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Maintaining brand consistency when

expanding abroad

Steve Tulk

Autosmart International

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Agenda

• Autosmart International• franchising overseas• the same, only different...• the essential role of the support team• in summary...

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• UK-based manufacturer of vehicle cleaning products

• mobile, B2B franchise

• franchising since 1978

• network turnover of £30m

About Autosmart

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• master franchise operations in Australia, France, Scandinavia, Netherlands and Belgium

• 30% of turnover comes from outside the UK

• over 200 ‘showrooms’ on the road

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• For the mature home-market franchise, international expansion is the next logical step

• Taking your brand international can be exciting, rewarding, challenging, frustrating and, if done well, can be very profitable

• One of the biggest challenges is maintaining brand consistency across all markets...

Franchising overseas

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• Remember, your organisation has lots of brand-specific experience that your overseas Masters and Franchisees don’t have

• Don’t expect them to sign up to your brand values without questions

• If they do, you should start to worry...

Franchising overseas

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• Europe is peculiar - lots of countries with very individual identities, value sets and cultures.

• What is important for one, may not be so important for another - be prepared to be surprised by the questions you get asked!

The same, only different...

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• our French franchisees insisted that all products must have French names.

however...

• our French-speaking Belgian franchisees then insisted that all products have English names.

The same, only different...

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• Dutch master franchisee insisted that white is not seen as a clean colour in the Netherlands

• Sweden wanting blue and yellow vehicles

• France insisting that red, white and blue is a very ‘British’ colour scheme...

The same, only different...

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• Every employee who supports your overseas operation is a brand ambassador

• This is especially so for your front line staff, e.g.:• recruiters

• trainers

• sales support team

• technical support team

How do you maintain brand consistency in a remote market?

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• Your support team must embody your brand values at all times

• For remote employees, this can be really difficult to implement

• Overcome this by always training remote staff in BOTH the home market (e.g. UK) and in their target market (e.g. Germany)

The essential role of the support team

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• Training staff in both markets allows you to be confident that your team :

• sees the brand in its original context

• knows what you are wanting to replicate overseas

• understands why ‘the company way’ is the key to success

The essential role of the support team

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• Not only do support staff need training in brand values, they also need the confidence to implement brand values

• train front line staff in ‘soft skills’, not just product knowledge

• give them the confidence to enforce your brand values

• make sure they know that you are behind them

The essential role of the support team

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• With only one staff member in a country, that person MUST maintain positive relationships with his/her franchisees

• sometimes they will have to deliver difficult messages

• train them to handle difficult situations and to end tough meetings with everyone’s dignity intact

• if delivering a difficult message means that the relationship could break down - send someone else

The essential role of the support team

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• You know why your brand is a success at home

• don’t expect that your masters/franchisees will immediately have the same level of understanding

• Employ only the best front-line staff

• make sure that they have the confidence and backing to be great brand ambassadors (and enforcers) for you

In summary

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• Be prepared for local adaptation

• small adaptations to your business are a part of being international

• Don’t be afraid to re-recruit

• the right master/franchisee will ultimately accept your brand values and become the local embodiment of them

• If you have the wrong master/franchisee, don’t be afraid to change them…

In summary

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• Remember

• International expansion is scary - you’ll invest more than you expect to, and growth will be slower than you expect it to be

• it can be incredibly rewarding - both financially and personally

• never forget your sense of humour…

In summary