IFA Convention Live: Building a Brand Journey - Why do I Love Franchising?

I'm sitting in a session in today's International Franchising Association (IFA) Convention entitled Communicating the Positive Message of Franchising and it all of sudden hit me after listening to Edward Leaman, President of Growers and Nomads speak.

Why do I love franchising? I don't come from it. I came from a public relations and journalism background. It was never something I thought I would build my career around. It was never a place that I thought some of my most important business relationships would stem from. But it's the one industry that I've been fortunate to come across in my life where people actually say the word thank you. It blows me away every time.

In franchising you always hear the stories. They are stories about how franchising helped put children through college, helped an immigrant start as a dishwasher and work his way up to CEO of a multi-unit brand, or a story about how franchising helped a family achieve the financial independence they always dreamed of.

You know what franchising really is? Franchising is social impact. Franchising is a real and true representation of opportunity. Franchising is a great equalizer. It is a balance to income inequality.

Then I got to thinking about what is the definition of a brand? It is a promise delivered and measured. However, how do we build a true brand in franchising today? You start by having a very accurate view of why. What is it about franchising that triggers so much for so many? It's innovation, and that's simply when behavior has impact. That's the essence of franchising and that's the true measure of a brand. But we need to change how a brand is perceived. We don't deliver a brand to people anymore. We need to deliver a brand through people. Community now drives content and then content drives strategy.

As Edward Leaman stated in his presentation, we need to think of franchising like a transparent glass of water. It has to be transparent. Is it the job of the franchisor to put the water in the glass or to put the glass in front of us? Franchising is a transparent glass container. The franchisor builds the glass. Then it's the job of the franchisee to put the water in it. Franchisors and consumers will also add some things in as well, but the greater point is that the process, now more than ever, needs to be transparent.

That's franchising. That's what excites me. That's what this business is all about. That's why I came to the IFA Convention this year.