Established Franchisors

OUR SERVICES FOR ESTABLISHED FRANCHISORS 

MSA’s work with established franchisors is designed to assist our client’s management team in improving the performance of their franchise systems. Our experience provides our clients with assurance that the solutions we recommend can be effectively implemented by their staff - and supported by their franchisees.

Some of the services our established franchisor clients rely on us to provide include:

• Franchise program development
• ​Franchise information packaging
• Franchisee recruitment strategies
• System audits for franchise development
• Franchise operations support
• Franchisor-franchisee relations 
• Litigation support
• Franchise operations manuals development
• Franchise training programs development

Creating Franchisor Success Stories

Our goal is not simply to define the problem, but to optimize the opportunity for our clients to successfully implement change. We create a roadmap for beneficial change, and then provide the hands-on management support necessary for our clients to effectively implement the strategies we develop. Ensuring that our clients' franchise systems stay fresh and ahead of the competition is a skillset we bring to each engagement. We provide:

• Domestic and international expansion strategies and support, including providing direct assistance with the management and implementation of their franchisee recruitment and expansion programs.
• Developing change strategies based on our review of their entire organization, when needed, or a focused review of problem areas to improve their franchise sales or operational support performance.
• Improving system performance at the unit level by updating the systems manual library or developing or changing training programs, including  eLearning.
• Optimizing the performance of field and other support staff by assessing and training, and also by recognizing that franchisees are not fungible. Each class of franchisee has different needs and requires different levels of support. 
• Ensuring that your field staff and other support personnel have the tools necessary to provide franchisees the support they and you require.
• Reviewing with management its joint-employer and vicarious liability risks by understanding and changing system practices, evaluating manuals, training and support, and ensuring the system remains focused on achieving brand standards at the unit level without creating unnecessary risk.
• Improvements to ​franchisee ​relations and the necessary system validation to grow the network by determining the underlying causes and focusing on creating solutions through communication, effective collaboration, and distinguishing the needs and benefits for each class of franchisee in your system.
• Issues around ​brand funds and their administration are frequently leading indicators of other problems facing franchisors. Modernizing how you administer and use the brand fund is often the lowest-hanging fruit that can move a system forward in many ways. Working with management, the franchisee advisory council, and the outside franchisee association is one of the ways in which we work to improve franchise relations.
• Litigation support and expert witness services are, unfortunately, always gong to be needed from time to time. If solving the problem can only be achieved through litigation, our litigation support practice and expert witness services provide our clients and their lawyers with the benefit of our experience and our effectiveness in achieving results in the courtroom.
• Assisting our clients in ​mergers and acquisitions by supporting their investment advisors in determining the stability and value of the system to be acquired, or assisting them in negotiating with private equity investors or others looking to acquire or invest in their franchise system.  

Our social franchising practice area focuses on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Social Franchisors, and donors to organizations ​that provide goods and services to the poor ​in underserved communities, both in the United States and internationally. This practice area is an outgrowth of MSA's longtime involvement with ​franchising of more than 150 franchisee medical clinics in East Africa, our long-time domestic and international work in consulting in this area, and our leadership position in having established and chairing the International Franchise Association's Social Sector Task Force. With the peculiar difference that most customers to social franchisees do not have the resources to pay for some or all of the goods or services they require, most if not all of the issues faced by a commercial franchise system also need to be dealt with by social franchise systems. We are now leveraging our commercial experience in the hope of having a world-changing impact at the ​base of the pyramid, just as commercial franchising has had in the rest of the world.

We have the experience and talent necessary to work effectively with established franchisors. Let us support you in making the changes your system requires or help you to take advantage of new opportunities when they come. We also have the talent to understand your core competencies and organizational strengths, and helping our clients create and manage new opportunities ​is always something we provide.

“We brought MSA in early on our system-wide new agreement project to help us with the methodology and the processes to be used in this major project. That included initial meetings with our franchisee association. Considering that we now have 95% of our 3300 franchised stores on the new agreement, we consider it a smashing success. So, MSA thanks again for your involvement.” – Michael R. Davis, Former Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, 7-Eleven, Inc.

“MSA assisted us with our franchising strategic planning process and meeting facilitation. Kay Ainsley and Michael Seid are two of the most talented consultants with whom I have worked. Their vast experience in franchising and willingness to be proactive in offering ideas made them a valuable part of our team.” – John Kujawa, Vice President Franchising, McDonald’s USA, LLC

“These are demanding times in the business world, requiring that companies leverage expertise in many areas to maximize performance and results. ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing recognizes the strength of the MSA Worldwide team. They are an important resource for us, bringing experience to quickly analyze opportunities and develop sound plans to meet our franchising objectives.” – Mike Roman, Former Fuels Franchise Strategy Manager, ExxonMobil Corporation