daily operations to digital marketing campaigns. Of course, huge change isn’t always a good thing and could signal that something isn’t going right.

3. What do you believe your brand is truly selling?

Businesses often sell more than meets the eye. Starbucks, for example, doesn’t just sell lattes, but also clean restrooms, a comfortable space to meet with others, and friendly interactions with its staff. Understanding how the franchise brand perceives the value of what it offers is crucial to understanding how it fits with your values and goals and whether it’s the best franchise for you.

4. What changes have happened in the marketplace over the last five years?

The last two years in particular have been incredibly disruptive for several industries. Gaining context as to how the market has changed in recent times will help you start to see important trends and comprehend whether other important changes are on the horizon. 

5. How is the brand trying to differentiate itself in the marketplace?

How does the franchisor believe it is setting its brand apart? Do you feel a mismatch between the franchisor’s answer and what you have learned through your research, or does it seem to align with the message the franchise brand is actually projecting?

6. How do you share best practices with your franchisees?

As a franchisee, you’re going to want to be regularly in touch with the franchisor to stay up-to-date with industry trends and the use of innovative approaches. It’s thus important that the franchisor has a system in place to bring these best practices to its franchisees.

7. What has been the biggest challenge your franchise has faced? How did it recover?

Seeing how the franchisor deals with challenges and plans to avoid similar challenges in the future can give you an idea of both their resourcefulness and their attitude in the face of difficulties.

8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors?

You’ll learn a lot about the brand by hearing how it views and learns from its competitors, as well as why they believe theirs is the best franchise to own.

Could a Discovery Point franchise be the best franchise for you? We’re ready to answer your questions to help you decide. If you’re interested in working in the child care industry and want to partner with a franchisor who can help your business thrive, contact our franchising team today at 770-623-1140.